Christians threaten democracy — and can help save it

 

What does it mean to follow Jesus in a divided America? By Bekah McNeel

‘White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy’ By William J. Barber II

Ensuring access to the polls is a sacred cause By Adam Russell Taylor

Christians threaten democracy — and can help save it Q&A with David P. Gushee

This program gives Black single moms $1,000 a month for a year

As Israel divides Jewish communities, Yiddish draws a new generation
Religion News Service: The language app Duolingo reported that roughly 296,000 people around the world are studying Yiddish as of this year. An estimated 60% of them are under 25 years old.

 

The church fathers of early Christianity are on TikTok
The Conversation: Videos imitating “church fathers,” bishops and theologians who helped shape early Christianity have been popping up across social media since late 2025.

 

Religion’s longstanding gender gap is narrowing among Gen Z. But why?
TIME: Political scientists urge caution when interpreting Gallup’s findings, noting that other polls have not observed the same drastic increase in young men’s religiosity.

 

This program gives Black single moms $1,000 a month for a year. The results are undeniable
The Guardian: The Magnolia Mother’s Trust is the first to target low-income families led by Black mothers in Jackson, Mississippi

 

Americans’ views of Israelis have grown increasingly negative, but views of Palestinians have held fairly steady
Pew Research Center: Following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023 and the ensuing war, however, U.S. public opinion toward Israelis has grown increasingly negative, while views of Palestinians have not changed much.

What the Vatican’s recent decision on the homily teaches about the Church

Why does the Vatican recognize Orthodox marriages but not those of the SSPX? By Victoria Cardiel on Jul 09, 2026 12:28 pm The answer has to do with profoundly different juridical and ecclesial realities. [...] Read in browser » Beyond Kristin Lavransdatter: Sigrid Undset as convert, intellectual, reader of hearts By Rachel Hoover Canto on Jul 09, 2026 11:00 am Editor’s note: Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo recently announced the canonization cause for author Sigrid Undset (1882-1949). In this August 23, 2022, interview, Vivian Dudro, Senior Editor at Ignatius Press, discusses Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P.’s [...] Read in browser » The Magnifica Humanitas case for an under-16 social media ban By Matthew Becklo on Jul 09, 2026 04:00 am On June 15, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a social media ban for children under 16 in Britain. Beginning in early 2027, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, and other similar platforms will [...] Read in browser » Dignitatis Humanae and Social Kingship, Part One By Larry Chapp on Jul 08, 2026 04:31 pm Editor’s note: This is Part One of a two-part essay on the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on religious freedom. ———— One of the constant criticisms from traditionalist Catholics of Vatican II’s document on [...] Read in browser » Diocese of Oslo to open canonization cause for Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset By Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves on Jul 08, 2026 10:30 am Announced during the feast of St. Sunniva on the island of Selja, the cause for the celebrated novelist and Catholic convert is expected to open its diocesan phase this fall. [...] Read in browser » Remembering Robert Wilken By George Weigel on Jul 08, 2026 04:00 am Robert Louis Wilken—radical Christian disciple, devoted husband and father, distinguished patristics scholar, elegant writer, serious baseball guy—died on June 6, a few months short of age 90. Curiously enough, the first thing that comes to [...] Read in browser » “Extra, extra!” News and views for Wednesday, July 8, 2026 By CWR Staff on Jul 08, 2026 03:00 am What JD Vance Found in the Church (First Things): “Like the great African Church Father m[St. Augustine], JD Vance is a man from the backwoods, far from the centers of power.” The SSPX Again Says [...] Read in browser » The Lasting Brilliance of the Second Spring: A Review of Converts By James Matthew Wilson on Jul 07, 2026 08:57 pm “The English Church was, and the English Church was not, and the English Church is once again. This is the portent, worthy of a cry. It is the coming in of a Second Spring,” preached [...] Read in browser » U.S. ambassador describes July 4 dinner with Pope Leo XIV By Andrea Gagliarducci on Jul 07, 2026 10:05 am Speaking with Italian media, Brian Burch said the informal evening showed a pontiff who is both personally at ease with his American roots and conscious of his universal mission. [...] Read in browser » The digital age primed us to exploit and to be exploited By Casey Chalk on Jul 07, 2026 07:32 am From the inception of the Internet, we’ve known that there is a distance between who we are as embodied souls struggling through a fallen world and who we present to be on the Internet, even [...] Read in browser » What the Vatican’s recent decision on the homily teaches about the Church By Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Ph.D. on Jul 06, 2026 06:59 pm The recent decision of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), in conjunction with the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, rejected the request of the German Bishops’ Conference [...] Read in browser » Vatican October meeting to focus on divorce, other family issues By Hannah Brockhaus on Jul 06, 2026 09:28 am Pope Leo XIV has called the presidents of bishops’ conferences to Rome Oct. 7–14 for a weeklong gathering on Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laetitia." [...] Read in browser » Theology of the body and the reality of our mortality By Shemaiah Gonzalez on Jul 05, 2026 03:43 pm My teen son noticed I was a bit quieter than usual as we sat, waiting for Mass to begin. Nothing was wrong, just a bit of fatigue and distraction. But he is the son most [...] Read in browser » The Incarnation and three metaphysical paradoxes By Carl E. Olson on Jul 05, 2026 10:00 am Readings: • Zech 9:9-10 • Psa 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 • Rom 8:9, 11-13 • Matt 11:25-30 The literary critic Hugh Kenner, in Paradox in Chesterton (Sheed & Ward, 1947), distinguished between two types of paradox. [...] Read in browser » 12 Catholic Americans who helped shape the United States By Francesca Pollio Fenton on Jul 05, 2026 08:00 am Here are 12 Catholic Americans whose lives and legacies have left a lasting mark on the United States. [...] Read in browser » Report: Fulani militia overtake Boko Haram as Nigeria’s deadliest terror group By Ngala Killian Chimtom on Jul 04, 2026 03:14 pm A new six-year report has challenged the widespread belief that the Boko Haram terrorist organization and its affiliate, Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, are responsible for the majority of civilian killings in Nigeria. Instead, [...] Read in browser » The Declaration of Independence at 250: An interview with Bradley J. Birzer By Carl E. Olson on Jul 04, 2026 04:00 am Bradley J. Birzer, professor of history at Hillsdale College since 1999, is a prolific author and a good friend. He has written books on Russell Kirk, J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Dawson, Charles Carroll, and drumming legend [...] Read in browser » Should Catholics say the “Pledge of Allegiance?” By Kenneth Craycraft on Jul 04, 2026 03:00 am Many years ago, when my oldest daughter came home from her first day of second grade in our local public elementary school (after having been home-schooled for two years), I asked her how she liked [...] Read in browser » If We Can Keep It By Jayd Henricks on Jul 03, 2026 04:59 pm On September 17, 1787, as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention filed out of the Pennsylvania State House, having just finished the most consequential document most of them would ever sign, a Philadelphia woman named [...] Read in browser » Pope Leo XIV congratulates the U.S. on its 250th anniversary By Francis X. Rocca on Jul 03, 2026 11:51 am The pontiff's letter stressed religious freedom, the right to life, and the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to American history. [...] Read in browser »