Thursday’s News & Ideas - 5/7/2026
- SBC member numbers decline
- Trust in health influencers
- Pope Leo’s first year
- Women take Orthodox exam
- Death penalty abolition
- Living like Costco people
Southern Baptist membership declines for 19th consecutive year*
AL.com: The Southern Baptist Convention reported this week that membership fell for the 19th year in a row, down to about 12.33 million U.S. members in 2025, but it remains the largest Protestant denomination in America.
Trust in health and wellness influencers
Pew Research Center: Some 40% of U.S. adults say they ever get health and wellness information from social media influencers or podcasts.
Themes of peace and human dignity have been central to Pope Leo as he marks his first year in office
The Conversation: In an age where power is concentrated in the hands of a few, the pope has urged Christians to make a “radical choice in favor of the weakest.”
Three women sit for Israeli Rabbinate’s exam, amid growing recognition for Orthodox Jewish women’s religious leadership
The Conversation: Three women sat for an exam administered by Israel’s Rabbinate, the latest sign of growing recognition for women’s religious leadership within Orthodox Judaism.
Death penalty abolitionists at work in Ohio and Tennessee
Baptist News Global: More than 500 faith leaders signed a May 4 letter to the Ohio General Assembly pleading with lawmakers to strike down the state’s capital punishment system altogether.
The Spark
I want to live like Costco people
Some of us are crying in H Mart; some of us are mourning in Costco, Taste says.
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