Friday's News & Ideas - 7/30/2021

Survey: Vaccine hesitancy declines among faith groups, spurred partly by religious appeals
Religion News Service: A new survey finds vaccine hesitancy has fallen among Americans overall and among all religious subgroups in just three months, with many who once balked saying they embraced inoculation against COVID-19 at the urging of faith leaders.
PRRI: Religious identities and the race against the virus

Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick criminally charged with abusing a 16-year-old
Crux: Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was criminally charged in Massachusetts on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974.

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church celebrates paid-off debts at major meeting
Religion News Service: ‘Livingstone College, Hood seminary, and Clinton College — debts have all been satisfied,’ announced AME Zion Bishop George Edward Battle Jr.

Is it legal to ask nominees to federal office if they believe in God?
Deseret News: A Republican senator from Louisiana is in hot water after he brought God into a recent confirmation hearing.

Homeownership can bring out the worst in you
Vox: It’s the biggest thing you might ever buy. And it could be turning you into a bad person.

The Spark

Sunisa Lee didn’t owe the U.S. gold. Her victory is a gift, especially to her Hmong community.
To be part of a diaspora* means to create a home in lands that don’t want you in them; to constantly carve out spaces just so you can exist. Lee is a product of that resilience, The Washington Post says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers