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

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. ORLANDO, Fla. — At the Equip Conference last weekend, most people saw no need to wear a mask. Fully vaccinated myself, I enjoyed the feeling of … Continue reading Just when worship gatherings seemed safe again, delta variant raises renewed concerns

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. Two decades ago, while serving as religion editor for The Oklahoman, I investigated allegations of plagiarism and faked endorsements by a prominent Baptist pastor who had … Continue reading Pastors and plagiarism: Why an old story is making timely new headlines

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 1995, I covered the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building for The Oklahoman. To many of us in Oklahoma, images of the partially … Continue reading ‘As a rabbi, you deal with grief. But not like this’: Condo disaster rocks Jewish community

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. Look for a little thunder today, but I don’t see any rain in the Nashville, Tennessee, forecast for next week. That’s probably a good thing because … Continue reading Leaks turn up the heat in advance of Southern Baptists’ Nashville meeting