Monday, June 12, 2023

This Week in Religion - Evangelical 'Reformed renewal' movement seeks path forward

Lead story

Tim Keller speaks to a group. He is holding a microphone in one hand and gesturing with the other.

Editor's note:

The Reformed resurgence captivated young evangelicals in the early 2000s, as charismatic pastors clad in skinny jeans, boasting beards and with a penchant for IPAs took to pulpits and stages across America. Combining an intellectual rigor with a sense of urgency, these so-called “young, restless and Reformed” leaders attracted scores of college students and 20-something Christians emerging from the popular seeker-sensitive churches of their parents’ generation. These new Calvinists spearheaded a renewal movement that thrived in the emerging internet landscape, shaping a generation of evangelicals theologically and politically. While a number of the movement’s prominent early leaders have fallen from grace – including Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald – its influence remains. However, with the death of Tim Keller, a godfather of the movement, this cohort of evangelicals – no longer so young, but still restless and Reformed – faces a crossroads. Will they double down on culture war issues, as some in the movement have? Or will they skew closer to Keller’s legacy of “winsome” evangelism?

A portrait of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor at Religion News Service.
 

Religion News

For many Southern Baptists, the only campaign question is which Republican candidate to support

Some Southern Baptists are already lining up behind Donald Trump. Others remain wary and are looking at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or what the other GOP primary candidates might offer. By Peter Smith/The Associated Press 

In "The Blue Caftan," Moroccan film director tackles LGBTQ+ taboos and celebrates embroidery craft 

In her latest film, “The Blue Caftan,” Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani delicately weaves intricate, tales of love, both traditional and largely taboo in her Islamic country and its larger region as she tells the story of a woman and her secretly gay husband who together run a shop tailoring and embroidering caftans. By Mariam Fam/The Associated Press 

The long-awaited trial of Robert Bowers has reopened old wounds and resurfaced painful memories. By Yonat Shimron and Kathryn Post/Religion News Service

A statue of Saint Anthony holding an infant Jesus. The statue is near a wall that casts a reflection of it.

America’s religious leaders sharply divided over abortion, a year after Roe v Wade’s reversal 

In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion, America’s religious leaders and denominations have responded in strikingly diverse ways — some celebrating the state-level bans that have ensued, others angered that a conservative Christian cause has changed the law of the land in ways they consider oppressive. By David Crary/The Associated Press 

Lionized for his Jan. 6 antics, Jake Angeli finds his spiritual beliefs a harder sell

The 'QAnon shaman' remains invested in his spiritual beliefs but so far has had no takers for his post-incarceration religious and political consultancy business. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service

 

Commentary and Analysis

An Indigenous scholar writes that Indigenous peoples have historically recognized multiple gender identities which they believe are a result of divine intervention. By Rosalyn R. LaPier for The Conversation

The school's approval may be the strongest challenge yet to limits on public money in religious schools. By Charles J. Russo for The Conversation

LGBTQ rights are not the main issue bringing Israeli protesters to the streets, but they do symbolize the country's stark divide. By Orit Avishai for The Conversation

Topics foremost in the public’s mind are not on the agenda: the war in Ukraine, the treatment of transgender people, global warming, the culture wars over public education, economic inequality, political divisions and the rise of hate groups. By Thomas Reese/Religion News Service

 
People dressed in black clothing distribute bread.

Devotees penitent, known as the Twelve Apostles (Doce Apostoles), distribute breads as they take part in the annual event in the small village of Olite, northern Spain, Sunday, May 28, 2023. According to tradition, the ''Twelve Apostles¨ pilgrimage originated in 1607, in honor of the Virgin Mary, during which the devotees would march around forty kilometres (25 miles) from midnight to midday and pray for the Virgin. Today Spain celebrate regional elections along the country. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

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