Wednesday's News & Ideas - 5/12/2021

Study: Young Jews are moving to polar ends -- secularism and Orthodoxy
Religion News Service: By contrast, the number of Jews identifying as Reform and Conservative -- the two largest branches of Jewish denominational life -- has remained flat.
Pew Research: Jewish Americans in 2020

Lay people have been passing on the Catholic faith for 2,000 years. Now Pope Francis has made it an official ministry*
America: The decree took effect on May 11 and will open the way for many of the more than three million lay women and men catechists around the world to be formally installed into this ministry by the local bishop.

Escalating Mideast violence bears hallmarks of 2014 Gaza war
Associated Press: Rockets streamed out of Gaza and Israel pounded the territory with airstrikes Wednesday as the most severe outbreak of violence since a 2014 war took on many hallmarks of that devastating 50-day conflict, with dozens killed and no resolution in sight.

More churches plan reopenings cautiously, joyfully and with flexibility
Baptist News Global: New CDC guidelines and a growing number of church members being vaccinated are suddenly opening new possibilities for churches that have been closed to in-person gatherings for 14 months.

I got ordained so I can talk about Jesus. Not the female pastor debate.
Christianity Today: As a priest, Tish Harrison Warren is tired of a political battle that distracts from the gospel.

The Spark

COVID-19 upended Americans’ sense of individualism and invited us to embrace interconnectedness -- an idea from Greek philosopher Epicurus
In The Conversation, a British literature scholar explains how philosopher John Locke’s theory of selfhood could hinder recovery from the pandemic.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers

Want to get News & Ideas in your inbox every weekday?
Subscribe to our News & Ideas newsletter or receive our RSS feed in your RSS reader.