People demonstrate outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 3, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare
Photo by Florian Schmetz/Unsplash/Creative Commons April 13, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — Possibly the most oft-repeated statistic in American religion is the rise of the religiously unaffiliated from just 5% of the population in the early 1970s to about 30% of adults in 2022. In a field where shifts typically move at a glacial pace, that
Photo by Becca Tapert/Unsplash/Creative Commons March 22, 2022 By Alejandra Molina (RNS) — A survey of nonreligious people reveals that women are more likely than others to encounter stigma and discrimination in nearly every area of their lives — social media, education, employment, the military and within their families — because of their beliefs. The report, “Nonreligious
People pray at the base of the Washington Monument as they march from the Lincoln Memorial to Capitol Hill during Franklin Graham’s Prayer March at the National Mall, in Washington, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) March 16, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — Last month I wrote about one area of consensus amid the two
Food is prepared for the community kitchen at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Brookings, Oregon, in October 2021. Photo courtesy of St. Timothy’s February 15, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — One of the most consequential legal terms in the 21st century may be “religious freedom.” As my colleague University of Cincinnati political scientist
Photo by Edward Cisneros/Unsplash/Creative Commons January 13, 2022 By Jack Jenkins WASHINGTON (RNS) — A religion scholar believes major trends in religion and politics can be traced back to the rise of the religious right in the 1990s, a sea change moment that set in motion an array of phenomena ranging from an uptick
Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. The mob proceeded to breach the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) January 5, 2022 By Samuel L. Perry (RNS) — One year ago at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the world witnessed one way
American flags on display in Boston. Photo by Valentino Funghi/Unsplash/Creative Commons October 14, 2021 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — Richard Rorty, the late philosophy professor, once claimed that religion is a “conversation stopper” — the ideal way to end any debate. For instance, if someone says in a debate, “It’s against God’s law for anyone
Photo by Caniceus/Pixabay/Creative Commons September 17, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Religion provided great comfort to evangelical Christians in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to a study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, their politics made them less likely to see the virus as a threat. Researchers Landon
Hands raised in worship. Stock photo June 28, 2021 By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) — The health of Black churchgoers can differ depending on the denomination and the gender of the people in the pews, Duke University researchers have found, and scholars are urging more nuanced examination of the data to help address medical issues
