News & Ideas

Friday's News & Ideas - 3/6/2020

  • Democratic Party & religion
  • Universities respond to coronavirus
  • Meditation Evensong
  • Anti-abortion already won
  • Uighur detainees’ labor
  • Quarantine & inequality

The Democratic Party is not antithetical to religion
Religion & Politics: To be sure, there are rising numbers of religiously unaffiliated Democratic voters, yet the Democratic Party’s secular image seems erroneous when one considers how often candidates have folded religious rhetoric into their campaigns.

6 ways universities are responding to coronavirus
NPR: Higher education in the United States is more of an international community than ever, and that means the impacts of the coronavirus have been felt broadly across the country already

Meditation and surround sound meet prayer in Brooklyn church
Associated Press: Welcome to sound bath Evensong.

No matter what the Supreme Court decides, abortion opponents have already won
Vox: As the Supreme Court considers a Louisiana law, this is how anti-abortion groups see the direction of the country.

Those shoes were made by a Uighur detainee
The Nation: China forces Muslim minorities to produce materials that may be used by Nike, Uniqlo, Zara, and other retail giants. It’s time for the fashion industry to talk about divestment.

The Spark

When coronavirus quarantine is class warfare
A pandemic is a great way to examine American class inequities,* The New York Times says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers

Want to get News & Ideas in your inbox every weekday?
Subscribe to our
News & Ideas newsletter or receive our RSS feed in your RSS reader.



Sign up to receive religion news every weekday in the free News & Ideas newsletter

Signup options

Most recent News & Ideas

Friday’s News & Ideas - 2/6/2026

  • National Prayer Breakfasts
  • Progressive Christian campus groups
  • How polarization affects churches
  • Theology of immigration
  • Legacy of St Francis
  • Mass market paperbacks

Thursday’s News & Ideas - 2/5/2026

  • Different types of protests
  • Muslims renewing NY
  • Canada’s new archbishop
  • Reprieve for OH’s Haitians
  • Rafah crossing opens
  • Murder of The Washington Post

Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 2/4/2026

  • Clergy’s protest music
  • Polarization killed mainline
  • Syrian Jews reclaim homes
  • Charlotte Communion dispute
  • Muslim-owned thrift shop
  • Children with schizophrenia
Lilly logo

Lilly Endowment Inc. announces Exploring Christian Practices Initiative

The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith. 

In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative and provide compelling and thoughtful responses to its guiding questions. The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants and announcing grant awards in December 2026.

The Endowment will host four virtual information sessions (February 17, 19, 24, and 25) to discuss the Exploring Christian Practices guidelines for submitting a proposal. An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.

Learn More and register for information sessions