Wednesday's News & Ideas - 11/9/2022

Despite Mastriano’s loss, don’t count out Christian nationalism
Religion News Service: Now that Mastriano’s campaign is grappling with defeat, what does his loss say about the purported surge of Christian nationalism among Republicans?

U.S. tensions are high. Chaplains at the polls tried to keep peace.*
The Washington Post: They were on hand to offer spiritual guidance, calm and bipartisan assistance at polling stations in 10 battleground states on Tuesday.

Japan PM promises law to help Unification Church victims
Associated Press: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday he will speed up the drafting and passage of a law to regulate the collection of donations by religious groups and protect families of believers after he met with victims of the Unification Church and was heartbroken by their “horrendous experiences.”

French cardinal’s admission renews scrutiny of church sexual abuse*
The New York Times: A cardinal’s admission that he had behaved “reprehensibly” with a 14-year-old girl over three decades ago was one of several revelations that threw a gathering of French bishops into turmoil this week, renewing scrutiny of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in France a little over a year after a landmark report on the pervasiveness of the issue.

Divine renovation: as churchgoing declines in Australia, places of worship go on the market
The Guardian: Faced by rising repair costs, parishes are being forced to sell. But some in the community are concerned about the fate of historic buildings.

The Spark

Don’t lick this toad, National Park Service says
The National Park Service posted an unusual request on Facebook last week warning visitors not to lick the Sonoran desert toad (Incilius alvarius), says Smithsonian Magazine. These amphibians secrete a powerful psychoactive toxin strong enough to kill an adult dog.

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