Thursday's News & Ideas - 9/9/2021

Pandemic is putting the nail in the decline of church construction
Baptist News Global: Decades-long declines in faith affiliation coupled with the pandemic-inspired evolution of online church services are contributing to a huge downturn in religious facility construction in the United States.

Removal of Robert E. Lee leaves Arthur Ashe as Richmond’s remaining witness
Religion News Service: A statue of the tennis great has outlasted the Confederate generals on Monument Avenue.

Two decades after 9/11, Muslim Americans still fighting bias
Associated Press: As young American Muslims grew up under the shadow of 9/11, they faced hostility and surveillance, mistrust and suspicion, questions about their Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.

As church attendance declines, evangelical counterculture bets on revival
Newsweek: The evangelical counterculture, especially its subset of charismatic and Pentecostal Christians, has been fixated on revival for years on various web sites and videos.

Legislating in the name of God*
The New York Times: Sensing the wind at their backs and the Supreme Court on their side, Republican officeholders are no longer coy about their religion-driven mission to stop abortion.

The Spark

The Roe baby
Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, never had the abortion she was seeking. She gave her baby girl up for adoption, and now that baby is an adult. After decades of keeping her identity a secret, Jane Roe’s child* has chosen to talk about her life, The Atlantic says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers