What’s left to say about the week’s biggest religion story?

President Donald Trump’s now-famous walk from the White House to the nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church literally broke the internet. Or at least it overloaded the Religion News Service servers. Credit an explosive report by national correspondent Jack Jenkins for that.

Rather than rehash the details from all the stories about Trump’s photo op, let’s see who was paying close attention.

That’s right — it’s time for a pop quiz. I’ll share the answers at the bottom of this column:

1. Did police really use tear gas to break up a peaceful protest so Trump could cross the street and pose with a Bible?

2. Who did authorities expel from the church’s patio before the president’s arrival?

3. What version of the Bible did Trump hold up?

4. Did the Bible belong to Trump?

5. When did the tradition of St. John’s Episcopal Church as the “church of the presidents” begin?

6. What well-known religion writer, in analyzing the president’s visit, wrote that Trump brandished “a Bible like a salesman in a bad infomercial?”

7. Did Trump emerge from the photo op looking like a thug or a hero?

Bonus question: What religious site did Trump visit the day after the church photo op?

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Trump pushes churches to reopen, but black pastors in hard-hit St. Louis preach caution: Hey, remember when the coronavirus pandemic was all we were talking about?

Speaking of which: While many faith leaders have pushed for resuming in-person services, the Washington Post’s Griff Wiffe delves into the concerns of “black pastors in the Gateway City who have spent months seeking to nurture in their congregations a sense of respect for a virus that spreads silently and kills readily.” 

A few other worthwhile COVID-19-related reads:

• Some Old Order Mennonites feel called to return to church, Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski, The Associated Press.

• ‘Panic is not a Christian virtue,’ Emma Green, The Atlantic.

• How COVID-19 and the fight against Big Oil is reviving one Alaskan people's spiritual traditions, Daysha Eaton, Religion News Service.

2. Amid protests, looting and COVID-19, a Minnesota black church hopes and prays: “Just a fabulous story (and great pictures!),” award-winning religion writer Kimberly Winston said of this Religion Unplugged story by veteran journalist Deena Winter.

To which I respond: Amen!

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Winter’s on-the-scene report from St. Paul, Minn., is full of crucial, compelling details. And the ending is superb, a testament to her writing talent. So be sure to read it all.

Continue reading “Time for a pop quiz: 7 questions about Trump's church photo op” by Bobby Ross Jr., at Religion Unplugged.