[S]cholars are [identifying an increase in] “secular supernaturalism,” as more people move away from regular attendance in religious institutions and toward individual spiritual explorations that don’t involve God or gods but could involve anything from internet rituals to palm reading — activities researchers are categorizing as “magic.” (Banks, Religion News Service)
Read More[T]oday, many of my colleagues in physics… have come to believe that a mystery is unfolding in every microbe, animal, and human—one that challenges basic assumptions physicists have held for centuries, and could answer essential questions about AI. (Frank, The Atlantic)
Read MoreAmericans who had a positive religious experience as kids are most likely to keep the same faith as adults. Those who had negative experiences are most likely to change faiths or give up on religion. And while a majority (56%) of Americans still identify with their childhood faith, a third (35%) have switched — including 20% who now say they have no religion. (Smietana, Religion News Service)
Read More[A] few hundred mostly men… play, en masse, the alpine character of Krampus, the monstrous horned devilish figure who, according to custom in this part of Europe, accompanies St. Nicholas as he visits children and assesses their behavior from the past year. (Schmitz, NPR)
Read MoreCreepy, zany and demonstrably fake content is often called “slop.” The word’s proliferation online, in part thanks to the widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence, landed it Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year. (Furman, AP News)
Read MoreAt least 11 people were killed Sunday in an attack on a Hannukah celebration at a popular Sydney beach and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to call it an act of antisemitic terrorism. Antisemitism has been on the rise in Australia, fueled in part by Israel’s war in Gaza, even as local Jewish groups have decried the lack of support from authorities. (Lidman, AP News)
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