Friday's News & Ideas - 12/10/2021
- Americans critical of exemptions to vaccines
- Women leading in Black churches
- Josh Duggar found guilty
- Buddhists in WWII camps
- Churches promote vaccine trust
- The apocalypse is boring now
1 in 10 Americans say the COVID-19 vaccine conflicts with their religious beliefs
NPR: Only 10% of Americans believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine conflicts with their religious beliefs, and 59% of Americans say too many people are using religious beliefs as an excuse not to get vaccinated.
Women breaking through to top roles in Black churches
Associated Press: Most major Black Christian denominations in the U.S. have no doctrinal bar to ordained women leaders in the way that Catholicism and some other denominations do. Yet denominational leadership remained all-male until the 21st century, and women are still the exception in the top rungs.
Josh Duggar found guilty in child sex abuse materials case
Christianity Today: “The right result happened not because of the faith community, not the family, or even the church,” one advocate said.
Work exploring how Buddhists kept their faith in WWII detention camps wins Grawemeyer prize*
Louisville Courier Journal: A scholar who explained how Japanese American Buddhists remained true to their faith even after being forced into U.S. detention camps during World War II has won the 2022 Grawemeyer Award in religion.
Some pastors fear talking about vaccines. Bishop Horace Smith sees them as a blessing.
Religion News Service: Church leaders can play an important role in promoting COVID-19 vaccines to keep communities safe — if they build trust.
The Spark
We’re living through the ‘boring apocalypse’
Many people aren’t so afraid* of COVID-19 anymore, complicating public health authorities’ efforts to slow Omicron’s spread, The New York Times says.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
