Thursday's News & Ideas - 2/2/2023

At Tyre Nichols’ funeral, VP Harris and Sharpton among those praying and promising reform
Religion News Service: “When we talk about public safety, let us understand what it means in its truest form: Tyre Nichols should have been safe,” the vice president said.

National Prayer Breakfast schism: Why has this annual D.C. tradition split in two?*
Slate: The National Prayer Breakfast, the annual event for thousands of lawmakers, foreign dignitaries and lobbyists to gather in D.C. and pray for the unity of the country and the wisdom of its leaders, has experienced a schism.

Two congregations force LGBT debate on Evangelical Covenant Church*
Christianity Today: Can human sexuality be a nonessential issue for a denomination that seeks to “stand in the center”?

Muslim-American opinions on abortion are complex. What does Islam actually say?
NPR: Despite inaccurate and offensive takes on what Islam allows, the belief in abortion to protect a woman’s wellbeing is precisely what has given some Muslim Americans confidence in their own reproductive decisions.

Nonreligious young adults say they are more open to religion than older adults, but campus ministers say that’s still a delicate opportunity
Baptist News Global: According to a recent Gallup Poll, 75% of U.S. adults who have no religious preference say they are “not interested at all” in exploring religion in the future. But broken down by age, young adults are more inclined than older adults to be interested in exploring religion.

The Spark

Bring back dodo? Ambitious plan draws investors, critics
The dodo bird isn’t coming back anytime soon. Nor is the woolly mammoth. But a company working on technologies to bring back extinct species has attracted more investors, while other scientists are skeptical such feats are possible or a good idea, says the Associated Press.

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