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
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
People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) January 28, 2022 By Samuel L. Perry (RNS) — As the nation remembered the Capitol riots on Jan. 6 earlier this month, a deluge of articles highlighted
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
The Love Power Jesus mural is a well-known landmark in Minneapolis. Image courtesy of Google Maps November 8, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — When the Rev. Janet Gullickson heard that churches would be eligible for Paycheck Protection Program loans at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she sprang into action. Gullickson, pastor of Love
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
Photo by Maria Oswalt/Unsplash/Creative Commons August 9, 2021 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — In May, the state of Texas passed a ban on abortions after six weeks of gestation, in practice making almost all abortion procedures illegal in the country’s second-largest state. Additionally, that same piece of legislation empowers private citizens to sue any individual who has aided in
