Thursday's News & Ideas - 11/17/2022

Faith groups split over bill to protect same-sex marriage
Associated Press: Among U.S. faith leaders and denominations, there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law.
Religion News Service: How opposition to Prop 8 led Latter-day Saints to back Senate’s same-sex marriage bill

‘Nondenominational’ is now the largest segment of American Protestants
Christianity Today: US Religion Census finds independent congregations have surged in the last decade.

How religion intersects with Americans’ views on the environment
Pew Research Center: Responsibility for the Earth is part of many U.S. Christians’ beliefs, but so is skepticism about climate change.

‘At 52, I abandoned everything, every friend, every family member’: The top official who escaped Scientology
The Guardian: After 45 years in the church, Mike Rinder became disillusioned and walked out. He talks about daily life in the organization, being disciplined in ‘the Hole,’ and his hopes of reconnecting with his children.

As Trump launches new presidential bid, will former faith advisers back him?
Religion News Service: Most have remained silent about his new campaign, while others have hinted at allegiances to other potential contenders such as Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis.

The Spark

Meet the Brooklyn barber whose home has become a haven for Venezuelan migrants
In the heart of Bushwick is a Venezuelan barber who for years has opened his Brooklyn home to friends, acquaintances and strangers arriving from his native country, Gothamist says.

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