Wednesday's News & Ideas - 12/15/2021

Poll: America growing more secular by the year
Religion News Service: Just 63% of Americans self-identified as Christian this year, a marked drop from 75% a decade ago.
Pew Research Center: About three-in-ten U.S. adults are now religiously unaffiliated
Associated Press: What’s your religion? In U.S., a common reply now is “None”

Dave Ramsey fired employee for taking COVID precautions, suit says*
The New York Times: In his complaint, a former employee says the Tennessee radio broadcaster, an evangelical Christian who has built a personal finance empire, violated his religious rights.
Religion News Service: Christian finance expert Dave Ramsey sued for religious discrimination

Mourning after mass shootings isn’t enough – a sociologist argues that society’s messages about masculinity need to change
The Conversation: Years after the Sandy Hook massacre, school shootings are still frequent. Addressing the problem head-on takes more than ‘thoughts and prayers.’

‘She was stuck underneath a wall.’ Pastor describes holding trapped woman's hand at collapsed candle factory
CNN: After a tornado demolished a candle factory in western Kentucky Friday night, the Rev. Stephen Boyken climbed the rubble and heard someone beneath call out.

How should I pray for the climate?*
The Christian Century: I followed COP26 from a distance. Other Christians showed up in Glasgow and asked God to intervene.

The Spark

COVID is driving a children’s mental health emergency
Deaths of parents and other terrible experiences have hurt hundreds of thousands, so new initiatives* are trying to help families in pain, says Scientific American.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers