Episcopal priest has been detained by ICE in Texas, says diocese (RNS) — 'We do not know yet why he was targeted,' said the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, who leads the Diocese of Texas.

The Episcopal bishop of Texas said the priest was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week while returning home from his workplace.
religionnews.com/2025/11/02/e...

I agree. Can you help put that in a historical context? What did wealth inequality look like in say 1955? Or 1965? Or 1975? Or 1985? Or 1995? Or 2005?

Good roundup from @usatoday.com here of recent faith-based activism challenging the Trump administration, especially the president's immigration agenda: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

"Pritzker and Newsom see it as a defining challenge of this moment that Trump is consolidating authoritarian power daily, and using it to subjugate and dominate Blue America as if it’s akin to an enemy nation within."

newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Smithsonian artists and scholars respond to White House list of objectionable art A page published by the White House entitled "President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian" lists exhibits, educational sites and more that the administration seems to take issue with.

A page published by the White House entitled "President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian" lists exhibits, educational sites and more that the administration seems to take issue with.

I. Can’t. Even.

Mass. immigrants who had legal status lose work in home and health care Immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela living in Massachusetts have lost their legal status — and their work permits.

One in four healthcare workers in Massachusetts are immigrants. Many recently lost their jobs when their parole and work permits were terminated by the Trump administration.
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

The American Nations regions across North America Nationhood Lab recently mapped the regional cultures across Canada, Greenland, Northern Mexico and parts of the Caribbean, allowing the American Nations analytical model to be used for cross-country c...

#AmericanNations traced the history of the rival regional cultures of North America, but we've never had a proper, continent-scale map of them...until now.

www.nationhoodlab.org/the-american...

A long strange trip from early Christianity to the Grateful Dead's Haight-Ashbury days (RNS) — Both Christians and Deadheads were a ragtag group of communal devotees, preaching a simple message of love and peace and challenging the materialism of the powers and principalities of their…

OPINION: San Francisco had long been the mind-bending mecca for the spiritual counterculture of the baby boom generation, with rock music, particularly the Grateful Dead’s trippy, open-ended jams, furnishing the liturgical soundscape.
religionnews.com/2025/07/17/d...

IRS says churches can now endorse political candidates Since 1954, an IRS rule had barred houses of worship from explicitly endorsing political candidates.

Since 1954, an IRS rule had barred houses of worship from explicitly endorsing political candidates.

Poll: Most feel democracy is threatened and political violence is a major problem 76% of Americans think that democracy is under a serious threat, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. And their faith in political leadership in the White House and Congress is low.

76% of Americans think that democracy is under a serious threat, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. And their faith in political leadership in the White House and Congress is low.

1. I’ve got a few minutes, so gonna craft a quick thread about something that hasn’t gotten as much attention over the past few months:

Trump has vowed to be a champion of religion, but *religious opposition* to his administration and policies is loud, persistent and, frankly, overwhelming.

Every $1 spent on vaccines saves $21 in healthcare costs. 💉💰

Vaccines aren’t just lifesaving, they’re cost-saving.

As @gavi.org prepares for its replenishment this month, global leaders have the opportunity to invest in a stronger, more resilient future for everyone, everywhere. 💪

The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.

Don't give them one.

Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.

Trump administration sending National Guard troops to L.A. amid clashes over raids The Trump administration said it would send 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles after a second day in which protesters confronted immigration agents during raids of local businesses.

Follow along for ongoing coverage of the protests around U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area.

Trump supporters should revisit 'The Great Gatsby' (RNS) — How do we reclaim America from careless people?

OPINION: Reread “The Great Gatsby," then ask yourselves: How do we reclaim America from the casual racism of its leaders? And how do we reclaim America from careless people?
religionnews.com/2025/05/08/g...

Anti-Defamation League says anger at Israel is now the driving force behind antisemitism in the US NEW YORK (AP) — The ADL’s findings add grist to an intense, divisive debate among American Jews — and others — over the extent to which vehement criticism of Israeli policies and of Zionism should be…

The ADL dismayed some progressive Jewish leaders by welcoming Columbia’s acquiescence in March to Trump administration demands and by initially commending the campaign targeting pro-Palestinian activists such as Mahmoud Khalil.

It's really extraordinary to get a 1 a.m. order from the U.S. Supreme Court on litigation that didn't even exist until 8 hours ago.

That suggests that (at least 7 of them) are taking this Constitutional threat seriously.

The State Department is changing its mind about what it calls human rights The agency's annual human rights reports are being purged of references to prison conditions, political corruption and other abuses.

"The Trump administration is substantially scaling back the State Department's annual reports on international human rights to remove longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption.." www.npr.org/2025/04/18/n...

The Passover attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro was an attack on all Jews (RNS) — When you attack another Jew on Passover, you are coming after me.

OPINION: There is a long and ignoble history of antisemites scheduling their attacks on or around Jewish holidays. The timing of the attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro is no coincidence.
religionnews.com/2025/04/14/g...

This is so un-American:

Inside Trump’s Rushed Effort to Deport 238 Migrants (Gift Article) The Trump administration sent them to a prison in El Salvador under a wartime act, calling them members of a Venezuelan gang. But a New York Times investigation found little evidence of criminal backg...

"Eight points makes someone a “validated” member of the group. Having tattoos associated with the gang is worth four points.

Wearing clothing associated with the gang is worth another four."

Gift link:

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/w...

Bipartisan senators rebuke White House move to end legal aid for unaccompanied minors The letter obtained by NPR marks a rare bipartisan critique from Capitol Hill of the administration's immigration policy.

This just seems like a cruel way to treat children:
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/g...

'Gatsby' is 100 years old, and Fitzgerald’s tale is still America’s story A hundred years ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald saw the dire patterns we are living through today. This is why “The Great Gatsby” still matters, writes Steve Almond.

COMMENTARY: A hundred years ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald saw the dire patterns we are living through today. This is why “The Great Gatsby” still matters, writes Steve Almond.

400 million times

"There's a room here in the Senate named after Strom Thurmond... I'm here despite his speech, I'm here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful." -Cory Booker as he eclipses Thurmond's record for the longest filibuster in US history.

Cory Booker, standing at a podium in the Senate, holding a pocket copy of the US Constitution.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker has broken the record for longest floor speech in the U.S. Senate's history as an act of resistance against the actions of the Trump administration.

The record previously belonged to Sen. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Now is a uniquely terrible time to cut funding for HIV New breakthrough drugs could eradicate AIDS. Why are we hobbling their distribution?

After decades of research, science delivered the most effective, preventative HIV drugs the world has ever seen—and the US is throwing up its hands and abandoning efforts to share them with those most in need.

Read @jackiefmogensen.bsky.social + @samveep.bsky.social's report.