Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls may be frightening, but what Americans spend on Halloween could be even scarier. Consumers in the United States spent a record $12.2 billion in 2023, after spending $10.6 billion on Halloween in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). In 2024, they will spend an estimated $11.6 billion, stopping short of 2023's record. (Lake, Investopedia)
Read MoreOver 99% of evangelical Protestants believe in the concept of sin. But exactly what behaviors evangelicals define as “sin” varies widely, from just 6% who say dancing is sin to 96% who feel adultery is sin. (Outreach Magazine)
Read MoreIt’s the time of year — tradition says — when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is lifted.That traditional belief has morphed over the centuries into the spooky and secular celebration of Halloween. But one day later, Christians in many countries around the world are celebrating All Saints’ Day on Friday, a somber and spiritual day in the church’s liturgical calendar that shares pagan roots with Halloween. (Vera, AP News)
Read MoreMarvel Studios’ television series “Agatha All Along,” which has its finale on Disney+ on Wednesday (Oct. 30), oozes witchcraft lore, movie references and symbolism. And modern witches are there for it. “They are really doing their research,” said Opal Luna, a witch, author and crafter in Florida, “and I appreciate that.” (Greene, Religion News Service)
Read MoreMore than 80 percent of abortions in the United States happen before 10 weeks, in the embryonic stage of pregnancy. But in the politics of abortion, the arguments and almost all of the ads focus on the other end, on the much rarer abortions later in pregnancy. (Zernike, The New York Times)
Read MoreAcross the country, the number of people injured or killed in road rage incidents involving a gun has doubled since 2018, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. (Cramer, The Washington Post)
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