Monday's News & Ideas - 5/19/2025
- Rural religious colleges
- Oldest Black church in America
- Churches & pickleball
- Priests & psychedelics
- Nicene church
- How male friendship died
Losing faith: Rural religious colleges are among the most endangered
NPR: The troubles threaten to further diminish access to higher education for rural students, who say they appreciate their colleges’ personal touch and religious values.
A church built by enslaved people inspires an artwork on view in Savannah*
Forbes: The First African Baptist Church in Savannah was founded by enslaved people and is the oldest continually open Black church in North America.
Churches hope to tap the power of pickleball
Religion News Service: Millions of Americans have taken up pickleball, touting its health and social benefits. A growing number of churches want to tap into those benefits — with a side of spirituality.
This is your priest on drugs*
The New Yorker: Dozens of religious leaders experienced magic mushrooms in a university study. Many are now evangelists for psychedelics.
The Nicene church disappeared from Nicaea*
Christianity Today: The creed set the standard for orthodoxy for 1,700 years. But no one professes the faith today in the ancient Turkish town where it was written.
The Spark
How the passionate male friendship died
The “perfect” platonic bond* used to be between two men, The Atlantic says. What happened?
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
