JUST SAYIN’

Find the latest commentary and information here.

My First Hobby
I suspect Claude Monet would have painted lilies differently if he had been paddling through sedge against the current of the muddy Mississippi river in an inflatable kayak.
No Tears Left
It’s not all up to me. Or to you, either. When the well is dry, someone else has a drop left to give. That drop is God incarnate, Word made flesh, help in the very time of trial.
When?
Most everything happens slowly, especially change in our lives and in our churches. God has God’s own time and schedule. My job is to do my job and let God be God.
Rejoicing Instead of Complaining
Complaint doesn’t have to be our default. I’m learning from friends that there is always reason to rejoice in the goodness of God, even when nothing seems to be going their way.
Stature
Jesus both lowers and elevates. That’s how the gospel works: the high are humbled and the lowly lifted so all stand on the same level.

Commentary: Truth-Seeking Leads to Truth-Telling
A few weeks ago the phone rang.
Northern Virginia refugees supported by ecumenical Homework Club
Volunteers from a UCC congregation in Virginia are spending a lot of time doing homework, assisting and accompanying refugee families in their community through their involvement in the Good Neighbor Project's Homework Club.
Commentary: The modern-day peonage of medical debt
Erasing people’s medical debt – as the United Church of Christ and its partners recently did for 5,888 families on Chicago’s South Side – begs big questions about poverty, public policy and public attitudes. The Rev. Patrick Duggan, executive director of the UCC Building and Loan Fund, addresses these in this commentary, as do other […]
Oregon church sees hosting 'houseless' people on its property as Christian duty
More than a dozen people with no place else to live has established a camp on the property of a UCC church in Corvallis, Ore. So, First Congregational United Church of Christ has started a "Safe Camp" ministry to host and support them.

American Jesus
What would it mean for Christians to find their identity in Christ with an understanding of Christ’s lowliness?
Sidewalk Angels
There have been instances when I have encountered “challenges” and no “sidewalk angel” has appeared. This time one did.
You Too
You touched without permission. You silenced with intention. You were the problem. You are the problem.
Ready, Willing and Able for Peace
When the President told the United Nations that the United States was “ready, willing and able” for such destruction, he meant my husband.
The Lie of White Supremacy
White supremacy is a lie. It prompts us to indulge the theologically, socially, and economically unjustifiable.

'Imteachment': Educators bring Congress into the classroom
How do you teach impeachment without students becoming partisan? Teachers say it takes a commitment to civility and sticking close to the facts.
‘Remember the sabbath’: How one family lives the Fourth Commandment
For Laura Nash, spending time together as a family on the Sabbath has been important. Part of a series on the Decalogue in modern life.
Giuliani, Ukraine, and back-channel diplomacy. Three precedents.
Presidents have used close aides or friends to handle international assignments, particularly at times of national stress. What’s different this time?
Democrats are winning in suburbs. In rural America, it’s another story.
In Minnesota, two suburban pickups for Democrats in 2018 were counterbalanced by two rural districts that flipped in favor of Republicans.
For US veterans, what does it mean to heal a moral injury?
Moral injury, sometimes described as a “wound to the soul,” remains a little-recognized phenomenon a quarter-century after it was first diagnosed.

Bruising Labor Battles Put Kaiser Permanente’s Reputation On The Line
Kaiser Permanente just avoided a nationwide strike by thousands of workers, but now faces a new strike threat Monday. The labor battles are exposing the health care giant to scrutiny from lawmakers, health care advocates and others who accuse it of no longer living up to its nonprofit ideals.
Flavor Bans Multiply, But Menthol Continues to Divide
As states and communities ban the sale of flavored tobacco products linked to vaping, anti-smoking activists are piggybacking on the momentum to target menthol cigarettes. But some African Americans say menthol cigarette bans will lead to discrimination.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Elections Matter
Key Democratic wins in 2019 state elections in Virginia and (probably) Kentucky could have big implications for health care in general and Medicaid in particular. And in the Democratic presidential primary, Elizabeth Warren is catching flak from all sides over her “Medicare For All” plan. This week, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Caitlin Owens of Axios […]
When Caring For A Sick Spouse Shakes A Marriage To The Core
A long illness creates a real risk: that the relationship will be undermined and essential emotional connections lost.
Rural Seasonal Workers Worry About Montana Medicaid’s Work Requirements
Montana is one of several states that want Medicaid recipients to prove they work a steady, minimum number of hours monthly. Will federal courts allow the Montana rule change to stand?

About 75 Headstones Toppled At Omaha Jewish Cemetery
Forensic specialists are investigating the vandalism at the Temple Israel Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.
Italian Holocaust Survivor Placed Under Police Protection After Anti-Hate Campaign
Liliana Segre, 89, who was sent to Auschwitz when she was 13, has said she receives about 200 anti-Semitic threats a day on social media.
Christian Comedian Popular On YouTube Accused Of Harassing Multiple Women
A Christian magazine reports the women say John Crist used his status as a religious celebrity to sexually harass them.
Mormon Teen Hid Siblings, Walked Hours For Help After Drug Cartel Ambush In Mexico
Devin Blake Langford was one of the few children who emerged uninjured after a highway massacre killed nine members of his community.
'Jesus Is King' Is Kanye West's Ninth Consecutive No. 1 Album Debut: Billboard
The highly anticipated gospel album also led Billboard’s Christian and gospel albums charts — a first for West.

Delegates Challenged to Be Brave and to Unbind
Related: Worship Outlines (PDF) Timoth Sylvia Sermon (PDF) Sara Scott-Smith Reflections (PDF) VIDEO: How would you charge the Southern New England Conference to respond to Jesus' call to unbind Lazarus? By Tiffany Vail Associate Conference Minister for Communications It was hard to miss the theme of this year's Annual Meeting. There it was in huge, […]
Keynote Speaker Calls for Revolutionary Love
Photo by Drew Page By Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker Valarie Kaur started by educating the 700+ crowd on how to pronounce the word Sikh. It’s ‘sick’ and not ‘seek’ as many people say, and it means students of truth. Kaur - a Sikh activist - was encouraging the 700 Christians in the room get to […]
Delegates Set a Foundation of Justice
Wendy Miller Olapade speaks on the resolution Wanting to start out on a solid base of principles, delegates of the soon-to-be Southern New England Conference on Saturday voted in favor of a set of Foundational Justice Commitments at the Annual Meeting on Nov. 1. “At the heart of our Southern New England Conference of the […]
'Southern New England Conference' It Is
Delegates take a vote early in the Annual Meeting Nov 1 - 2 in Worcester, MA By Tiffany Vail Associate Conference Minister for Communications It’s official. Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ was overwhelmingly approved at the Saturday Annual Meeting as the new name for the new Conference. Provisionally called Together, As […]

At a church forum, Elizabeth Warren says she is open to suspending deportations
RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — Speaking at Umstead Park United Church of Christ, Warren was grilled about economic and political issues at a forum organized by the national Latino advocacy organization Mijente. The post At a church forum, Elizabeth Warren says she is open to suspending deportations appeared first on Religion News Service.
At a church forum, Elizabeth Warren says she is open to suspending deportations
RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — Speaking at Umstead Park United Church of Christ, Warren was grilled about economic and political issues at a forum organized by the national Latino advocacy organization Mijente. The post At a church forum, Elizabeth Warren says she is open to suspending deportations appeared first on Religion News Service.
What the media isn't saying about the history of Mormon polygamy in Mexico
(RNS) — Polygamous Mormons didn't go to Mexico in the late 19th century in defiance of the church; the church sent them there with its blessing. The post What the media isn't saying about the history of Mormon polygamy in Mexico appeared first on Religion News Service.
RNS Updated Budget — November 8, 2019
NEWS STORY RNS-Latino-Catholics: Study finds US Latinos are no longer majority-Catholic. Here are some reasons why. LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Latinos in the United States are no longer majority-Catholic, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. In 2018-19, 47% of Latinos identified as Catholic, that’s down from the 57% a decade ago. The study, […]
Death doulas guide the way for those who face the end of life
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (RNS) — As they face dying, some older Americans are turning to death doulas, trained caregivers who guide the dying through the spiritual and logistical challenges they face at the end of life. The post Death doulas guide the way for those who face the end of life appeared first on Religion […]

Remembering the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre When Police Shot Dead Three Unarmed Black Students
The 1968 Orangeburg massacre is one of the most violent and least remembered events of the civil rights movement. A crowd of students gathered on the campus of South Carolina State University to protest segregation at Orangeburg's only bowling alley. After days of escalating tensions, students started a bonfire and held a vigil on the […]
"We Can't Afford to Wait for the DNC": Why Black Lawmakers Organized an Environmental Justice Forum
The first-ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice takes place tonight in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where six presidential candidates will take to the stage at South Carolina State University. African-American communities and people of color on the frontlines in South Carolina have been fighting for justice in the face of extreme environmental racism for years. We […]
Warren, Booker & Steyer to Take Part in First-Ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice
We broadcast live from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, where tonight the first-ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice will be held. Six presidential candidates — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson, John Delaney and Joe Sestak — are participating. The forum is hosted by the National Black Caucus of State […]
Headlines for November 8, 2019
George Kent: Giuliani Carried Out Smear Campaign Against U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, U.S. and China Aim to Roll Back Some Tariffs, "A Warning": Anonymous Senior Official Slams Trump in New Book, Michael Bloomberg Preparing to Jump Into 2020 Race, Sanders Immigration Plan: Abolish ICE & Create Path to Citizenship, Undocumented Students to Stage Walkout to […]
"The Pollinators": New Film Shows How Decline of Bee Colonies Could Mean Collapse of Food Chain
A documentary film "The Pollinators" tells the story of the world's yellow-black jacketed honey bees, whose existence may determine the future of human survival. The insects pollinate nearly all the fruits, vegetables and nuts we consume, and some experts estimate one out of every three bites of food we eat depends on the work of […]

How The Fugitive Slave Act Paved The Way For The Civil War
Author Andrew Delbanco says Northerners began to realize slavery wasn't just a Southern issue after the passage of the 1850 law. His book is The War Before The War. Originally broadcast Nov. 6, 2018.
'Marriage Story' Reveals The Messy, Heartbreaking Toll Of Divorce
No one outside a marriage can know the truth of it, but actors Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson bring the audience awfully close in Noah Baumbach's devastating drama about splitting up.
Amid Heightened Partisanship, A War Brews Between Trump And Congress
New York Times Magazine writer Emily Bazelon talks about impeachment and the Constitution: "The kind of polarization that we have right now is something that the founders really didn't grapple with."
From Anorexia To Political Intrigue, New Operas Tackle Contemporary Topics
Ellen West, a new one-act chamber opera presented by Opera Saratoga, is based on a tragic poem by Frank Bidart, while Poul Ruders' The Thirteenth Child draws on a relatively obscure Grimm fairy tale.
'We're All Struggling': Writer Saeed Jones Reflects On Identity And Acceptance
"It was perilous to be a black gay boy in America," Jones says of the fear and isolation he experienced growing up in Texas in the 1990s. His new memoir is How We Fight for Our Lives.

Pious Pledges and Consecrated Keggers
Can Christian fraternities and sororities redeem a campus culture bruised from hazing and drowning in alcohol? Hours after sunset, the air was still muggy at the house I rented with three other college seniors in Fort Worth, Texas. Several students gathered around a folding table in a citronella-tanged backyard lit by tiki torches, lobbing ping-pong […]
What Kanye West’s Sunday Service Taught Me About Grace
When I visited Kanye's Sunday Service, I was met by contradiction, a mix of characters, and a spiritual lesson. It’s Sunday morning and I’m on my way to worship service—a normal part of my weekend routine except for the fact that it’s 4 a.m., I’m embarking on a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Sacramento to Southern California, […]
Split the Cedars of Lebanon: Evangelicals Balance Prayer, Protest, and Politics in Ongoing Uprising
With a prayer tent going up in Beirut square, participants see a “spiritual dimension” to anti-corruption demonstrations. At first, it was two high school girls. The education minister in Lebanon had just canceled classes nationwide due to an explosion of popular anger at proposed taxes. Public squares in Beirut and other cities swelled with demonstrations. […]
Despite HHS Change, Christian Foster Agencies Still Fight LGBT Requirements
The new federal policy doesn’t stop legal battles on the state and local levels. Evangelicals celebrated the recent news that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will no longer enforce an Obama-era mandate that required foster and adoption agencies receiving federal funds to place children with same-sex couples. But while the new policy […]
My Advice to Struggling Artists: Seek First God’s Kingdom
The key to creativity is worship and prayer. A few years ago, I walked into Cason Cooley’s studio in East Nashville—a warm room strung with lights and jammed full of guitars and pianos and books—and sat down with my friends to start a new project. I looked around, thinking about all the other times I […]

Stolen Without a Trace, Artwork Turns Up 7 Years Later in Los Angeles
A woman taking stock of inherited goods discovered signed prints worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Stop Blaming Black Homophobia for Buttigieg’s Problems!
Let’s put an end to this racist trope.
Should Facebook Be Fact-Checked?
And why are millennials turning to the occult?
Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Is King,’ From the Gospel Perspective
Gospel music insiders on the rapper’s turn to religious music and how his album relates to contemporary holy hip-hop.
The Overstated Collapse of American Christianity
Three reasons the narrative of rapid secularization is incomplete.

The Scientific and Ethical Elements of Human Enhancement
Human enhancement may be just around the corner. How do Americans view these emerging technologies that may one day enhance our human capabilities? The post The Scientific and Ethical Elements of Human Enhancement appeared first on Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech.
U.S. Public Wary of Biomedical Technologies to ‘Enhance’ Human Abilities
Americans are more worried than enthusiastic about using gene editing, brain chip implants and synthetic blood to change human capabilities The post U.S. Public Wary of Biomedical Technologies to ‘Enhance’ Human Abilities appeared first on Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech.
American Voices on Ways Human Enhancement Could Shape Our Future
Focus group participants discuss biomedical developments that could boost the performance of people’s bodies and brains The post American Voices on Ways Human Enhancement Could Shape Our Future appeared first on Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech.
Human Enhancement
The scientific and ethical dimensions of striving for perfection The post Human Enhancement appeared first on Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech.
Video: Are science and religion in conflict with each other?
A majority of the public says science and religion often conflict, but fewer say science conflicts with their own beliefs. And highly religious Americans are less likely than others to see conflict between faith and science. The post Video: Are science and religion in conflict with each other? appeared first on Pew Research Center: Internet, […]

Puerto Rico pastors get a break from post-Hurricane Maria stress
Churches in Puerto Rico are at the stressful and demanding front lines of meeting needs left by Hurricane Maria two years ago. They include UCC Disaster Ministries’ Hurricane Maria recovery partner IEUPR (Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico). More than 80 IEUPR pastors and staff got a break October 16-21 at a retreat in Punta Cana, […]
Share the message of preparedness with your friends and family this Christmas!
Send joyful Christmas greetings and provide your friends and family a practical tool to get prepared for natural disasters at the same time. Disaster Preparedness Christmas Cards from United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries include a complete up-to-date list of what should be included in an individual ‘Go-Bag’ – a bag that is prepared to grab and […]
Hurricane Michael recovery gets going in Florida Panhandle
$5,000 seed grants from UCC Disaster Ministries will go toward costs for four Hurricane Michael long-term recovery groups in the Florida Panhandle - Liberty (County) Strong, Gadsden (County) Strong, Citizens of Gulf County Recovery Team and the North Florida Inland Long-Term Recovery Group (Jackson and Calhoun Counties). The UCC also is supporting recovery in Bay […]
In Puerto Rico, UCC and IEUPR complete 105 roofs!
UCC Disaster Ministries and the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico (IEUPR) have completed the restoration of 105 Maria-damaged homes to date, especially the repair of roofs, with the help of 420 volunteers. Immediate goal: by June 2020, restore 45 more roofs wait-listed to be fixed to bring the total to 150. UCC Disaster Ministries will […]

WCC: Berlin Wall 30th anniversary commemorated as Germany tackles rising tensions
Thirty years ago, on 9 November 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, the Nicolaikirche in Leipzig had gained a reputation as a gathering point for events signalling the end of an era of communist rule in what was then East Germany. The Leipzig city and parish church of St Nikolai had been the place where […]
AACC First Theological Symposium
Theme: Misleading TheologiesOctober 23rd –27th 2019, Nairobi, Kenya STATEMENT FROM THE SYMPOSIUM“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you always, even unto […]
Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola grieves passing of Reverend Henriques Etaungo Daniel
The Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola (IECA) shares the sad news of the passing of The Reverend Henriques Etaungo Daniel on October 24, 2019, at the age of 86.
Global Ministries Board Pilgrimage to Sri Lanka and India, September 2019
As part of the Southern Asia Initiative, seven members of the Common Global Ministries Board traveled to Sri Lanka and India in September. There, they met and visited projects of various Global Ministries’ partners to celebrate relationships and to walk Together in Hope. The following reflections will take us through their pilgrimage around these colorful […]

WeWork-ers are trying to organize without a union
Former WeWork head Adam Neumann walked away with a $1.7 billion payout when he was forced out of the company. Now, ahead of the planned layoffs of thousands of workers, WeWork employees are organizing to make demands of management. It’s not the only workplace trying to unlock the power of informal organizing. Plus: The lasting […]
The recession that wasn’t (yet)
The risk of a possible recession appears to have died down. So what happened? And are regular business owners and consumers feeling any better about the economy? We look into it. Then, what you need to know about Xerox’s offer to acquire HP and other cash and stock deals. Plus: AI isn’t quite here yet, […]
Working hard or hardly working?
Productivity was down 0.3% last quarter, which isn’t a seismic change, but it’s part of a downward trend. Americans are working hard, so why are they working in the slow lane? We look into it. Plus: how climate change is affecting the wine industry, why a country short on affordable housing also has millions of […]
Feeling the trade war on the farm
We’re taking the macro and micro angles on the trade war today. First, looking at the factors that caused the U.S. trade deficit to fall more than 4% to $52.5 billion. Then zooming in to look at how farmers in Montana are stinging from the hit on their income caused by trade war. Plus, conversations […]
‘Tis the season (for open enrollment)
Halloween’s over, so you know what that means … it’s open enrollment! And this year, the marketplace has more “skinny” health care plans. But one person’s cheap, streamlined coverage package is another person’s “crappy insurance.” Plus: Why the government is concerned about TikTok, Apple’s affordable housing play and making the “perfect” Thanksgiving dinner.

United but Not Uniform: Finding Faith at the Women’s Convention
Thousands of women gathered in Detroit over Halloween weekend for the Women’s Convention, a conference meant to build upon the energy of January’s Women’s March—the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Our Women and Girls Campaign Associate Jenna Barnett attended the gathering to learn what role faith played in this Convention. She was surprised by what […]
Black and DACAmented in the U.S.
With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in limbo, our Associate Web Editor Dhanya Addanki talked to Patrice Lawrence and Mwewa Sumbwe of the UndocuBlack Network about what the end of DACA could mean. This network was founded by undocumented black immigrants who wanted to center the voices of black undocumented people that […]
Can Virtual Reality Rescue Humanity?
Video games have long been dismissed from mainstream audiences as shallow or immature, but can they be something more? Our multimedia editor JP Keenan traveled to the "Games For Change" festival to talk with game designers about the power of "empathy games" and learn about future of virtual reality to see if it's the game […]
How These Christian Activists Are Putting the Death Penalty on Trial
In January 2017, 18 anti-death penalty activists were arrested and taken to jail for protesting against the death penalty on the steps of the supreme court. On this episode, our Associate Web Editor, @dhanyaddanki, talks to three of the 18 arrested death penalty abolitionists about why they fight against capital punishment. @ShaneClaiborne, Derrick Wayne Jamison, and SueZann […]
You Can’t Mute All the Trolls: How to Be a Journalist in 2017
On today's episode, our deputy web editor @chwoodiwiss chats with with journalists @sullivanamy, @dawn_cherie, and @ayshabkhan about something journos usually don’t like talking about: when doing our job becomes too much. We discuss the public's rising suspicion of journalism, dealing with traumatic images, fending off Twitter hate, and—whew—why we still love the work. For more, read our companion piece in […]

Letters to the Editor (Resurrecting this Historical Section): Redefining Anthropology?
Editor’s Note The lifeblood of science and social science is competition among ideas in healthy debate testing scholarly standards and findings. In recent years, as standards have begun to disappear in social science and as journals begin to advocate for doctrine in place of social science and discipline, the opportunity to challenge colleagues (and editors) […]
Returning Discipline to the Discipline: A Model Procedure for Reviews in Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Other Related Disciplines
This piece uses participant observation of and research into disciplinary procedures to reveal that review policies in anthropology, other ‘social sciences’, and related disciplines have become arbitrary and politicised with little to protect professional standards of a discipline and to avoid conflicts of interest that prejudice scholarship. To address the problem, this piece takes the […]
The Nonsense and Non-Science of Political Science: A Politically Incorrect View of ‘Poly-T(r)ic(k)s’
The purpose of this short essay is to highlight the failures in contemporary Political Science by sketching a small model of what the discipline would look like if it were in fact a “discipline” driven by scientific questions and methods responsive to public benefit rather than to indoctrination and control. Rather than simply accept, on […]
An International Legal Scholar’s View on “Is Economics in Violation of International Law? Remaking Economics as a Social Science”
An Ecological Economist’s View on “Is Economics in Violation of International Law? Remaking Economics as a Social Science”
Introduction Is mainstream economics with its many theories and recommendations compatible with international law, such as the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007) or the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992 (UN Rio Declaration, 1992)? Are globally renowned universities teaching economics in ways that violate international law? Can […]

It’s A Wonderful Life
Click for details The post It’s A Wonderful Life appeared first on The Religious Coalition.
2019 Unity Campaign
2019 Unity Campaign: September 11-22 2019 Click Here to Make A On-Line Donation to this year’s campaign Why Is The Unity Campaign So Important? Our Goal is $30,000- Your gift will be boosted by matching funds The post 2019 Unity Campaign appeared first on The Religious Coalition.
Newsletter: Summer 2018
Download Our Summer Newsletter Here The post Newsletter: Summer 2018 appeared first on The Religious Coalition.
2019 Run (or Walk) for Shelter
Thank you for supporting the 11th Annual Run (or Walk) for Shelter! For Finisher Times-Click Here The post 2019 Run (or Walk) for Shelter appeared first on The Religious Coalition.
2017 Report to the Community
2017 Report to the Community 2017 was a huge year of growth for us! We turned over a new leaf aesthetically and internally. We hired new talent, and we keep developing in fresh and innovative ways. We expanded programs and pruned old ideas. Our energy was put into changing and growing, moving towards sustainability and longevity […]

5 facts about crime in the U.S.
Both violent and property crime in the U.S. have declined over the long term, but Americans regularly say crime is up. The post 5 facts about crime in the U.S. appeared first on Pew Research Center.
Far more immigration cases are being prosecuted criminally under Trump administration
The first full fiscal year of the Trump administration saw large increases in the number of people arrested and criminally prosecuted for immigration offenses. The post Far more immigration cases are being prosecuted criminally under Trump administration appeared first on Pew Research Center.
Only 2% of federal criminal defendants go to trial, and most who do are found guilty
Trials are rare in the federal criminal justice system: Just 2% of criminal defendants went to trial in 2018. Acquittals are even rarer. The post Only 2% of federal criminal defendants go to trial, and most who do are found guilty appeared first on Pew Research Center.
From police to parole, black and white Americans differ widely in their views of criminal justice system
Attitudes vary considerably by race on issues including crime, policing, the death penalty, parole decisions and voting rights. The post From police to parole, black and white Americans differ widely in their views of criminal justice system appeared first on Pew Research Center.
The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking
Blacks have long outnumbered whites in U.S. prisons. But a significant decline in the number of black prisoners has narrowed the gap. The post The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking appeared first on Pew Research Center.

PBS NewsHour: Russia’s war in Ukraine leads to historic split in the Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been under the authority of Moscow since 1686. Until the 2014 war with Russia, that situation bothered few. Now a growing number of congregations, approximately 500 so far, have joined a new independent Ukrainian … More → The post PBS NewsHour: Russia’s war in Ukraine leads to historic split […]
PBS NewsHour: Following Father Theodore Hesburgh through Civil Rights era
The new documentary, “Hesburgh,” explores the life of Father Theodore Hesburgh, who served as a long-time president of the University of Notre Dame and is recognized now as one of the most important civic and educational leaders of the 20th … More → The post PBS NewsHour: Following Father Theodore Hesburgh through Civil Rights era […]
VIDEO: California’s first Muslim judge on faith and public service
Justice Halim Dhanidina was recently elevated to California’s Courts of Appeal, making him the state’s most senior judge of Muslim faith. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent David Tereshchuk talks with Dhanidina about engaging with supporters and critics alike, and setting an … More → The post VIDEO: California’s first Muslim judge on faith and public service […]
America’s Foremost Muslim Judge
America’s Foremost Muslim Judge By David Tereshchuk It wasn’t exactly a surprise for Halim Dhanidina to get a call in 2012 from California Governor Jerry Brown’s office saying he’d been picked to serve as a judge on the state’s Superior … More → The post America’s Foremost Muslim Judge appeared first on Religion & Ethics […]
The relationship between science and religion
The friction between science and religion goes back centuries. While the conflict often lies in beliefs and research, the common ground between the two is sometimes left unexplored. Researchers dive deeper into this debate. The post The relationship between science and religion appeared first on Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

About 75 Headstones Toppled At Omaha Jewish Cemetery
Forensic specialists are investigating the vandalism at the Temple Israel Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.
Italian Holocaust Survivor Placed Under Police Protection After Anti-Hate Campaign
Liliana Segre, 89, who was sent to Auschwitz when she was 13, has said she receives about 200 anti-Semitic threats a day on social media.
Christian Comedian Popular On YouTube Accused Of Harassing Multiple Women
A Christian magazine reports the women say John Crist used his status as a religious celebrity to sexually harass them.
Mormon Teen Hid Siblings, Walked Hours For Help After Drug Cartel Ambush In Mexico
Devin Blake Langford was one of the few children who emerged uninjured after a highway massacre killed nine members of his community.
'Jesus Is King' Is Kanye West's Ninth Consecutive No. 1 Album Debut: Billboard
The highly anticipated gospel album also led Billboard’s Christian and gospel albums charts — a first for West.

Meet the Pastor Who Performs Exorcisms Over Skype
Evangelical Pastor Bob Larson performs physical exorcisms on people who believe they’re possessed by the devil. But because this is the 21st century, he also performs them over Skype. Larson has built a business by exorcising demons via video chat, using hand gestures–like crossing people’s foreheads by waving his pointer finger in front of the […]
We’re Gonna Let You Finish, Christianity, But Yeezianity Is The Best Religion OF ALL TIME
In a track off his 2013 album Yeezus, Kanye West requested that we a) hurry up with his damn croissants and then b) remember that he is a God. An anonymous group of people have taken that song pretty literally, it seems, because they’ve formed an official religion centered around Kanye called Yeezianity. According to its website, […]
Here’s an Interactive Birthday Card for the Pope’s 77th Birthday
People who visit the English version of the Vatican’s website today will see a 32-page interactive pop up that says “Best Wishes, Holy Father” in honor of Pope Francis’s 77th birthday, The Guardian reports. Viewers hear a “whoosh” sound as they click through this compilation of photos of the Pontiff and some of his most inspirational quotes […]
The Grand Canyon Will Make You Believe in God
Calling all churches, Planet Earth is your new marketing tool. Though the BBC’s nature-focused series is far from a religious promotional video, a new study shows that Americans who watch Planet Earth are more likely to believe in a god or a higher power, the Independent reports. In a new study published in the journal Psychological Science, scientists asked a […]
Atheists Embrace Megachurch-Style Services
While evangelical Christians are known for celebrating faith in God at mega-churches, now atheists are celebrating their lack of faith in God in a “mega-church” setting. The Associated Press profiled the Sunday Assembly, a movement started in London in January 2013 that’s spearheaded by two British comedians, Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, who are bringing atheists together in […]