Weekly Wrap 4.5.19: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week | Sojourners

Weekly Wrap 4.5.19: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week

1. Roughly Half of the Electorate Views Christian Nationalism as a Threat

On the flip side, roughly half of Republicans (47%) and white evangelicals (46%) say it’s not an important threat at all.

2. Can a Gay Millennial Midwestern Mayor Help Break the Right’s ‘Monopoly on Faith’?

While he’s certainly not the first Democrat to speak openly about his or her faith, Pete Buttigieg is certainly breaking through in new ways.

3. As DeVos Eases Sexual Assault Rules, Her Old High School May Prove a Test Case

While Title IX guideline changes under Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education are scrutinized, The New York Times reports on how those changes would affect high schools, specifically Holland Christian High School, DeVos’ alma mater, after the fallout of a sexual assault case.

4. What If We Thought of God as ‘Mother’?

Three ways reflecting on God’s mothering characteristics transforms our understanding.

5. The NRA Tried to Block an Updated Violence Against Women Act — and Failed

This week, the House reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, funding for which expired in February, while most Republicans voted against the traditionally bipartisan act. One reason? The bill closes the “boyfriend loophole,” which would prevent all intimate partners, and not just spouses, who have been convicted of stalking or abuse from purchasing a firearm. The bill now heads to the Senate, where the measure is expected to face the same debate.

6. The Earth’s Oceans Are Drowning in Plastic

A new book documents the plastic pollution crisis, the effect of that pollution on wildlife and people, and initiatives that have been created to tackle the problem.

7. What Colored Blobs in the Brain Can Tell Us About Environmental Decision Making

“Sawe’s research indicates that there could be a unique negative feeling that enters into environmental decisions. Sawe also suggests the possibility is that environmental decisions are just more complex than many other types of decisions, where pretty much everyone is trying to maximize their own gain.”

8. Can We Have Policies That Rise to the Challenge of the Climate Crisis?

“We are seeing deadly, unprecedented extreme weather events almost on a weekly basis now, all of which are exacerbated and heightened by climate change. The impact of the climate crisis are hitting our most vulnerable neighbors first, the very ones Jesus loved to draw close to. People of color, women, people living under the poverty line, and the younger generations are already bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.”

9. Texas Bans Chaplains from Its Execution Chamber

In response to a Supreme Court ruling that the state could not execute a man without allowing a Buddhist chaplain in the chamber, Texas decided to pull all chaplains.

10. The Spirit of Jesus in Trap Music

“Amid the spiritual longing of the people, the realities of life will ultimately persist and, for many, force them to articulate their longing in the language of their world.”