By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. What a difference a year makes. Or not. Fifty-two weeks ago, this news topped Weekend Plug-in: Trump calls COVID-19 vaccine ‘a medical miracle,’ but many religious … Continue reading Americans favor religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines — to a point

U.S. Supreme Court weighs religious freedom. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear religious freedom arguments Tuesday in the case of a Texas death-row inmate named John … Continue reading Touch, prayer and the role of clergy at executions

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. Here’s a scary thought: Who wants to dress up as an evangelical for Halloween? Except, exactly what would that look like? Would it involve wearing a … Continue reading Boo! Just in time for Halloween, five frightening headlines about evangelicals

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. As a journalist who covers religion, I’ve been blessed to report firsthand from countries such as Israel, Mexico, Nicaragua and South Africa. As a result, when … Continue reading Ransom demands and prayers: The kidnapping of a mission group in Haiti

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. Back in March, I wrote a column about the joy and hope the COVID-19 vaccines had brought my family after more than a year of pandemic … Continue reading As COVID-19 vaccine war rages, focus on religious exemptions grows

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. On Oct. 19, 2001, as I drove to a prayer breakfast in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, the radio crackled with news of U.S. special … Continue reading What the Afghan government’s collapse means for Christians, Muslims, refugees

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. I read the preacher’s words once — and then again — and tried to make sense of them. In a Florida TV station’s report on a … Continue reading What’s the difference between a ‘pool pit’ and a pulpit? Twitter has the answers