Thursday’s News & Ideas - 11/6/2025

Supreme Court soon to hear a religious freedom case that’s united both sides of the church-state divide 
The Conversation: Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections involves whether an inmate of a minority religious group, the Rastafarians, can sue for monetary damages after the warden violated his religious rights — specifically, the right to not cut his hair.

Young queer Christians are going on a new kind of pilgrimage  
Thrillist: After feeling cast out of their old houses of worship, religious-leaning LGBTQ young people seek welcoming pews, even if they have to travel.

Mary was not co-redeemer, Vatican says amid spread of cult of the Madonna 
The Guardian: Pope Leo approves decree saying co-redeemer title risks eclipsing exclusive role of Jesus in saving humanity.

Who wrote this prayer? Discernment, trust and the spirit in the age of AI  
Religion News Service: The question isn’t whether a machine can pray, but whether we still know how to listen for the Spirit, says priest and senior vice president at the General Theological Seminary. 

‘That girl from Andover’* 
The Christian Century: Phyllis Trible gave me two gifts: her groundbreaking biblical scholarship and an unassuming friendship, writes a Biblical scholar and Phyllis Trible mentee.

The Spark

Martha Washington to Melania Trump: How US first ladies through history have harnessed the power of fashion 
From “mother of the nation” to Flotus fashionistas, what have their unique styles signaled about themselves, their role and their eras, asks the BBC.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers