New legislation was revealed in California regarding religious clothing, headwear and grooming in the state’s jails and prisons. Research has shown that those inmates who were allowed to freely exercise their religion and dress were less likely to be involved in violent actions. They are also less likely to return to prison.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently warned of the harms of social media. The Church of Jesus Christ is leading the way in providing solutions to those harms.
Jumping into policy-making after a tragedy may not be best. If we aren’t careful, we can fall for policy errors that can actually make the problem worse.
A recent study has shown that women who serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not only improved their educational outcomes but also their professional and personal as well. This study was done before the mission age requirement changed. Previously women were required to be 21. This changed to 19. The study was done by researchers at Brigham Young University.
As Christians, we should work to “root out racism.” To get there, we must use empathy and engagement to not just stop racism but heal its wounds
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.
When we seek to blame others for tragedy, it ultimately coarsens our souls and destroys our peace. The antidote is to take responsibility and reject blame.
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.
We often go directly from stimulus to reaction, but we can learn proactive approaches we can take to respond to temptation with a little bit of time and practice.
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.”
