Monday’s News & Ideas - 9/22/2025

Charlie Kirk memorial showcases the union of Trump, Republicans, and conservative Christianity*
Rolling Stone: “We want religion brought back to America,” Donald Trump said. “We want to bring God back into our beautiful U.S.A. like never before.”
The New York Times: Behind Charlie Kirk’s spiritual journey that fused Christianity and politics*

Silent retreats are surging in popularity. Religion is optional.*
The Washington Post: The growing interest in meditation and contemplation cuts across faith traditions as many seek escape from technology and daily stress.

How the spiritual sound of the shofar shapes the Jewish new year — a Jewish studies scholar explain
The Conversation: It’s the Jewish High Holiday season, and Jews the world over are preparing to visit their local synagogues — for community, for prayer, and to hear the arresting, soulful sounds of the shofar.

A mission field at home: How Christian America welcomed its first Chinese immigrants
Religion News Service: In Michael Luo’s “Strangers in the Land,” Chinese immigrants encounter a Christian culture that is unyielding even as it is welcoming.

Lawsuits accuse former California megachurch pastor of child sex abuse in Bucharest
The Associated Press: A former Riverside megachurch pastor has been accused of sexually abusing and trafficking children for years at a shelter he ran in Bucharest, according to lawsuits filed by two Romanian men in U.S. District Court in California.

The Spark

The 25 greatest picture books of the past 25 years
Children’s literature* is not the same as when we were little. In many ways, it’s better, Slate says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers