NEWS STORY
RNS-Olympics-Chaplain: Chaplain provides friendly face, spiritual and mental support to Olympians amid unusual Games
(RNS) — Across the time difference between the United States and Japan, Stuart Weir of Verite Sport answered questions from Religion News Service by email about how faith is helping athletes through the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic Games. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,200 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Jewish-Liaison: White House appoints liaison to Jewish community
(RNS) — Chanan Weissman, 37, currently director for Technology and Democracy for the National Security Council, will pick up his old job under President Barack Obama as White House Jewish liaison, the Biden White House announced Friday (Aug. 6). By Yonat Shimron. 375 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-White-Nativity: Christian group petitions toy company to replace Nativity playset depicting holy family as white
(RNS) — Faithful America is encouraging Fisher-Price to change its depiction of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus before the start of the 2021 holiday season, saying it “fuels white supremacy.” By Emily McFarlan Miller. 450 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Muslim-Memoir: A rebel and freedom fighter, Elaine Mokhtefi translates their remarkable life in her husband’s memoir
(RNS) — A new memoir sheds light on the role of religion in the French-Algerian War of the 1950s and 1960s as well as the extraordinary Algerian-American couple who played key roles during the conflict. By Joseph Hammond. 780 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Race-Wars: William Pannell wrote ‘The Coming Race Wars’ nearly 30 years ago. It still resonates today
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Fuller Seminary theologian William Pannell was among a small number of Black evangelical leaders who called the church to account on issues of racial justice. In his 1993 book, “The Coming Race Wars,” he decried the mainstream idea that prejudice was no longer an issue in the U.S. and unpacked reasons why the church needed to come to terms with its complicity. Now, nearly 30 years later, Pannell revisits his book with an expanded edition that connects its message to current events. By Alejandra Molina. 1,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Evangelicals-Exit: Young evangelicals are leaving church. Resistance to LGBTQ equality is driving them away.
(RNS) — Amid widespread acceptance of LGBTQ people, evangelical church attitudes toward the group have not budged and the consequences have been dire. A study last month found the number of Americans who identify as white evangelicals has declined dramatically and those leaving in greatest numbers are younger evangelicals whose attitudes toward sexual minorities are starkly at odds with their elders. By Yonat Shimron. 1,500 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Silk-Oped: Why file frivolous religious rights cases against COVID protections?
(RNS) — Suppose the court replaced the Smith standard with “strict scrutiny,” the highest standard of review, which requires the government to prove a “compelling interest” in order to countermand a constitutional right like free exercise. Does anyone doubt protecting public health is a compelling government interest? Nevertheless, the advancing of frivolous religious claims serves a purpose — namely, to keep the culture war going at a fever pitch. By Mark Silk. 600 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Douglas-Oped: The case for reparations has been made all the more clear by COVID-19
(RNS) — Black Americans have been much more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the wealth gap and various socioeconomic inequities — the lack of adequate health care, employment, housing and other life-enhancing opportunities — that are the result of centuries of segregation, discrimination and slavery. The coronavirus pandemic has made abundantly clear what the various calls for reparations have long argued: “The Black-white wealth gap reflects a society that has not and does not afford equality of opportunity to all its citizens.” By Kelly Brown Douglas. 690 words. (category: k)