Society & Culture

“Almost 7 in 10 U.S. adults (68%) say they trust the people who live in their local community, according to a study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research. Close to a quarter of Americans (23%) disagree, and 10% say they aren’t sure.” - Lifeway

“Each big anniversary of the 1996 welfare reform … sees an outpouring of retrospectives … It’s long been clear that single mothers flooded into the labor force after the reform, and that their income went up. What’s less clear is whether some particularly disadvantaged families were left behind, and how overall well-being changed for the affected households.” - IFS

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to block enforcement of the measure in response to a last-ditch request by abortion-rights organizations meant the law became the first heartbeat ban to take effect in the United States.” - BPNews

“Among both conservatives and progressives, there are claims that the world is getting worse and that the American family had a better standard of living, better opportunities for employment, and a simpler life forty years ago… . There are several factors that play into this perception. The first is that we suffer from … negativity bias.

“In an order issued Monday, the Virginia Supreme Court granted an appeal to review the merits of a lower court decision in favor of elementary school teacher Byron Tanner Cross and agreed to keep an injunction reinstating the teacher in place.” - CPost

“…to hear some Christians talk, we’re apparently in a war with others, culturally and politically. I’ve been told things like, ‘We’re in a battle for the soul of America’ and ‘If we don’t win against the Liberals we won’t be able to preach the Gospel.’” - P&D

“About a quarter (27%) of mothers with children younger than 18 at home said this in the October 2020 survey, up from 19% who said so in a summer 2019 survey.” - Pew

“Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (78%) say they have ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ trust in the information that comes from national news organizations – 43 percentage points higher than Republicans and Republican leaners (35%) – according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted June 14-27, 2021.” - Pew

“A respiratory disease has spread far and wide. Conflicts at home and abroad pose dire challenges. The public is overwhelmed by questions of what to read and whom to trust …. I am describing mid-18th century Britain.” - The Conversation

“Wicca… whose adherents, regardless of gender, call themselves witches, began in the U.K. in the 1940s. Wicca and Witchcraft are part of the larger contemporary pagan movement, which includes druids and heathens among others. All these spiritual paths, as pagans refer to them, base their practices on pre-Christian religions and cultures.” - RNS