Friday’s News & Ideas - 6/26/2026
- SCOTUS rules against Haitians
- Asbury cut by UMC
- US founders' radical idea
- Prodigal Son interpretation varies
- Voluntary school prayer popular
- Design solutions fight extreme heat.
Ohio pastor shares how the SCOTUS ruling on TPS holders will affect his community
NPR: The Supreme Court is letting President Trump remove protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian refugees. Michel Martin asks a pastor in Springfield, Ohio, about his city's Haitian community. (4-Minute Listen)
Asbury Theological Seminary cut by United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage issue
Religion News Service: The decision was attributed to Asbury’s objections to the new version of the denomination’s social principles that no longer solely affirm heterosexual marriage.
The US founders’ other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and government
The Conversation: European colonizers in lands that became the United States did link church and state. But the architects of the new nation broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.
Two interpretations of the Prodigal Son: reform or recovery?
Mockingbird: Western readers tend to see it as a story of “reform,” Eastern ones as a story of “recovery.”
Survey: Does America want prayer and the Ten Commandments in schools?
USA Today: Americans are more likely than not to favor religious expression in public schools, though most agree participation should be voluntary, a national survey has found.
The Spark
European cities are using clever design solutions to fight extreme heat. Will they work?
Governments are pairing long-term urban design solutions like green roofs and tree plantings with quick fixes for more urgent needs, Fast Company says.
