Thursday’s News & Ideas - 4/9/2026

Pentagon-Vatican meeting latest flash point in Trump's clash with religious leaders
RNS: The increase in faith-fueled militaristic rhetoric is pitting the president against a growing list of faith leaders, ranging from local clergy to the pope.

Church of England expected to formally apologise for its role in forced adoptions
The Guardian: Survivors of the UK’s mother and baby home scandal – in which hundreds of thousands of children were forcibly separated from their mothers – have welcomed the news after years of campaigning for recognition.

How an ‘agnostic atheist’ got students to scrutinize their faith*
The Assembly: Bart Ehrman dissected the Bible at UNC-Chapel Hill for four decades. He wanted his students to think seriously about what it means to believe — and they did.

The quiet witness and prodigious career of pioneering gay Adventist pastor Leif Lind
Spectrum: In this interview, Leif Lind says his career is an institutional anomaly that proves that faith does not need all the answers to survive, but requires the practice of justice and mercy.

AI religious objections at work emerge as new employer concern
Bloomberg Law: Artificial intelligence in the workplace has employers grappling with a new legal issue: whether to accommodate employees seeking exemptions from using the technology because of their religion.

The Spark

17 poignant images from the 2026 World Press Photo Contest
From wildfires in Spain to a polar bear feast in Norway to a wedding amongst floods in the Philippines, photographers capture moments across the globe.

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