News & Ideas

Friday’s News & Ideas - 5/1/2026

  • ‘Black voters will persist‘
  • Camp Mystic's leadership
  • Adam Hamilton runs for office
  • Penalizing disabled adults
  • Mother mourns slain son
  • 10 lessons on ending the fossil fuel era

The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Black churches know exactly what to do.
Religion News Service: We have been here before, and each time the Black church did not simply encourage participation. We enabled it, writes Traci Blackmon.

The testimony that pushed Camp Mystic’s leaders to announce it will not reopen in 2026*
Texas Monthly: Investigators revealed that Dick Eastland, the camp’s executive director who died in the July 4 flood, enforced a culture of obedience that likely contributed to the chaos that unfolded during the disaster.

The pastor of the nation’s largest Methodist church is running for the US Senate in Kansas
AP: The Rev. Adam Hamilton enters the race as a potentially formidable candidate, though it appears likely that other Democrats also will make it to the Aug. 4 primary. The winner will face incumbent Republican Roger Marshall.

The Trump Administration aims to penalize disabled adults who live with their families
ProPublica: Protecting the support program is “about how the faithful will be judged, and our care for the most vulnerable,” said Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals, who is the father of a 35-year-old son with Down syndrome.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin on her Jewish faith and her slain son's spiritual quest
Religion News Service: In her new book, “When We See You Again,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin explores the Jewish traditions her family has leaned on in mourning their son, Hersh, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed in Gaza.

The Spark

Hope is contagious and science is king: 10 big lessons on ending the fossil fuel era
At the Santa Marta, Colombia, climate meeting, delegates say it was ‘euphoric’ to finally be focusing on concrete solutions, The Guardian says.

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Thursday’s News & Ideas - 4/30/2026

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  • Chatbots talk to theologians
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  • American religious history
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Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 4/29/2026

  • Opposition to death penalty
  • ‘Wife schools’
  • Can Trump push away evangelicals?
  • Revival that wasn’t
  • Wexner Foundation & Epstein
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Tuesday’s News & Ideas - 4/28/2026

  • Pope, archbishop pray together
  • Ben Sasse reflects on faith
  • Freedom coexists with prejudice
  • Apocalyptic beliefs
  • Mich. clergy urge fasting
  • AI reinvents the rainforest beat
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