This year’s agenda will likely include a vote on what to do with women staff pastors in churches and whether to shut down the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — the SBC’s public policy arm, which is under fire for not getting in line with President Trump’s MAGA agenda. (Smietana, Religion News Service)
Read MoreThe Lord’s Prayer is more widely recognised than one of the most famous phrases from Star Wars, according to a poll. The survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Church of England, also suggested that the prayer is better known than the national anthem and Shakespeare’s “To be, or not to be” line from Hamlet. Perkins, The Telegraph)
Read MoreThe study’s authors collected data from traffic incidents and violations and car crashes (including fatal ones) recorded across the United States in which the likes of careless or reckless driving, speeding, and gun violence were contributing factors. This information was then used to rank each state on a normalized scale of 0–100 points, with each one then plotted on a map to reveal which states are the angriest behind the wheel. (Jones, Mental Floss)
Read Morendia will start counting its vast population in a mammoth exercise starting next year. The first census in 16 years will be conducted digitally and include controversial questions about caste for the first time since independence. The Home Ministry announced plans to conduct a two-stage count ending March 1, 2027, in a statement Wednesday night. (Roy, AP News)
Read MoreThis year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia attracted the lowest number of pilgrims for 30 years, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, according to figures released on Thursday. The annual Islamic pilgrimage attracted just 1,673,230 Muslims, the majority of them from outside Saudi Arabia, according to a post from the country’s Hajj Ministry on the social platform X. (Butt, Associated Press)
Read MoreThe Supreme Court says a Catholic charity in Wisconsin doesn’t have to pay unemployment taxes in one of a set of religious-rights cases the justices are considering this term. The Thursday ruling comes in a case filed by the Catholic Charities Bureau. The organization says the state violated the First Amendment’s religious freedom guarantee when it required the organization to pay the tax while exempting other faith groups. Wisconsin argues the organization doesn’t qualify for an exemption because its day-to-day work doesn’t involve religious teachings. (Whitehurst, ABC News)
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