The Most Rev Justin Welby has overseen a historic decline in the size of the Church of England over his time in office, with the number of congregants falling by 25,000 a year, figures show. Since 2013, usual Sunday church attendance has fallen from 788,000 to 557,000, effectively the largest average year-on-year decline since comparable figures were produced in the early 1970s. (Butcher, The Telegraph)
Read MoreU.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles in Baton Rouge said the law had an "overtly religious" purpose, and rejected state officials' claims that the government can mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments because they hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. His opinion noted that no other foundational documents — including the Constitution or the Bill of Rights — must be posted. (AP/NPR)
Read MoreWhether you’re watching a movie or reading the news, it’s hard to avoid villainous, heinous, wicked behavior—but we all could use a few new words for the diabolical. (Peters, Mental Floss)
Read MoreThe sound of the eight bells in Notre Dame's northern belfry came a month before the cathedral is to reopen following five years of painstaking restoration work in the wake of the blaze. "This is a beautiful, important and symbolic step," said Philippe Jost, who runs the public body tasked with restoring the cathedral under challenging circumstances. (France 24)
Read MoreGroups often escalate rhetoric when they haven’t achieved their goals, with a small faction urging stronger action, said Mitchell Silber, an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University who runs a nonprofit helping provide security for Jewish communities in the New York metropolitan area. (Meckler & Svrluga, The Washington Post)
Read MoreIn the tabletop model game, which is popular in Russia and Ukraine, the seals are prayers on paper stuck to the armour worn by “space marines” with red or black wax. Ratnik Tactical, the Russian military equipment maker, said on Telegram: “The best warriors of humanity applied scrolls with prayers and promises to their armour before the battle.” (Crisp, The Telegraph)
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