Monday's News & Ideas - 1/24/2022

Thích Nhất Hạnh, Zen master who preached compassion and nonviolence, dies
Religion News Service: The Vietnamese Buddhist monk, described as ‘the second most famous Buddhist in the world, after the Dalai Lama,’ by one expert, founded a worldwide network of monastic centers.

Association of Black Seminarians calls for renaming of Princeton Theological Seminary chapel
The Daily Princetonian: The chapel’s namesake — Samuel Miller, PTS’s second professor who taught at the school in the early 19th century — owned slave labor throughout his life.

Religious women have abortions, too. And many faiths affirm abortion rights.
NBC News: It’s long overdue for the American public to recognize the diversity of religious positions in the abortion debate in this country — and for our courts to honor them.

In the face of antisemitism, synagogues strike a difficult balance between safety and openness
Deseret News: In the wake of the antisemitic incident in Colleyville, Texas, there is an increased sense of urgency around security training for the Jewish community
Associated Press: Texas synagogue holds services, Jewish faithful show defiance after hostage crisis

Venue Church in Chattanooga in shambles over pastor Tavner Smith’s alleged affair
The Daily Beast: The drama has unfolded like a soap opera, with rumors, a parade of employee exits, and a suggestive videotape.

The Spark

The school shooting generation grows up
After coming of age in a world wholly unprepared to deal with the aftermath of mass school shootings, an early wave of survivors is now in their 30s and 40s, grappling with the present, Vox says.