NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Conspiracy-Theories: About half of pastors say they’re hearing conspiracy theories in their churches: survey
(RNS) — About half of all Protestant pastors in the United States say they’re hearing conspiracy theories in their churches, according to a study released Tuesday (Jan. 26) by LifeWay Research. “At this time, it appears more of the theories are traveling in politically conservative circles which corresponds to the higher percentages in the churches led by white Protestant pastors,” LifeWay Research Executive Director McConnell said. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 300 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Online-MDiv: For most schools, the Master of Divinity degree is moving online for good
(RNS) — These days, nearly every school is offering online programs, but Duke Divinity School has decided to offer a version of its flagship degree, the Master of Divinity, online even after the coronavirus pandemic is over. In doing so, it joins the majority of freestanding seminaries that have slowly but inexorably moved to reshape the Master of Divinity into an online offering. By Yonat Shimron. 800 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Schonfeld-DeGraff: Faith and the COVID-19 vaccine: ‘Using the Black church to get the word out’
(RNS) — The Rev. Jacques Andre DeGraff of Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem talks about how Black communities are overcoming distrust of the medical community. “Black folk need to know that there’s some folk who were in the room who look like us. There are now many in the scientific and medical community who are saying, “It’s going to be all right.” DeGraff said. By Julie Schonfeld. 1,197 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Valentine-Gifts: RNS Valentine’s Day gift guide 2021: Sweet and silly ideas for February’s semi-religious gift-giving occasions
(RNS) — Whatever its origin, Valentine’s Day has become a day to celebrate love in all its forms — a value shared by many religious traditions. Plus, everybody could use a reminder they are loved nearly a year into a pandemic and all the difficult things it has revealed. So, in keeping with our holiday gift guide, here are some silly, sweet and sincere gift ideas to show your affection for the people of faith — or no faith — in your life. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,100 words (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-LGBTQ-Nuns: Catholic LGBTQ nuns are speaking up again, but this time they have no intention of going away
(RNS) – In a new book, Love Tenderly: Sacred Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious, Catholic women religious who identify as LGBTQ break barriers by making their voices heard while stating they “are not going away.” By Claire Giangravè. 1,200 words. (category: i)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Davis-Oped: I have election protesters and ‘Never Trumpers’ in my pews. How can we move forward together?
(RNS) — The fractures in old friendships along political lines force us to ask some difficult questions. For starters, do we really believe what we say we believe? Does our Christian faith truly transcend our political opinions? Pressing into this requires a dogged, at times relentless commitment to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). What does this look like in real time? By Chris Davis. 1,265 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Jacobson-Oped: The Catholic Church’s moral reckoning on Jews and the Holocaust
(RNS) — Beginning in the 1960s with the Second Vatican Council, the church explicitly rejected Jewish collective responsibility for the death of Jesus, and following popes went beyond this declaration to make allies of the Jews. The church’s evolution of church teaching transformed in Christian (not just Catholic) attitudes toward Jews. By Ken Jacobson. 644 words. (category: k)