We asked an array of thinkers — futurists, scientists, foreign policy analysts and others — to lay out some of the possible “Black Swan” events that could await us in the new year: What are the unpredictable, unlikely episodes that aren’t yet on the radar but would completely upend American life as we know it? (Walsh, Politico)
Read MoreA new Pew Research Center report on the religious composition of the 119th session of Congress, convening today for the first time, reveals that the majority of its members are Christian. (André, Religion News Service)
Read MoreIs reincarnation real? Is communication from the “beyond” possible? A small set of academics are trying to find out, case by case. (Solomon, The New York Times)
Read MoreYoung, single men are flocking to the Orthodox church after discovering the “masculine” Christian religion through online influencers. Some converts said they felt disillusioned with the “feminisation” of the Protestant church and were attracted to the “authenticity” of Orthodoxy, which they claim pushes them physically and mentally. (Coen, The Telegraph)
Read MoreA small number of ethnic Albanian Christian activists, all converts from Islam, are urging their ethnic kin to look to the church as an expression of their identity. They call it the “return movement.” (Higgins & Mejdini, The New York Times)
Read MoreAs American 30-somethings increasingly bypass the traditional milestones of adulthood, economists are warning that what seemed like a lag may in fact be a permanent state of arrested development. (Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal)
Read More