Wednesday's News & Ideas - 10/7/2020

In Pennsylvania, Catholic voters are targeted by both sides
NPR: The Trump and Biden campaigns this year are both targeting Catholics, with messages reflecting their differing judgments of how Catholic faith values might push swing voters in one direction or another.

Stop telling Black people to pray for Donald Trump
Religion News Service: Passages about praying for enemies have been turned against oppressed people, forbidding the expression of legitimate human emotions in response to violence and coercing us to silently comply with our own harm.

Backlash grows in Orthodox Jewish areas over virus crackdown by Cuomo*
The New York Times: Rules that would have a pronounced impact on synagogues were met with protests and fires in a part of Brooklyn seeing an uptick in cases.
Religion News Service: Gov. Andrew Cuomo shuts down New York City yeshivas in virus hot spots

Supreme Court questions if religious freedom law prohibits monetary damages
Deseret News: The justices considered whether three Muslim men were entitled to monetary damages under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. They claim being on the list cost them jobs and opportunities.

Christian and Missionary Alliance opens second investigation of Ravi Zacharias
Christianity Today: New claims raise concerns that previous allegations were not thoroughly investigated by his denomination.

The Spark

How the long fight for slavery reparations is slowly being won
The world’s first government-funded slavery reparations program is beginning, The Guardian says. Robin Rue Simmons helped make it happen -- but her victory has been more than 200 years in the making.

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