The book that can inspire both a pope and a politician

ELCA elects first Black presiding bishop, calls Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide  
Religion News Service: The Rev. Yehiel Curry, bishop of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 2019, will serve a six-year term as presiding bishop of the 2.7 million-member denomination. 

Leatherwood quits ERLC  
Baptist News Global: The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) — the SBC’s public policy arm — has been criticized for failing to fall in line with the MAGA agenda. 

Why the right is obsessed with thinness*  
The New York Times: Conservative Christian influencers are reshaping beauty standards and promoting diet culture — and their messages are resonating with women. 

A Catholic AI app promises answers for the faithful. Can it succeed?*  
The Washington Post: It’s like ChatGPT for Catholicism, but the only sources in this large language model are 27,000 documents connected to the church. 

Why many American churchgoers are attending more than one congregation regularly  
Deseret News: Attending more than one religious service became more common during the pandemic; some are continuing the practice, personalizing their religious life by blending faith traditions. 

Evangelical legal group asks Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriage ruling 
Religion News Service: “We think that it’s not a matter of if, but just a matter of when, the Supreme Court will overrule Obergefell,” said Mathew Staver, head of Liberty Counsel.

How a Harvard initiative studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict collapsed 
NBC News: Former staff members in Harvard Divinity School’s Religion and Public Life program say it encouraged a healthy dialogue, but critics accused it of antisemitism.

Matthew Barrett and the Baptist-to-Anglican pipeline 
Juicy Ecumenism: Last week, a prominent Baptist theologian announced he was leaving the SBC for the ACNA (Anglican Church in North America). His departure is emblematic of an evangelical-to-Anglican pipeline among students serious about classical Protestantism, writes a Program Director for the Institute on Religion & Democracy.

The book that can inspire both a pope and a politician* 
The New York Times: What can a fifth-century text by St. Augustine tell us about the priorities of the two most powerful American Catholics?

For the living of these days* 
The Bitter Southerner: Every summer, locals reenact the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, a story that continues to resonate as conservative Christianity’s influence on contemporary politics has only grown. A century later, it’s hard to tell which side won the battle — and whether this is a war that can ever truly be won.