Bobby Ross Jr.

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Plug-In: What do we know about the faith of the two latest GOP White House candidates?

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Plug-In: What do we know about the faith of the two latest GOP White House candidates?

A week has passed since influential pastor and author Tim Keller’s death. Look for some of the best tributes to him below.

Making news today: Texas’ GOP-controlled House could impeach scandal-ridden Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and kick the longtime Christian right culture warrior out of office, The Associated Press’ Jake Bleiberg and Jim Vertuno report.

Jumping into this week’s roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith, we start with two new entrants in the 2024 presidential race.

What To Know: The Big Story

Political opposites: “One has the most winning personality in politics,” the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan says of South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

“The other doesn’t but has a story to tell about policy,” Noonan says of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Thusly, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and speechwriter for former President Ronald Reagan characterizes the two aspirants who declared for the GOP nomination this past week.

Scott focuses on faith: “A cornerstone of Republican Tim Scott's political career has been an unyielding faith,” USA Today’s Phillip M. Bailey notes.

Monday’s campaign kickoff by Scott, one of the nation’s most prominent Black Republicans, emphasized his Christian faith and personal story, according to the Washington Post’s Marianne LeVine.

At Politico, Natalie Allison asks, “Can Tim Scott actually win with piles of money, lots of faith and a big bet on Iowa?”


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Plug-In: What's happening with tense Southern Baptists and disunited Methodists?

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Plug-In: What's happening with tense Southern Baptists and disunited Methodists?

It’s time for another roundup of religion news from the mainstream press and beyond. Please click lots of links and pass this along to others.

Among last week’s late-developing headlines: Influential pastor Tim Keller, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, was placed on hospice care, as Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana reported. Keller then passed away a short time later. Click here for the obituary that ran deep inside The New York Times: “The Rev. Timothy Keller, Pioneering Manhattan Evangelist, Dies at 72.” Click here to follow the #TimKeller threads on Twitter.

On a happier note, “The Chosen” — the popular TV show about Jesus and his disciples — seems to be influencing baby names, as the Deseret News’ Mya Jaradat explains.

The major story this week — the material for this post was collected before Keller’s death — concerns doctrinal battles by the Southern Baptists, not all of them in the South, and the United Methodists, who are not so united these days.

What To Know: The Big Story

Back in the saddle?: Last year, the Southern Baptist Convention kicked out Saddleback Church, founded by Rick Warren, for appointing women as pastors.

Now Saddleback is appealing that decision, asking messengers to the SBC’s annual meeting in New Orleans next month to reverse it.

“The appeal extends the standoff between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and one of its largest, most successful churches,” the Associated Press’ Peter Smith writes.

Read related coverage by Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt, Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks, The Tennessean’s Liam Adams and the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.

Affiliation and disaffiliation: Don’t be surprised if those terms end up as the Methodists’ words of the year.


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Plug-In: Another week, more death in U.S. spiritual crisis with guns and mental health

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Plug-In: Another week, more death in U.S. spiritual crisis with guns and mental health

ALLEN, Texas — Nine killed, counting the gunman.

Seven wounded.

Hundreds traumatized by what they experienced while simply trying to shop or eat and enjoy a leisurely weekend afternoon.

In other words, more of the same in America, where mass shootings have become a way of life — and too much death.

I wrote a column about how I ended up in this suburb north of Dallas after the nation’s latest massacre. That’s where we start our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.

What To Know: The Big Story

Prayer and protest: Predictably, Saturday’s shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets reignited the debate on gun control — with President Joe Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on opposite sides.

Thousands — including Abbott — gathered the next day at a community prayer service, while a few dozen protesters outside carried signs such as “Thoughts and prayers are useless” and “We have an epidemic of gun violence.”

Read my report on the clashing messages.

Investigating the motive: Online activity by the 33-year-old shooter, identified as Mauricio Garcia, “betrayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport,” according to The Associated Press.

“Photos he posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Hitler’s paramilitary forces,” adds the story by AP’s Jake Bleiberg, Gene Johnson and Lolita C. Baldor.


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Plug-In: Coronation Of King Charles III -- looking at faith in a changing Great Britain

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Plug-In: Coronation Of King Charles III -- looking at faith in a changing Great Britain

Almost eight months ago, Queen Elizabeth II’s death at age 96 ended her remarkable 70 years on the British throne.

Now all eyes — billions of them anyway — turned to the coronation of her son, King Charles III.

Since this post was written late last week, consider this a pre-event round up the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. GetReligion folks will be looking at the coverage of the event itself — if there are mainstream stories about the faith component in the rites.

What To Know: The Big Story

Protecting all faiths: “Prayer and contemplation will accompany pomp and celebration on Saturday when King Charles III is anointed with vegan holy oil consecrated in Jerusalem and the Archbishop of Canterbury places the St. Edward’s Crown on his head for the first time,” the Washington Times Mark A. Kellner notes.

Saturday’s coronation “will not be the ‘woke’ mash-up some conservatives feared but will be unprecedented in its inclusivity,” the Washington Post’s William Booth reports from London.

“The new king wants to present himself not only as the ‘Defender of the Faith,’ meaning the Church of England, but all faiths, here and across the realm,” the Post adds.

Emphasis on diversity: “Religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh traditions will for the first time play an active role in the ceremonies,” according to The Associated Press’ Danica Kirka.

More from AP:

At a time when religion is fueling tensions around the world — from Hindu nationalists in India to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and fundamentalist Christians in the United States — Charles is trying to bridge the differences between the faith groups that make up Britain’s increasingly diverse society.


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Plug-In: For GOP White House hopefuls, it's time for faith-and-freedom questions again

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Plug-In: For GOP White House hopefuls, it's time for faith-and-freedom questions again

She was 19. I was 22. We said “I do” in a little church east of Oklahoma City exactly 33 years ago today. Happy anniversary to my wife, Tamie!

While you do the personal math on the above numbers, it’s time for another edition of Weekend Plug-in.

As always, I appreciate you reading this newsletter.

Pope Francis arrived in Hungary this morning, “walking, rather than using a wheelchair as he has on the last four foreign trips,” the National Catholic Reporter’s Christopher White notes.

Check out White’s advance coverage of the pope’s trip.

Meanwhile, let’s jump right into the rest of the week’s top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.

What To Know: The Big Story

Is this heaven?: No, it’s Iowa. But not the one with Kevin Costner.

“The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Spring Kick-off event on Saturday represented the first cattle call of the year, a forum for GOP candidates to court an indispensable voting bloc,” Christianity Today’s Kelsey Kramer McGinnis explains.

The key takeaway of McGinnis’ interviews with voters: “The world feels out of control. They want someone who will fix it.”

Trump vs. Pence: At New York Magazine, political columnist Ed Kilgore writes about former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and the “struggle for the souls of Iowa evangelicals.”


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Plug-In: Does requiring a mail guy to work Sundays violate his religious freedom?

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Plug-In: Does requiring a mail guy to work Sundays violate his religious freedom?

Surprise! I mentioned earlier that I’d be on an international reporting trip and unable to produce today’s Plug-in.

Alas, I ran into a visa issue, so here I am. So, today’s news includes:

• Muslims celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday amid joy and tragedy, via The Associated Press’ Abby Sewell.

• Conservative Anglican leaders calling for a break with the Archbishop of Canterbury over same-sex blessings, via the Wall Street Journal’s Francis X. Rocca.

• An Iowa GOP event this weekend that represents a key test of former President Donald Trump’s hold on the U.S. religious right, via the Washington Times’ Seth McLaughlin.

That’s just the start of this week’s best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Let’s keep rolling!

What To Know: The Big Story

High court seeks compromise: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday reviewed “the case of a part-time mail carrier who quit his U.S. Postal Service job after he was forced to deliver packages on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath.”

A majority of justices “expressed interest … in a compromise intended to balance religious rights in the workplace with the burden they might impose on employers and co-workers,” the Washington Post’s Ann E. Marimow reports.

CNN’s Ariane de Vogue explains:

A lower court had ruled against the worker, Gerald Groff, holding that his request would cause an “undue burden” on the USPS and lead to low morale at the workplace when other employees had to pick up his shifts.

Not just Christians: Conservative Christians aren’t the only ones asking for accommodation in the mailman case, Religion News Service’s Yonat Shimron notes.

“Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that gutted a civil rights statute’s protections for religious accommodation,” Shimron’s story points out.

Important context: The Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner recently interviewed Larry Hardison, whose “name was chiseled into American legal history 46 years ago when the Supreme Court ruled against him in a landmark religious accommodation case.”

For more insight, see “A brief history of American Christians fighting Sunday mail” by Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman.


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Plug-In: The Covenant School shootings -- media coverage focused on guns and victims

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Plug-In: The Covenant School shootings -- media coverage focused on guns and victims

Good morning, Weekend Plug-in readers. I wrote Plug-in a day early because headed to Arlington, Texas, for Opening Day, and I’ll be tied up with that important national holiday.

My beloved Texas Rangers open the 2023 season against the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon. Surely this will be my team’s best season ever!

But first, we focus on the week’s big, tragic and violent news from Covenant Presbyterian Church and its school in Nashville, Tennessee, a city close to my heart.

What To Know: The Big Story

Three children, three adults slain: Once again, a mass shooting at a school shocked all of us and surprised none of us.

At a Wednesday night vigil in Nashville, “Each speaker echoed the names of those who did not return home earlier this week.”

The children who died were Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, all 9 years old. The adults who died were Mike Hill, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Cynthia Peak, 61.

The victims were people of strong faith with the children characterized as “feisty” and a “shining light,” according to an Associated Press team, including Nashville-based religion news editor Holly Meyer.

Peaceful day shattered: Monday started with a normal chapel assembly at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian elementary, Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman and Kate Shellnutt report.

Within a few hours, though, the school, which is all about “celebrating” children, became a killing scene, as Reuters’ Sharon Bernstein describes it.

Traumatized survivors were taken to a nearby Baptist church that served as a reunification site for children and parents, as The Tennessean’s Molly Davis explains.

For ongoing coverage, follow religion reporter, Liam Adams.

Making sense of it: In the face of tragedy, petitioning God is an act of faith, New York Times columnist David French writes.


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Plug-In: For two billion Muslims, the fasting season of Ramadan has begun

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Plug-In: For two billion Muslims, the fasting season of Ramadan has begun

Good morning, Weekend Plug-in readers.

I’m back home in Oklahoma after a fulfilling time at the Religion News Association annual meeting in the Washington, D.C., area.

Who’s ready to check out the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith?

What To Know: The Big Story

Islam’s holy month: The new crescent moon Thursday marked the start of Ramadan, as the Washington Post’s Morgan Coates and Adela Suliman report:

Almost 2 billion Muslims around the world will observe a month of abstaining from food, drink, smoking, gossip and sexual relations during daylight hours — from dawn to dusk.

Pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating women are exempt from fasting, as are the sick, elderly or those traveling. Children are also not expected to fast.

The Associated Press explains:

For the next 30 days, Muslims will refrain from eating or drinking anything — even the tiniest sip of water — from sunrise to sunset. Many will strictly observe prayers, read the Quran and donate to charity as they seek to draw closer to God. Family and friends will gather for joyful nightly feasts.

An important time: Ramadan began “as parts of the Middle East approached crucial junctures in high-stakes peace negotiations during the holy month, traditionally a time of reconciliation,” AP’s Jack Jeffery notes.

Schools and sports: Across the U.S., Muslim students are pushing to designate Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan, as a school holiday, Religion News Service’s Alejandra Molina reports.

Meanwhile, two English sports leagues are helping Muslim athletes observe Ramadan this year, according to the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas.

Two more Ramadan reads: CNN’s Saeed Ahmed provides an etiquette guide for non-Muslims. The Deseret News’ Mya Jaradat asks, “Is corporate America ready for Ramadan?”


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Plug-In: News that had the attention of religion-beat pros last week (#RNA2023)

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Plug-In: News that had the attention of religion-beat pros last week (#RNA2023)

BETHESDA, Md. — Greetings from just outside the nation’s capital.

The Religion News Association’s annual meeting was held last week, and I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones.

I attended my first RNA conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in the fall of 2002, just a few months after joining The Associated Press in that same city. I met the late, great Rachel Zoll — then one of AP’s two national religion writers along with the legendary Richard Ostling — at that meeting. What a blessing!

We’ll stick with the RNA theme as we jump into the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

#RNA2023: That was the hashtag to follow the highlights at the religion writers meeting.

Thursday’s program featured reports by academics and journalists on the Spiritual Exemplars project by the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture. ReligionUnplugged.com published a dozen or so of the profiles produced as part of that ambitious project on engaged spirituality.

Godbeat topics: As the conference opened, Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana led a session on “The Future of Houses of Worship.” Plug-in readers may recall that Smietana is the author of “Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters.”

Another session I really enjoyed: The Associated Press’ Holly Meyer moderated a discussion on “Praying and Playing: The Role of Sports in Religion.” In recent months, Meyer covered the Super Bowl ad campaign touting Jesus and wrote about football fans who see prayer as a Hail Mary.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Sex abuse crisis: “These survivors felt betrayed by local SBC officials. What their stories say about reform.”

Once again — as I told him in person Thursday — The Tennessean’s Liam Adams has produced an important, enlightening story about the handling of sexual abuse allegations within the Southern Baptist Convention. His stories are must-reads heading into the SBC’s annual meeting in New Orleans in June.


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