Friday's News & Ideas - 10/1/2021

Southern Baptists, at impasse, postpone vote on sex abuse probe for a week
Religion News Service: At issue is whether the Executive Committee can shield from investigators certain communications it has received from its lawyers.

Globally, social hostilities related to religion decline in 2019, while government restrictions remain at highest levels
Pew Research Center: The number of countries with terrorist activity related to religion declines for a fifth consecutive year.

California man gets life sentence for fatal synagogue attack
Associated Press: A 22-year-old white supremacist was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for bursting into a Southern California synagogue on the last day of Passover in 2019 with a semiautomatic rifle, killing one worshipper and wounding three others.

California plans to replace a toppled statue with a monument to Native Americans
NPR: California will replace a former statue on state capitol grounds honoring the Spanish missionary Junipero Serra with one celebrating Sacramento-area Native American tribes.

Americans are in a mental health crisis – especially African Americans. Can churches help?
The Conversation: Centuries of systemic racism and everyday discrimination in the U.S. have left a major mental health burden on African American communities, and the past few years have dealt especially heavy blows.

The Spark

We’re already barreling toward the next pandemic
This one is far from over, but the window to prepare for future threats* is closing fast, The Atlantic’s Ed Yong says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers