Lead editor Ameena Qobrtay, from left, graphics lead Shayma Al-Shiri, and editor-in-chief Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh are based in New Jersey and New York City. Image courtesy of Muslim
Need to know: Friday, May 1, 2020
Meet Muslim, a new online publication for the Gen Z ummah
Last week, student journalist and internet culture obsessive Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh launched Muslim, a digital publication for Muslim teens and young adults.
Black churches, via phones and Facebook, bridging digital divide amid COVID-19
‘This is definitely new territory,’ said an associate minister in rural South Carolina. ‘We’ve learned to do things that we never thought we’d do.’
Pope Francis helps a small trans community financially struggling due to the pandemic
Many of the transgender women are sex workers and have been left with no income to pay rent or bills since Italy enacted a national quarantine in early March.
Mayor de Blasio and ‘the Jewish community’
The mayor's angry tweet raises the question of whether there actually is a Jewish community, writes Mark Silk.
Present tense: Worshipping and performing in the digital age
How we inhabit, explore and become vulnerable in spaces traditionally understood as ‘disembodied’ or ‘low stakes’ is among the most important artistic questions of our digital age, writes Tara Isabella Burton.
A quarter of Americans, and a majority of black Protestants, say their religious faith has deepened because of the coronavirus
Pew Research found the trend of strengthened faith primarily among Americans who are already religious -- people who frequently pray, attend services in normal times and rate religion as important to them.
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On LA’s Skid Row, Catholic Worker’s ‘Hippie Kitchen’ adjusts to COVID-19
Volunteers at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker soup kitchen are improvising to continue services while preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Digital pilgrimages allow the faithful to travel the world from their couches
From hashtagged photos posted on Instagram to immersive apps, digital pilgrimages are making spiritual journeys possible for the faithful, even as they stay home.
Southern Baptist publishing arm, LifeWay, announces cuts due to COVID-19
The move comes after five consecutive weeks of steep revenue decline in the wake of the coronavirus and the expectation that sales may not rebound anytime soon.
More views from RNS
What Cotton Mather would tell the ‘Jesus is my vaccine’ crowd
(RNS) — When smallpox hit Massachusetts, the Puritan clergyman began to rethink his theology of catastrophe, even when doing so meant breaking ranks with his country’s religious elite.
The formal United Methodist schism is delayed. We can start sooner.
(RNS) — With a vote postponed due to the coronavirus, we can still start moving toward a better Methodist future without endless battles.
Why the restored Notre Dame cathedral must remain a church
(RNS) — Some are asking if Paris’ restored cathedral should serve as a cultural center. The archbishop of Paris argues that its mission as a church is critical to the city and mankind.
