[Some] hospitals have begun to embrace programs targeted at spiritual support in addition to physical care. Those programs are supported by a growing body of research on the health benefits of spiritual practice.(Thorp, NPR)
Read MoreWe are “in an entirely different era,” said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “The technological access to pornography has exploded.” He said that warrants reconsidering rulings from decades past that invoked the 1st Amendment to strike down anti-pornography measures. (Savage, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreDriven by Islamic extremism, authoritarian regimes and war, high-level persecution and discrimination impacted 380 million Christians around the world in 2024, according to the annual World Watch List report by the evangelical nonprofit Open Doors released Wednesday (Jan. 15). (André, Religion News Service)
Read MoreEveryone knows about the events of 9/11. But few are aware that, a century and a half before, September 11 was associated with a ghastly act of violence that was similarly driven by religious zealotry and a desire to punish Americans. The events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which took place in early September 1857, and came to their horrific conclusion on the 11 September, have been called “the darkest deed of the 19th century”. (Larman, The Telegraph)
Read MoreTikTok users are pushing back against the looming TikTok ban set to potentially go into effect Sunday by downloading a Chinese app called RedNote, which some users are calling “China’s TikTok.” TikTok’s ban was largely derived from national security concerns related to TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and many users are moving to RedNote as an explicit form of protest. (Rosenblatt, NBC News)
Read MoreJohnson made the comments shortly after the House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in a 218-206 vote, with all House Republicans and two Texas Democrats — Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar — voting in favor of the bill. The legislation bars transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports from elementary school through college. (Jenkins, Religion News Service)
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