Society & Culture

“… a federal judge ruled this week that the city of Anchorage, Alaska’s nondiscrimination ordinance barring LGBT discrimination does not force a Christian battered women’s shelter to admit trans-identified biological males.” - CPost

“Overall, about half of U.S. adults (48%) say that most things in society can be clearly divided into good and evil, while the other half (50%) say that most things in society are too complicated to be categorized this way.” - Pew

“Despite showing in only 1,700 theaters, the special finished in the top five in the box office during the weekend of Dec. 3 – 5, and had the highest per-screen average of any movie during the weekend.” - BPNews

“The First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit specializing in religious liberty cases, filed an emergency application for stay with the nation’s high court over the weekend on behalf of multiple faith-based organizations, arguing that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” - CP

Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), said, “We are praying for his success and we are eager to work with him.

“Visitors are welcomed by quotations from French artist Lucile Olympe Haut’s ‘Cyberwitches Manifesto,’ which urges readers to, among other things, ‘use smartphones and tarot cards to connect to spirits’ and ‘manufacture D.I.Y. devices to listen to invisible worlds.’” - Breakpoint

“…in his greeting to parishioners at First Baptist Dallas on Sunday, Trump claimed he helped save Christianity during his time in office, but “very dark clouds” are now hanging over the country.” - CPost

“…though a declining share of Americans say they want to live in cities, fewer people moved out of them last year than in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic began.” - Pew

“Gorsuch’s argument boils down to claiming that the mandates are not generally applicable….That means, according to the court’s latest interpretation, that such laws can’t treat ‘any comparable secular activity more favorably than religious exercise.’” - RNS

“Santa Claus had undergone many makeovers in the Western imagination by the time readers were introduced to ‘Twas the Night before Christmas.’ Some scholars argue that the idea of a magical being bringing gifts and good cheer can be traced all the way back to the Greek goddess Artemis.” - The Conversation