News & Ideas

Tuesday's News & Ideas - 5/14/2024

  • Analyzing Methodist split
  • Vodou grows in Haiti
  • Psychedelic churches
  • Turkey converts church to mosque
  • Religious indie games
  • Cat at Watergate

What the Methodist split tells us about America
Vox: A separation of church and church.

Shunned for centuries, Vodou grows powerful as Haitians seek solace from unrelenting gang violence
Associated Press: Shunned publicly by politicians and intellectuals for centuries, Vodou is transforming into a more powerful and accepted religion across Haiti, where its believers were once persecuted.

Drugs, sacraments or medicine? Psychedelic churches blur the line.*
The New York Times: Organizations that describe themselves as churches are providing psychedelics to followers. The compounds, which show promise as treatments for depression, are illegal in most settings.

After Hagia Sophia, Turkey converts a second ancient Byzantine church into a mosque
Religion News Service: Muslim worshippers at the mosque on Friday said they viewed Chora Church’s rededication as an Islamic site to be a national win for Turkey.

2024 is the year of the hyper-religious indie game
The Gamer: Indie games are appropriating Catholic iconography or including religious themes

The Spark

A beloved alley cat now lives in the Watergate. Was she kidnapped, or rescued?
This is the saga of Kitty Snows,* street queen of Foggy Bottom, and the neighbors who are fighting over her, The Washington Post says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers



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