Like prostitution, contract marriages are illegal under Indonesian law. But the law has rarely been enforced. Instead nikah mut’ah has grown into an industry, with an extensive network of brokers, officiants and recruiters that thrives in the gray zone between church and state. (Yang & Sijabal, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreAs polyamory gains visibility in the broader culture, it remains enough of a taboo in most Christian denominations that they lack explicit policies. In the most progressive of these denominations, people in or exploring these relationships, which involve emotionally intimate, often sexual, relationships with more than one person, are weighing in. (Post, Religion News Service)
Read MoreWhile the world knew him as a champion of the vulnerable, many of the women he worked with now tell a much darker story: that Mr. Ballard himself was grooming, manipulating, harassing and sexually assaulting women. (Baker, The New York Times)
Read MoreHalloween and, in turn, the time for costume planning, is upon us. With only a little over 50 days left to shop and prepare, major retailers have their themed decor and outfits out on store shelves, with some already struggling to keep the more popular items in stock. (Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today)
Read MoreThe men are training to become Catholic priests. While probably only a fraction of them will go on to be ordained, Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority country — is producing so many priests now that many of them head overseas to serve the faithful. (Wee & Suhartono, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe wholesome image portrayed by the friend group of Mormon TikTok stars — all moms in Utah — came crashing down in 2022 with a sex scandal. Taylor Frankie Paul, one of #MomTok’s main creators, announced she and her husband had decided to divorce after “soft swinging” with other couples in their friend group. (Paül, The Washington Post)
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