Thursday's News & Ideas - 11/18/2021

Catholic bishops greenlight communion document, but don’t single out politicians
Religion News Service: After months of controversy, a much anticipated document barely mentioned politicians at all.

What Americans hear about social justice at church — and what they do about it
The Conversation: The recent book “Race and the Power of Sermons on American Politics” uses 44 national and regional surveys conducted between 1941 and 2019 to examine racial differences in who hears messages about social justice at church.

How meatpacking work and faith intersect in the heartland
Religion & Politics: Over the past century, the expansion of the meatpacking industry in rural areas has created high demand for workers willing to perform difficult and dangerous jobs.

Hate speech in Myanmar continues to thrive on Facebook
Associated Press: Years after coming under scrutiny for contributing to ethnic and religious violence in Myanmar, Facebook still has problems detecting and moderating hate speech and misinformation on its platform in the Southeast Asian nation, internal documents viewed by The Associated Press show.

One chaste marriage, four kids, and the Catholic church*
The New York Times: A son reflects on his parents’ commitment, endorsed by the Catholic church, to cohabit chastely like “brother and sister” to avoid mortal sin.

The Spark

The bad guys are winning
If the 20th century was the story of slow, uneven progress toward the victory of liberal democracy over other ideologies — communism, fascism, virulent nationalism — the 21st century is, so far, a story of the reverse,* The Atlantic says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers