Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Behold, The Millennial Nuns
posted on July 15, 2019For HuffPost, Eve Fairbanks reports on a new generation of young women exploring vocations as Catholic nuns. The number of nuns has dropped from 180,000 in 1967 to fewer than 50,000 in 2010, but the thanks to apps such as VocationMatch.com, the religious life is attracting some young, high-achieving women. Fairbanks writes, “And the aspiring sisters aren’t like the old ones. They’re more diverse: Ninety percent of American nuns in 2009 identified as white; last year, fewer than 60 percent of new entrants to convents did. They’re also younger.”
When ‘Black Lives Matter’ Is Invoked in the Abortion Debate
posted on July 12, 2019John Eligon of The New York Times reports, “In many black communities, the abortion debate is inextricably tied to race in ways that white communities seldom confront.” Some African American pastors and congregants embrace a religiously conservative view that abortion is wrong, Eligon writes, “But having seen firsthand how their communities have been hurt by high incarceration rates, economic disinvestment and a lack of educational opportunities, some have a hard time embracing what they see as one-size-fits-all abortion bans.”
“Our Duty to Fight”: The Rise of Militant Buddhism
posted on July 8, 2019Hannah Beech of The New York Times reports on radical religious-nationalist movements in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, two Buddhist-majority nations where militant strains of Buddhism are taking hold. Politically powerful monks warn that Buddhist populations are under siege, inspiring Buddhist mobs to attack Muslim minority populations. Beech writes, “As the tectonic plates of Buddhism and Islam collide, a portion of Buddhists are abandoning the peaceful tenets of their religion.”
The Curious Mystical Text Behind Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Bid
posted on July 5, 2019For The New York Times, Sam Kestenbaum profiles Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, with a focus on the mystical text that inspired her performance at the recent debate and fueled her career as a celebrity spiritual guide. Kestenbaum writes, “She was, in fact, drawing directly from a homegrown American holy book called ‘A Course in Miracles,’ a curious New York scripture that arose during the heady metaphysical counterculture of the 1960s.” While some have dismissed her theology as shallow, others embrace her self-help ethos.
Preaching Faith in Democracy
posted on July 3, 2019For The New York Times, Courtney E. Martin writes about “Civic Saturdays,” gatherings that feature fellowship, poetry, and readings and are designed to encourage greater civic engagement across political lines. The brainchild of Eric Liu and Jena Cane, this civic analogue to church has hosted meetings across the nation and includes a free “Civic Seminary” funded by grants from the Einhorn Charitable Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Martin writes, “The heart of the service is the sermon, designed to get congregants thinking beyond the day’s headlines to deeper themes of their democracy.”
Protesters shut down traffic in Boston over detention centers
posted on July 3, 2019The Boston Globe’s Zoe Greenberg and Danny McDonald report on a march in Boston that included about 1,000 Jewish activists and others protesting immigrant detention centers. Many protesters wore Jewish prayer shawls and head coverings and were part of a nationwide push of young Jews advocating for immigrant rights across the country. Greenberg and McDonald write, “Stosh Cotler, the CEO of Bend the Arc, a national group of progressive Jews, said Jewish activists draw on a long history of migration, asylum-seeking, and detention when they fight for migrants’ rights today.”
Fear, Misinformation, and Measles Spread in Brooklyn
posted on June 25, 2019For Wired, Amanda Schaffer reports on the battle inside Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jewish community, where misinformation about vaccines spread through a tight-knit parents network and contributed to a measles outbreak in New York City. The piece focuses on an Orthodox nurse’s efforts to educate parents about vaccine safety, as well as one woman’s campaign to spread fears of vaccines through conference calls and a popular handbook. Schaffer writes, “Roughly 40,000 copies of the pamphlet appeared in kosher grocery stores and by apartment doors in Williamsburg and Borough Park, as well as in ultra-Orthodox communities in upstate New York and New Jersey.”
The Global Refugee Crisis Hit a Record High. The U.S. Welcome for the Persecuted Is at a Record Low.
posted on June 25, 2019For Christianity Today, Griffin Paul Jackson reports on new data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that showed the number of displaced people last year reached an historic high of 70.8 million worldwide. Advocates say those fleeing religious persecution are at risk, noting the Trump Administration reduced the number of spots for asylum seekers by more than half, a departure from decades-long policy. Jackson writes, “The number of Christians welcomed to the U.S. from countries with the worst records of religious persecution has dropped by 70 percent, and the number of Muslims coming from such countries is down 90.7 percent.”
Joe Biden and other candidates speak to diverse faith leaders, activists
posted on June 18, 2019Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins reports on a forum on poverty that drew former Vice President Joe Biden and several other high-profile Democratic presidential candidates to Washington, D.C. Jenkins writes, “Attendees at the gathering of religious progressives peppered the onetime Delaware senator with questions about how he would address issues impacting the poor, including whether he would campaign in the South — a region that faces some of the largest issues of poverty.” Organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, the Poor People’s Moral Action Congress featured remarks by other White House hopefuls including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Kamala Harris.
New documentary on Charleston church shooting explores idea of forgiveness
posted on June 18, 2019For The Washington Post, Jamie Aten interviews documentary director Brian Ivie, whose new film reflects on the massacre of nine black church members by a white supremacist in Charleston, S.C. Produced by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis and NBA star Steph Curry, “Emanuel” was released to mark the fourth anniversary of the 2015 murders at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Aten writes, “The new documentary does not explicitly address gun violence or gun policy, but the powerful stories told by the survivors allow viewers to consider the implications and draw their own conclusions.”