Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 4/8/2026

Is Christianity making a comeback?*
New York Times: Some see Easter Sunday’s packed pews and overflowing chapels as a sign of a religious revival. But experts are urging caution.
Religion News Service: Why we are not in a Catholic revival — despite increase in adult baptisms 

Faith has always gone to space. Artemis II shows how much it has changed.
Religion News Service: Both Apollo 8 and Artemis II missions included public references to religion, but astronauts aboard the Artemis’ Orion spacecraft struck a broader, more global tone.

New Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit is the real deal*
Christianity Today: After an embarrassing snafu in 2020, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., celebrates an authentic documents display.‌

Texas interfaith coalition speaks up for Muslims’ religious freedom
Baptist News Global: As Republican elected leaders in Texas seek to limit the activities of Muslim organizations, an interfaith coalition has issued a plea to defend Muslim neighbors and their religious freedom.

A project to save rural synagogues grows from Maine to Montana
AP: Rabbi Rachel Isaacs is leading a movement to strengthen rural synagogues and Jewish communities around the country. They’ve reached dozens, and they’re hoping for many more.

The Spark

Mardi Gras Indians, or Black Masking Indians, carry on tradition in stunning, painstakingly crafted suits
Tribe members spend countless hours and thousands of dollars sewing and adorning their suits with beads, plumes and rhinestones over the course of a year, preserving a tradition that historians say dates back to the 1800s in New Orleans, CBS News says.

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