A new report covered by Christianity Today’s Jayson Casper highlights “the 50 countries where it’s hardest to follow Jesus in 2024.”
Last week’s Plug-in focused on Iowa evangelicals and Donald Trump ahead of the caucuses.
After the former president’s big win in that state, The Associated Press’ Josh Boak and Linley Sanders, CT’s Harvest Prude and the Washington Post’s Dan Keating, Adrian Blanco and Clara Ence Morse analyze the critical role evangelicals played.
The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday, and Clemente Lisi details “everything you need to know about the candidates” at Religion Unplugged.
This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
What To Know: The Big Story
What motivates pro-lifers: The crowd at today’s annual March for Life in the nation’s capital could top 100,000, organizers predict.
Fifty-one years after Roe v. Wade — and a year and a half after its overturning — “evangelical activists see a bigger fight to change Americans’ minds on abortion.” That’s the synopsis from Christianity Today’s Harvest Prude.
A different mood: If last year’s rally marked a celebration for the anti-abortion movement, the 2024 event reflects “formidable challenges that lie ahead in this election year.”
So notes The Associated Press’ David Crary, who quotes a leading activist:
“We have undeniable evidence of victory — lives being saved,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. “But there is also a realization of the significant hurdles that our movement has right now in the public conversation.”
Crary explains:
Participants at the march in Washington will salute the 14 states enforcing bans on abortion throughout pregnancy. They will proclaim that thousands of babies have been born who otherwise might have been aborted, even as studies show the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the year after that enforcement began.
Moreover, anti-abortion leaders know that their side has a seven-state losing streak in votes on abortion-related ballot measures. Even in red states such as Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky, the outcomes favored keeping abortion access legal.
For more on the movement’s battle plans at the state level, see coverage by Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks.
This post was written before the march, but you can click here to explore some of the news coverage.
In related news, nearly two-thirds of Americans say local governments should not be able to bar anti-abortion sidewalk counselors, the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner reports, citing a Becket Fund for Religious Liberty survey.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. ‘It’s a divorce, and a messy one’: “For many, the schism that has wracked the United Methodist Church seemed inevitable, though it was an outcome few wanted,” USA Today’s Marc Ramirez writes.
“The departure of a quarter of the church’s approximately 30,000 congregations illustrates the fallout of a prolonged and messy divorce, sparked by disagreements over issues of sexuality and gender identity.”
Meanwhile, The Tennessean’s Liam Adams explains “what a recent decision by United Methodists in Africa could mean for the worldwide church.”
2. Farewell of GetReligion: Religion reporting still matters, but the Internet’s “preaching to the choir” algorithms have won out, longtime Godbeat pro Terry “tmatt” Mattingly tells Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana.
Smietana interviewed Mattingly about the decision to shut down the prominent blog he and Doug LeBlanc launched 20 years ago. Spoiler alert: I make a cameo appearance in the story (to which tmatt adds, if you can call nearly a decade a “cameo”).
3. Megachuch pastor’s tears: Nearly 20 years ago, I interviewed Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria, about the transformation of the Houston Rockets’ former arena into Lakewood Church’s new spiritual home.
This past weekend, the pastor broke down on stage as he announced Lakewood has paid off its $100 million loan for the arena, the Houston Chronicle’s Eric Killelea reports.
Also interesting: Killelea’s recent feature on Alexandra Osteen, Joel and Victoria’s 25-year-old daughter — “the heiress of one of America's largest congregations.”
CONTINUE READING: “Amid New Challenges For Pro-Lifers, March For Life Expected To Draw 100,000” by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.