Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 10/8/2025
- Effect of woman as archbishop
- Miners, religion and labor rights
- Texas churches teaching English
- Chicago clergy & ICE protests
- Parasocial power of AI
- Tracking ICE in LA
A woman as archbishop of Canterbury will come at a cost. She may also bring more welcome change.
Religion News Service: Mullally’s appointment is a landmark moment in a broader trend of women’s presence becoming gradually stronger in her denomination.
From the pulpit to the picket line: For many miners, religion and labor rights have long been connected in coal country
The Conversation: Cecil Roberts likens miners’ struggles to biblical stories, references the power of God and the teachings of Jesus, and speaks in the dynamic cadences found in an Appalachian church.
After education funding cuts, Texas churches expand English classes for some students
NPR: Some protestant churches in Texas are quietly embracing a new mission: providing ESL instruction to immigrants. Baptist churches in Plano, Waco and Austin say they're seeing rising enrollment.
In Chicago, clergy and faith-based protesters say ICE is threatening their religious freedom
Religion News Service: Despite potential danger, religious leaders and faith activists have been a visible presence at Chicago-area ICE protests, some waving signs with slogans such as ‘Love thy neighbor’ and ‘Who would Jesus deport?’
The parasocial power of AI*
The Christian Century: For some reason, it is sometimes easier for us to see personhood in a chatbot than in a fellow human.
The Spark
The volunteers tracking ICE in Los Angeles
A small group of activists dubbed the Peace Patrol* stymie the deployment of federal agents in California, The New Yorker says.
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
