A great example of how the State classifies & categorizes religion in the 21st century. In this case LDS was classified outside of Christianity last week. After a hullabaloo, federal office holders had them included. Theological discussions are sure to follow. Washington Post, June 9 2026, p. A5

6/6 The FT goes with the Pope warning of a 'delusion of omnipotence' that is 'becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive' at a vigil in the Vatican. Trump says the pope should stop "catering to the Radical Left and focus on being a Great Pope." @financialreports.bsky.social Apr 14 2026 p. A1

5/6 Wash Post has Trump saying “I thought it was me as a doctor” wrt AI image of him as Jesus + 3 other articles: 1 Pope’s response to barbs from Trump is: ‘No fear’ 2 President’s papal attack carries risks 3 Divining the sloppy symbolism in the Christ-like image @washingtonpost.com Apr 14 2026 A1

4/6 The WSJ only describes the AI image that Trump shared of himself as Jesus Christ but quotes (on A1) a former supporter: "Not saying Trump is the Antichrist, but he’s radiating the spirit of Antichrist." Not quite a month ago the FT wrote about Thiel & the Antichrist. @wsj.com April 14 2026, A1

3/6 NYT emphasizes Trump's denial & suggests he is depicted as a doctor not as the Christ. The paper goes inside w/ a thumbnail of the AI image. The cover story by WH correpondent Katie Rogers; "Christian Faithful Rebuke President' by religion reporter Elizabeth Dias. @nytimes.com Apr 14 2026 p. A1

2/6 The Times (London) is one of the few English-language papers that places Trumps' social media image on A1. They seem a bit surprised that Catholic leaders "rallied to support the Pope. The article is co-written by religious affair correspondent @kayaburgess.bsky.social. @thetimes.com Apr 14 A1

1/6 Trump vs Pope Leo was the theme across English-language papers today with only The Times placing the AI-generated image on A1. I had the good fortune of teaching a class on secularization today and these came in handy for a group discussion. The Times, NYT, WSJ, WashPost, FT, Apr 14 2026, p. A1

🇨🇦Islamic schools on the rise in Canada, acc to The Economist. Features Edmonton Islamic Academy "the largest of its kind in the Americas" as well as Islamia School in Toronto, Albushra in Ottawa. Incl assimilation, anti-Islamophobia policies & water as a blessing. The Economist, Mar 28 2026, p. 34

🇨🇦 Quebec Premier is prohibiting gov't workers from wearing religious symbols to work; critics say it targets Muslim women's hijab. Premier says it preserves "hard-won secularism." Supreme Court devoted 4 days of hearings this week, "one of the longest in its history". New York Times, Mar 27, p. A5

🇨🇺🇻🇦 Vatican as int'l political mediator: Cuba asks Pope Leo to be interlocutor w/ Trump. Church "remains the island's most significant nat'l institution." Cited: US Amb to Vat Burch, Vat Sec St Parolin, Miami Archbish Wenski, Raúl Rodriguez *Castro*, Rev Montes de Oca. Washington Post Mar 28 2026 A1

FT places internecine Catholic brawls on A1. Palantir's Thiel and his version of Catholicism goes head-to-head w/ Pope Leo in Rome. (Not often 'AntiChrist' gets into articles, headlines, page 1.) Vatican's take in this translated article from Avvenire. www-avvenire-it.translate.goog/idee-e-comme...

Pope Leo tried to stay 'above the fray' but said that Xn war leaders should 'examine their conscience'. Anthony Faiola + michelleboorstein.bsky.social do cite USA Cardinals calling the war sickening, unjust, and more. Not a year has passed but we are a long ways from Francis. Wash Post Mar 16 2026

What happens when your religious & political ties get tied up in knots w/ a high cost: 26 people died in anti-USA/Israel protests incl 11 at an attack at US Consulate. Pakistan Caught Between Religious Ties to Iran and Need to Placate USA elianpeltier.bsky.social in @nytimes.com Mar 10 2026, p. 4

Ronald Hicks was installed as NYC's Roman Catholic Archbishop yesterday, acc to hometown newspapers. The pomp & ceremonies of the event incl 90 bishops & cardinals. He becomes "one of the most prominent religious figures in the US", says the NYT. New York Post, Feb 7 2026 New York Times, Feb 7 2026

Modern-day Hinduism in India envelopes culture, politics (BJP) & institutions through Rashtirya Swayamsevak Sangh, the far-right nationalist group embraced by PM Modi, acc. to a lengthy update by Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar. (incl @scpo-research.bsky.social in Paris) @nytimes.com, Dec 29 2025, A1

Spiritual practices can be an antidote to uncertainty and stress, according to Emma Jacobs and @anjli.bsky.social in the FT. They include LDS, Judaism, CoE, and Islam faiths as well as data from @pewresearch.org, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. @financialtimes.com, Dec 22 2025, p. 11

Religion in the Amazon is featured in The Times today, by Christina Lamb (renowned foreign reporter but with little time spent in the Amazon). Pegged on COP 30, she writes about the few survivors of Juma people now near Humaitá. Orgs cited: ILV, YWAM, SI, FUNAI, IBAMA. The Sunday Times, Nov 9 2025

Fascinating article on religious change: a Boston suburb no longer is majority Catholic save for the firehouse & the precinct. St Michael still guards the police, St Florian the firemen. Religious diversity impacts professions at different rates. @benbrasch.bsky.social Washington Post, Oct 26 2025

Some Catholics think 1960s' 2nd Vatican Council was too radical calling Leo a 'woke Protestant Catholic' for not resolving 2 dueling docs: Benedict's Summorum Pontificum vs Francis' Traditionis Custodes. Cited: theologian Andrea Grillo, blogger Brian Williams + clergy. Wash Post Oct 20 2025, p 12

🇮🇳India's PM Modi crafts religious overlay from Trump Tarrifs: Diwali, Hinduism's annual festival of lights, given tax break to spur gift-giving and purchases. (Also: kudos to @financialtimes.com for insisting on light double entendres on front page + inside.) Financial Times, Oct 15 2025 A1

"Ireland has 13 new priests this year. Can the Catholic Church save itself?" The 7pp article insists survival is probable by importing priests, transforming what Church means. "We’re going to have a lesser priesthood, but we’re certainly not the last." The Sunday Times Magazine (London), Oct 12 2025

The Church of England designates Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the church in its 500 years. NYT is the only UK/USA newspaper to recognize the historicity of this event by placing her on A1. Articles are from NYT, Guardian, The Times, WaPo, FT UK (not USA), WSJ.

Local U.S. TV stations take on last week’s rapture. 🤔 Beyond the humor: it's an interesting look at the End of the World thru local color in North America. Religious demography can show how diverse forms of Christianity gets lived, narrated, broadcast, even dismissed. John Oliver, HBO Sept 28 2025

Judaism has adapted tech (writing, printing, computing) for millennia. 🤔 I wonder if AI reshapes religions w/ written texts. As AI can search, summarize, remix texts better, who becomes the interpreter? AI Isn't Replacing Rabbis - it's Saving Them @washingtonpost.com, Sept 25 2025 wapo.st/42FPBQb

Islam was the world’s fastest growing religion from 2010 to 2020. @conradhackett.bsky.social at @pewresearch.org

Conrad Hackett@conradhackett.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Islam was the world’s fastest growing religion from 2010 to 2020 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/10/islam-was-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religion-from-2010-to-2020/

While global Catholic pop ⏫ 2x since 1970 # of priests has declined (WSJ on A1). Focus is on seminaries shrinking even in LA. But it's more than a staffing issue: how do individuals weigh identities in modernity; Catholics may add a twist but it seems like a general crisis in religious vocations.

Pope Leo's first interview was w/ Crux this weekend & covered an array of topics incl: United Nations, World Cup, his own identity (1st Q: are you American or Latin American?). The Times placed him on the cover and focused on his comments economics and pay scales. The Times (London), Sept 15 2025

The census bureau in Peru (INEI) decided against including a question on religion in the 2025 census. Peru has included this question in all national censuses going back to 1862 (save for the 2005 one, retaken in 2007). This is my plea to get the question re-inserted next time. (Univ. del Pacífico)

📊El Salvador Survey > Cath, Evang tied @ 39%; 19% None; 3% Other (a pattern w/ Indigenous pops - categories don't capture the local). By educ: primary / secondary mirrors society. In Higher ed, Cath rises noticeably wrt Evang. LA Religion shifts not only across generations, but also social spaces.

#ExMo ExMormons Go Viral, says WSJ on A1 this a.m. LDS "is facing a 21st c. reckoning, driven by social-media". Cites from John Dehlin, Justin Turman and (of course) Ryan Burge who says "Mormonism has a retention problem". # in US who identify as Mormon has almost halved since 2012. WSJ Sept 4 2025