Wednesday's News & Ideas - 3/31/2021

Georgia faith leaders to leave water bottles around Capitol in protest of new voter laws
Religion News Service: Faith leaders also joined in a lawsuit charging that provisions of Georgia’s new law are unconstitutional and violate the Voting Rights Act.

Democrats and Republicans agree Biden is Catholic. But they still see his faith differently
Deseret News: While both Democrats and Republicans say that President Joe Biden is Catholic, the partisan divide emerges when asked just how religious Biden is. Most Americans know less about Vice President Kamala Harris’ spiritual life.

Why do chaplains have to pay for their internships?
Sojourners: Earlier this month, after a tweet reignited a debate about the inequity of unpaid internships, one corner of the internet pointed out that clinical pastoral education, an unpaid internship that often costs tuition, is an overlooked part of the work-for-free problem.

Building a mosque in France, never easy, may get even harder*
The New York Times: The country’s principle of secularism has long disadvantaged Muslim communities, experts say, and President Emmanuel Macron’s new law against Islamism could deepen the disparities.

Secular pilgrims: Why ancient trails still pack a spiritual punch
The Guardian: Where kings and abbots walked, tourists now follow. Are these increasingly popular trips just another holiday or are we getting more religious?

The Spark

This woman, 82, dresses to the nines each Sunday for virtual church. Her selfies have become legendary.
It’s been more than a year now that churchgoers have been watching virtual streaming Sunday services on their cellphones and computers during the pandemic. Many have made a habit of tuning in while wearing cozy sweatpants or pajamas. Then there’s La Verne Ford Wimberly* of Tulsa, The Washington Post says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers

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