Among the week’s intriguing headlines: Pope Francis is hurrying to bolster his progressive legacy as his health problems increase, the Wall Street Journal’s Francis X. Rocca reports.

In Israel, the political rise of ultra-Orthodox Jews is shaking the nation’s sense of identity, the WSJ’s Dov Lieber and Shayndi Raice note. A related major vote is expected as soon as Sunday.

In the U.S., a crowded field of GOP presidential candidates is vying for the Christian Zionist vote as Israel’s rightward shift spurs protests, according to The Associated Press’ Tiffany Stanley.

Also, “the Robert F. Kennedy boomlet is over,” Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin opines. Before it ended (or not, since he isn’t that interested in mainstream press views), the Democratic presidential candidate gave an exclusive, nearly 40-minute interview to Jewish News Syndicate’s Menachem Wecker.

The King’s College in New York is canceling fall classes and laying off faculty but insists it’s not closing, as Emily Belz at Christianity Today and Meagan Saliashvili at Religion News Service explain.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with former President Donald Trump’s lingering hold on right-wing voters.

What To Know: The Big Story

More of the same: “One of former President Donald Trump’s most steadfast evangelical critics said he expects Trump to be the Republican nominee in 2024, and that the years since Trump’s election in 2016 have been an ‘apocalypse.’”

“There’s a wide-open choice, and still you have a majority in the Republican primary behind Trump,” Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore tells Yahoo News’ Jon Ward. “I would be shocked if he’s not the Republican nominee.” Moore has a new book, ”Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America,” which releases July 25.

Trump’s religious ties: “Some critics see Trump’s behavior as un-Christian,” The Associated Press’ David Crary points out in a story published this morning. “His conservative Christian backers see a hero.”

A new study looked at 807 federal judges named by seven presidents as of late 2020, the New York Times’ Adam Liptak reports. The study found that “judges named by Trump had ‘stronger or more numerous religious affiliations’ with churches and other houses of worship, with religious schools, and with groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and First Liberty, which have won a series of major Supreme Court cases for conservative Christians.”

A twist in Iowa: A “top man of God” — as the Wall Street Journal characterizes Bob Vander Plaats — wants a GOP nominee other than Trump.

The WSJ’s John McCormick writes:

Vander Plaats, who is contemplating an endorsement of someone other than Trump around Thanksgiving, has a record of picking winners — in Iowa, at least. He backed Ted Cruz in 2016, Rick Santorum in 2012 and Mike Huckabee in 2008, all of whom won the caucuses before failing to secure the GOP nomination.

Most top Republican elected officials in Iowa don’t plan to endorse before the caucuses because they want the state to be welcoming to all. So Vander Plaats is one of the biggest names for a potential endorsement in a state where Christian conservatives dominate the GOP caucuses.

In Vander Plaats’ view, “Trump can be beaten in Iowa.”

Insight into voters: The best political story I’ve read in a while is this one by the WSJ’s Aaron Zitner and Simon J. Levien.

They go in depth to explain why the 2024 election is — at its heart — a fight over America’s way of life.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Worship and tourism: “With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic records in Barcelona and across southern Europe, iconic sacred sites are struggling to accommodate the faithful who come to pray and the millions of visitors who often pay to view the art and architecture.”

Reporting from Spain, The Associated Press’ Giovanna Dell’Orto delves into the trend.

2. Suing big oil for God: Missy Sims “may be the most surprising legal figure to emerge as the world grapples with the devastating impacts of a warming planet. An Armani-and-Rolex wearing observant Catholic from a small Midwest town who talks to God as she mulls her complex legal cases, Ms. Sims is also a constant TikTok poster whose dog has more followers than some celebrities.”

In a story from Puerto Rico, the New York Times’ David Gelles profiles Sims.

3. AI meets church security: “A Southern California megachurch will use artificial intelligence to detect firearms brought to the worship center, with the goal of spotting an unauthorized weapon before it can be used and giving security personnel a chance to respond.”

That’s the lede from the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.

Speaking of AI, Religion News Association President Ken Chitwood explores “Reporting on AI and faith: Can new tech be a blessing or a curse?”

CONTINUE READING: “Values Voters And The (Seemingly) Never-Ending Trump Factor“ by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.