The third annual IRF Summit starts tomorrow and Chris Seiple on RNS suggested that we consider just how the United States advances religious freedom abroad. Religious freedom globally is getting worse. Until we can get past the barriers dividing groups we won’t be able to move forward and progress. At least not to the level we should.
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Terryl Givens of BYU’s Maxwell Institute writes for LDS Living grappling with the implications of the Holocaust on human nature and the reality of God. If God Allows us to make choices, why didn’t he create us to have more beautiful souls? The article comes from Givens’ book “Let’s Talk About Faith and Intellect,” where he explores these questions further.
Deseret News recently shared an article by Kelsey Dallas regarding a new ad campaign titled “He Gets Us” to be shown during the NFL playoffs. Religion News Service reported this campaign launched with a $100 million dollar budget. The focus is to introduce people to Christianity and to show how Jesus Christ is relevant to things in our modern everyday life. Their goal is to have people associate Jesus Christ with love instead of hate. Isn’t that what we all want? That would be the ultimate touchdown.
President Biden and other leaders were recently sent a letter from numerous religious organizations pleading with them not to pursue or enact the proposed “asylum ban.” This proposal would ban asylum seekers unless they were registered prior to entering the U.S. or sought asylum in other countries along their travels. Per the Biden administration an app would be developed that would allow travelers to register prior to entering. An app that most would not be able to use due to lack of financial resources. One comment from the religious leaders in the letter states: “Our diverse faith traditions compel us to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner—regardless of place of birth, religion, or ethnicity. Importantly, our faiths also urge us to boldly resist and dismantle systems of oppression.”
Politico recently featured an article written by Amanda Ripley that focused on a woman who wants to make politicians accountable for the way they speak. Tami Pyfer uses the Dignity Index which rates a politician’s rhetoric on an 8 point scale. She recently introduced it in her own state of Utah. Her goal is to make politicians aware of the vitriol and push them towards a nice and kinder political conversation. Will this help? We certainly hope so.
Last week a Federal Judge dismissed the case of LGBTQ students in Oregon who filed a lawsuit in Oregon against the Department of Education. Their claims were that religious affiliated universities weren’t protecting them against discrimination. After hearing evidence, the judge determined that the plaintiffs didn’t show enough evidence to prove they were discriminated against perTitle IX exceptions. Title IX provides protections for religious universities to hold to religious freedom and their beliefs.
Kevin Singer recently wrote an article for Religion Unplugged where he discusses whether spirituality could have anything to do with the mental well-being of our Gen Z population. He shares new research showing a strong connection between religiosity and emotional and mental health well-being. While the percentage of those questioned who consider themselves religious or spiritual is quite high, the number of those who belong to any kind of religion is low. Could the loss of meaning and community associated with organized religion be partially responsible for our present mental health crisis? Could organized religion be a key component to our well being? And how can church leaders, help the young recognize the mental health benefits of ongoing faithfulness?
Lutheran demographer Lyman Stone wrote for the Institute of Family Studies today a fascinating article about fertility rates between religious groups. His main takeaway is that the religious have much higher fertility rates: But in the back half of his article, he discusses if the fertility rate of different religious groups is high enough to maintain stability. While Stone lumps Latter-day Saints in with many other groups, so doesn’t dig into his numbers in this article, but his article suggests that if current trends remain, Latter-day Saints should expect to see decreases between 10%-40%.
We wanted to draw your attention to some wonderful news out of the Church’s newsroom today: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/amos-c-brown-fellowship-ghana Part of the Church’s partnership with the NAACP included starting the Amos C. Brown Fellowship. This trip is intended to let students learn more about Ghanian culture. The NAACP and the Church started their relationship in 2018 when they held a joint news conference to call for racial harmony and the end of prejudice
The New Yorker published a story last week about the authorship and provenance of the 1971 book Go Ask Alice. The book is presented as the diary of a teenage girl, but a new book suggests that it was composed by Beatrice Sparks, a woman who claimed to only have found the diary and edited it. The article is a fine read, asking interesting questions about the ethics of publication, and the difficulties of identifying authorship. But near the end of the article they include this line, “As a few ex-Mormons have pointed out, Sparks was not the first Mormon to publish a text ostensibly based on an original source that the rest of the world did not get to see.” The line takes a not-quite veiled swipe at the founding of the religion that Sparks was a member of. I can’t help but wonder if Sparks was a Catholic, would the author have been as comfortable opining, “Sparks is not the first Catholic to put out a book where the original sources aren’t available.” This kind of winking attack feels more fitting on the ex-Mormon Reddit than in a major publication like the New Yorker.
A recent study sought to examine the factors that corresponded to economic mobility, which they define as the likelihood that a child born in one economic class will change during their lifetime. The two largest effects might be of interest to Latter-day Saints. Family stability – Children who have two-parent households are the most likely to move, when other factors are accounted for. Friendships with individuals from other economic classes – While this does not directly call out church as a factor, the researchers found that extracurriculars aren’t as effective at cultivating these friendships as they are becoming increasingly segregated by class. But the researchers found that churches are successful at forming these kinds of friendships. Brad Wilcox of the Institute for Family Studies concludes that, “Cross-class relationships will not easily be forged by policies/institutions/etc. *unless* a common ethos/end/telos undergirds such friendships.”
We wanted to draw your attention to a Faith Matters gathering that’s taking place October 7-8, 2022. The gathering will take place at the Salt Palace. Speakers will include professors like Terryl Givens and Patrick Mason. But also therapists, mindfulness teachers, performers, and other luminaries. You can sign up here: https://faithmatters.regfox.com/restore And you can use PUBLICSQUARE as a coupon code for 20% off.
