Category: Bulletin

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Supreme Court rules against Boston in Christian flag case Associated Press The Supreme Court has regularly analyzed whether government entities can discriminate against religious points of view in order to avoid establishment clause concerns. But the court has consistently ruled by strong margins that religious points of view are protected to the same degree as other points of view. The most recent case, decided 9-0, found that the City of Boston can’t allow citizens to display flags for personal ideas on city property, while not allowing religious flags. Religious Liberty Situation Worse Not Better in China Massimo Introvigne – Bitter Winter The managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions examines the new USCIRF report on China that shows increased persecution against Uyghur Muslims, Christians, and groups labeled “xie jiao,” meaning cults, by Chinese authorities. Easy as ABC? No, but studying this Mormon pioneer alphabet is now easier Kaitlyn Bancroft – Salt Lake Tribune Two professors in Illinois have released a considerable amount of work on the “Deseret alphabet” a language used occasionally in pioneer Utah. The work includes copies of documents that use the language, a translator, and a font that can be used to type in the language. Naomi Judd: Press reports covered the dark nights of her life, but not the Sunday mornings Terry Mattingly – Get Religion A long-time staple of media coverage, Naomi Judd’s recent admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame, gave an occasion for media critic Terry Mattingly to examine what coverage was given to Judd’s faith. But despite it’s major impact on her life, and it’s role in helping her through some of the most prominent media stories, little coverage was ever given to her faith. ‘Subversive Habits’ tells the compelling and long-overlooked history of Black Catholic nuns David Crary – America Shannen Dee Williams has decided to devote her life to telling the story of the Black Catholic nuns. The small group has often been overlooked to the point that when Williams first saw a photo with she thought, “How did I not know black nuns existed?” Her book, subversive habits, comes out this month.

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: For Russian priest protesting Ukraine invasion, a mixture of defiance and concern Jack Jenkins – Religion News Services Rev. Ioann Burdin first wrote a letter against the Russian war in Ukraine in late February. He eventually started praying for peace in his church, and within a few weeks the police were contacting his parishioners. His journey is essential reading. God’s Paradoxical Path Meagan Kohler – Mirabile Dictu Starting from a reflection on General Conference, Meagan Kohler concludes, “The world will change when you change yourself.” She bemoans those stuck in perpetual fist-shaking at the heavens. Naw! Nobody in the Title IX wars is asking LGBTQ questions about religious schools Terry Mattingly – Get Religion The Washington Post recently spoke about a new application of Title IX rules. But though the change will effect more than 7,000 religious schools the reporting on the issue ignores the question of religion entirely leaving a major hole in their reporting on the matter. The Women Who Restored Moral Philosophy Paul Dicken – The American Conservative As World War II began, four women took positions at Oxford University. They found the moral philosophy of the academy severely lacking. Watching the horrors of WWII shook them from their complacency. This fascinating story is worth your time. To the columnist who questioned why we ‘half’ to do general conference — let me answer Hanna Seariac – Deseret News In Monday’s Conference run down, I shared a quip in response to a columnist asking why we even have General Conference. Hanna Seariac takes the question much more seriously and gives it a much fuller answer, definitely worth a read.

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: 3 firsts you may have missed at the April 2022 general conference Haley Lundeberg – LDS Living Without any new major announcements or initiatives, it may have seemed like this latest General Conference didn’t have anything new to offer. But here are a few new things that you may not have caught the first time you watched. How the Person Became a Self Ryan T. Anderson – First Things This adaptation of the foreword to Carl Trueman’s new book “Strange New World” is great reading by itself, and can introduce you to the general idea before you choose to buy it or not. You can also check out Trueman’s article here on Public Square. Press quiet as a mouse when it comes to Catholic angles in this Disney-DeSantis fight Clemente Lisi – Get Religion While talk about Florida’s new elementary sex-education bill has dominated headlines, especially with Disney weighing in favor of schools teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to children 5-8. But Clemente Lisi points out that all of this media coverage. has rather conspicuously left out the Catholic faith of Governor DeSantis and much discussion of faith at all from their coverage. New federal rules on abortion, transgender services may pose ‘existential threat’ to Catholic hospitals Tom Tracy – America Leaders at the Catholic Benefits Association are sounding alarm bells about new rules coming from the Department of Health and Human Services that may pose increasing problems for the free exercise of religion, including potentially shuttering many hospitals with religious missions. I don’t know enough to know if I should share the concern, but certainly something worth having on your radar. Is Science of Any Help in Thinking About Heaven? Stephen M. Barr – Church Life Journal This article asks a very interesting question and adds some interesting thoughts about the role of the body. But ultimately, this article is likely of interest to Latter-day Saints for the sheer number of questions asked for which we have doctrinal answers. What’s the destiny of the physical universe? What will our resurrected bodies be like?  

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Should We Dramatize Jesus’s Life for Television? John Piper – Desiring God This interview posits an interesting question. I think the obvious answer is yes, but I find it significant that the Church’s Bible videos stick strictly with the existing language adding as little as possible to the accounts. What do you think? Most Christian parents are worried about their kids’ spiritual health Ryan Foley – Christian Post As the debate continues to rage around elementary education on sexuality and gender, this poll provides useful context to where Christian parents are coming from. The Antisocial Strain of Sincere Religious Beliefs Is on the Rise Charles McCrary – The New Republic The left-leaning New Republic with a good-faith, but nevertheless troubling approach to religious freedom that frames the free exercise of religion as harmful. But never tries to define this harm, or seek to balance competing harms. This mimics this recent Twitter thread where many of the respondents equated religious freedom with the freedom to discriminate. An Orthodox Theory of Brainworms Lucian Staiano-Daniels – Mere Orthodoxy It’s long been popular to call political extremism a “form of religion,” but these analyses have usually come from Protestant perspectives. Staiano-Daniels explores the idea from an explicitly Orthodox lens. Honoring and Renewing Dr. King’s Other, More Challenging, Dream— 55 Years Later Peter Laarman – Religion Dispatches On the 54th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death, a look back at his Riverside address denouncing the Vietnam war, recognizing the value of each individual person, and decrying the “spiritual death” he saw around him.