Faith Leaders: Transgender People Are a Gift from God www.commondreams.org/opinion/tran...

Seeing a lot of news outlets report that Pope Leo XIV has “declared” that just war theory is no longer valid. But the word he uses is more precise: “reaffirm.” Theologians, Christian social ethicists have long viewed just war as way out of date—this ain’t something new, but where said here, sure…

NEW from me: In new findings, researchers from a group of religious schools (BYU, Notre Dame, Baylor and Yeshiva) say popular AI models have a bias towards Catholicism when asked questions about conversion. religionnews.com/2026/05/26/a...

So for everyone telling me "the Catholic church should do X because women, lgbtq, sexual abuse etc.I hear you. Trust me, getting the slavery apology on behalf of the church is a big deal, but it also has a purpose, which I've explained here. www.ms.now/opinion/pope...

"Magnifica Humanitas" tackles the social, economic and political challenges associated with artificial intelligence. n.pr/49kjKrN

Pope Leo addresses the Synod Hall after presentation of his first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas: “Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen."

Ya'll. I am shook. In a good way. Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for Holy See's own role in legitimizing Slavery

PRRI data doesn’t bear this out. A weird news narrative that is counter to a lot of what’s actually happening in the ground, I think.

Joyfully hosting this lecture, @tcddublin.bsky.social, in a couple weeks!

The Ambience of Love: Keeping the Silence of Holy Saturday www.huffpost.com/entry/the-am...

Survey: Support for Trump’s immigration agenda craters with all faith groups, especially mainline Protestants

On Palm Sunday, Christians Across the Country Will Reclaim our Faith Through Love www.commondreams.org/opinion/palm...

Rituals during Holy Week can help us process profound feelings of environmental loss due to war, species extinction, habitat loss, deforestation, and catastrophic weather events. Here is a liturgical resource for an Ecological Stations of the Cross. @patheos.com www.patheos.com/blogs/ecopre...

“Closer to creation” by Phoebe Morad | Lutheran World Federation lutheranworld.org/blog/closer-...

The Rev. Catherine Ngina Musau, a 55-year-old mother of two, was elected in November and will be installed in June.

I would be very curious what Emerald Fennell would do with Mechthild of Magdeburg’s Flowing Light of the Godhead.

The 2026 Call for Papers for the Martin Luther and Global Lutheran Traditions Unit is live! Do propose… papers.aarweb.org/aar-login

Hundreds of clergy descend on Minneapolis and go on lookout for ICE religionnews.com/2026/01/22/h...

The 2026 Call for Papers for the Martin Luther and Global Lutheran Traditions Unit is live! Do propose… papers.aarweb.org/aar-login

One of the best things I’ve read in a while:

"It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever seen, and I think it’s what we expect from authoritarian regimes, you know, outside of the United States of America, and yet it is happening right here in our own backyards," Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said. religionnews.com/2026/01/15/m...

The Minneapolis Faith Community Is Showing How to Fight ICE newrepublic.com/article/2054...

Climate ecologist-turned-pastor reflects on return to campus www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...

Canada, Denmark, U.S. Lutheran bishops issue joint statement supporting Greenlandic people www.elca.org/news-and-eve...

Greenland is ‘not for sale’ warns Lutheran Bishop www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

How Minnesota faith communities are resisting aggressive immigration operations www.npr.org/2026/01/13/n...

Under Trump, U.S. Adds Fuel to a Heating Planet www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...

“The tradition we claim does not begin with the management of fear, but with the protection of human dignity. It does not teach that order justifies violence, or that power is vindicated by its ability to dominate.” www.ncronline.org/opinion/edit...

“I Am a Minneapolis Mother and Pastor, and I Know Where I Stand We are being sold a brutish view of the world. But another world is possible.” newrepublic.com/article/2051...

The victim of today's ICE shooting in Minneapolis has been identified by her mother as Renee Nicole Good, 37. www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

I'm all for complicating secularization, but I think we need to complicate the complication, too. This excellent piece from @ryanburge.bsky.social I thought was on point this week. www.deseret.com/opinion/2026...

“There is suddenness / to all surfaces.” A poem by Jorie Graham. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/fK9igR

How the Right Uses “Gender Ideology” to Blame Trans People for Everything www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Cecilia Giménez, famed for ‘Monkey Christ’ mural mishap, dies at 94

Not sure exactly what’s up with my mom’s Christmas village display this year, but I suspect the ecumenical implications are staggering.

Required viewing. Don’t miss out on this talk by Kelly Brown Douglas. So important. open.substack.com/pub/processt...

Delighted. “Congratulations to Dr. Jacob J. Erickson, who has been elected to the Program Committee of the American Academy of Religion (AAR)—the world's largest scholarly organization dedicated to the academic study of religion.” www.tcd.ie/religion/new...

If you're into podcasts, or gay history, this from @thislynne.bsky.social is perfect and beautifully done. Using an archive of 1,200 audio tapes recorded at the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco @mccdenomination.bsky.social at the height of the AIDS epidemic,...

Relatedly: y’all gotta read @fiona-murphy.bsky.social’s fantastic interview with Rian Johnson, the director of Wale Up Dead Man, in which he discusses his own experience growing up evangelical (and then leaving it, albeit not necessarily *theism* altogether). religionnews.com/2025/11/25/t...

At AAR/SBL, Religion Scholars Address Issues Ancient and Modern www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Join the Martin Luther and Global Lutheran Traditions Unit tomorrow morning as we celebrate the ecotheological legacy of H. Paul Santmire. Saturday 22nd Nov, 9am, Hynes Convention Center 209 @aarweb.bsky.social #AARSBL25

NEW EMERGENCY SESSION AT #AARSBL25 "Emergency Session: ICE Enforcement in Sacred Spaces" 4.00-5.00 PM ET, Hynes Convention Center 208 Join us for an emergency town hall to discuss steps to take in response to threats of increasing immigration enforcement, including on and around sacred grounds.

A Gay Woman Becomes New York’s Lutheran Bishop www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/n...

Dr. Christine Helmer opens up the conference with her paper “The Theology and Politics of Luther’s Mysticism” and delivered a needed challenge to patriarchal scholarship erasing women’s voices 💪💪💪 #LutheranScholarsNetwork #LutherandMysticism #MartinLuther #AARSBL25

Thanks so much to @nowhari.bsky.social for a great interview on COP30, Bill Gates, my new book, and more.

If you have ever liked one of my posts, please help a boy out and listen to my podcast? Or share it with a friend? Or just play episode each muted so I get the streams? It’s Books Up Close on all platforms. I’ll send you a cake/gift/hug if you do.

. Faith voices at COP30 call for strong climate action as a moral duty We need to take urgent #ClimateAction right now to avoid the worst of Climate Change! Find out more: actalliance.org/act-news/pr... .

Open postdoc position (2 years) in religion and migration in my ERC project ”Faith-Based Refugee Relief in Europe: Connecting the Empirical and the Ethical”. Deadline 15 Jan 2026 - come work in a fabulous team!