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Ebola kiss * Giving stats * Religiously tweeting: Monday's news roundup

Ebola is threatening Liberian culture where kissing cheeks at church is common. Which states give the most to charities? Ones with more church-goers. Plus, find out which religious group tweets the most.
Ebola kiss * Giving stats * Religiously tweeting: Monday’s news roundup
While charitable giving overall has increased in recent years, donations to religious groups have declined slightly.
Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Busy weekend? Here are religion-in-the-news items to get you caught up:

Ebola now threatens Liberian culture, where churchgoers often hold hands while singing and kiss from cheek to cheek.

Fun fact: Many of the Hong Kong protest organizers are also Christians. Foreign Policy looks at why that matters.


While charitable giving overall has increased in recent years, donations to religious groups have declined slightly.

(RNS file photo)

Which states give the most to charity? The ones with church-goers.

An American nun credited with curing a boy’s eye disease moved a step closer to sainthood during the first beatification Mass held in the United States.

Pope Francis opened the synod on family, calling for bishops to stop in-fighting.

Mormons held their General Conference over the weekend, where members of the Ordain Women movement attended their first-ever LDS general priesthood session Saturday night.

Nicolas Cage’s “Left Behind” opened in sixth with an estimated $6.9 million, compared to the other faith-ish film “The Good Lie,” opening at an estimated $935,000.

Harvard Divinity School has introduced an “all gender” restroom.

Wheaton College’s contraception lawsuit has proven divisive within its own community. Unrelated, the college will host a dedication ceremony for its reinstallation of a grave marker of an abolitionist.

Guess which “religious” group tweets the most? Hint: They talk a lot about Richard Dawkins.

A cost-benefit analysis of being Jewish: An economist looks at religion not as a spiritual practice but as a good, something that is bought. How much is it worth?

What would King David drink? A scientist in Israel is on a mission to find out what kind of wine was drunk in Biblical times.

Finally, in case you are ever in a gird-your-loins-situation, here’s a how-to:

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