Thursday’s News & Ideas - 8/21/2025

Study suggests online religious services may be less effective than in person
Religion News Service: On average, people attending church in person had a higher heart rate during the service and experienced more transcendence, according to a recent study.

Confessions of a reluctant church volunteer*
Christianity Today: “The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus told us. But will there ever be enough volunteers?

James Dobson, evangelical leader behind Focus on the Family, dies at 89*
The Washington Post: Beginning in the late 1970s, he helped fuel the rise of the religious right, denouncing abortion and same-sex marriage through his radio show and nonprofit.

Texas can’t require public schools to display Ten Commandments in class, judge rules
The Guardian: The law was temporarily blocked after a group sought preliminary injunction, saying it violated first amendment protections.

Episcopal Church removes priest who founded Christian psychedelic society
Religion News Service: Hunt Priest was removed from ministry nearly a decade after participating in a controversial study on clergy and psychedelics.

The Spark

With moves on West Bank and Gaza City, Israel defies global outcry
Israel approved new settlements* in the occupied West Bank, while its troops have reached the outskirts of Gaza City, The New York Times says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers