Friday, July 1, 2022

This Week in Religion - Abortion ruling was 50 years in the making

Lead story

Anti-abortion protesters celebrate following Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Editor's note:

“Friday’s opinion by Justice Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the crowning achievement of a conservative Christian drive to reshape American society to hew more closely to the traditional sexual and gender values they espouse.” So write RNS national reporters Yonat Shimron and Jack Jenkins in their survey of a half-century of anti-abortion efforts by a coalition of conservative Christians, Catholics and Mormons. Shimron and Jenkins document the movement’s ability to overcome theological differences and to organize with singular determination across decades, focusing on both grassroots activism and legislative experimentation. The movement gained traction as it pinned its argument on the unborn’s right to life, relentlessly pushing to establish personhood at an earlier and earlier date in pregnancy. But the most significant turn in the abortion debate was the political shift of the coalition toward the Republican Party, and with it, a new focus on the Supreme Court.

A portrait of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor for Religion News Service
 

Religion News

As Roe falls, religious abortion-rights advocates prepare for next steps

'We vow to keep fighting,' said Jody Rabhan, chief policy officer for the National Council of Jewish Women. 'This is not the end. There are things that we can do.' By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service

A roof over their head: Churches use tiny homes for homeless

Churches across the U.S. are tackling the big question of how to address homelessness in their communities with a small solution: tiny homes. By Holly Meyer/The Associated Press

In Lebanon, a debate over civil marriages is mired in religious and political entanglements. The controversy has flared up anew. By Mariam Fam and Bassem Mroue/The Associated Press

At LA’s DisclosureFest, a milieu of New Age mysticism, capitalism and conspiracy talk

The annual event is equal parts musical carnival, mystic be-in and merchandise swap meet. By Sam Kestenbaum/Religion News Service

The Very Rev. Kris Stubna, rector of St. Paul Cathedral Parish, preaches on the topic of abortion after the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during Mass at St. Paul Catholic Cathedral in Pittsburgh on Sunday, June 26, 2022.

After Roe’s demise, clergy lead faithful in praise, laments

Praise and lament for the overturning of abortion rights filled sacred spaces as clergy rearranged worship plans or rewrote sermons to provide their religious context — and competing messages — about the historic moment. By Holly Meyer and David Crary/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Pauli Murray, the first Black woman to be ordained by the Episcopal Church, was an advocate for women's rights and racial justice. By Sarah Azaransky for The Conversation

Scholars explain why many see abortion access as a religious freedom issue and what the views of different faiths are on 'ensoulment,' the point at which the soul is believed to enter the fetus. By Kalpana Jain/The Conversation

Kennedy v. Bremerton, a case about a public school teacher's prayer, helps close out a Supreme Court term in which religion was often in the spotlight. By Charles J. Russo for The Conversation

This ruling allows taxpayers to be compelled to pay tuition to schools that expressly discriminate. By Khyati Y. Joshi/Religion News Service

 
Children throw flower petals as Catholic worshipers and priets walk during a Corpus Christi procession. They are all wearing white clothing.

Children throw flower petals as catholic worshipers walk during a Corpus Christi procession in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, June 19, 2022. Hundreds joined the religious procession through main boulevards of the Romanian capital. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Did a friend or colleague forward this to you? Click the button below to subscribe.

 
 
  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment