Friday’s News & Ideas - 12/19/2025
- Nativity scenes are political
- Christian nationalism worldview
- ‘Heaven-talk’
- Austrian nuns await decision
- NY moves to legalize assisted suicide
- Refuge near detention center
All nativity scenes are political*
The Christian Century: The anti-ICE and “Christ in the rubble” nativity scenes are also theologically profound — and fully in keeping with the best Christmas traditions.
The Christian nationalist worldview behind America’s new security posture
Religion News Service: The National Security Strategy summons familiar fears that secularism and multiculturalism threaten a divinely inspired social order.
We need more ‘heaven-talk’*
Sojourners: Why escapism is actually theological genius.
Austrian nuns await word from the Vatican on whether they can stay in their convent
NPR: In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, Sisters Rita, Regina and Bernadette said they were responding to a request from the Vatican to “spend Advent and Christmas in inner peace and reflection.”
New York moves toward legalizing doctor-assisted suicide
Religion Unplugged: New York state is on track to legalize physician assisted suicide for adults in early 2026, joining 12 other states and Washington D.C. that allow such intervention.
The Spark
In the shadow of an immigrant detention center, a small house offers refuge
Amid rising ICE arrests, volunteers provide aid — a meal, a bed, gas money — to anyone visiting someone detained in remote rural Georgia, The Marshall Project says.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
