Unaffiliated now numerically on par with America’s largest religious groups
People who aren’t affiliated with any religion now make up just over 23% of the U.S. population, matching evangelicals and Catholics for the first time. (The groups are separated by less than one percentage point.) Information from the General Social Survey shows a steady climb for ‘nones,’ who in 1972 accounted for just 5.1% of the population.
In 2012, ‘nones’ hit the national radar when Pew reported on the group’s rapid growth.
Trump signs executive order to protect speech on campus
Charging some universities with trying to “shut down the voices of great young Americans,” President Donald Trump signed an executive order March 21 directing federal agencies to deny research and education grants to institutions that restrict free speech.
U.S. indicates policy shift on embattled Golan Heights
President Trump recognized March 25 Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, an Israeli-occupied area in Syria. Read more about the region’s significance, and history of conflict, here.
Violence in Nigeria has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives this year
The conflict in Nigeria between Christians and Muslims was deadlier in 2018 than in previous years, and has continued into this year, with one agency reporting 400 Christians died in the first three months of 2019. The Christian Post offered this explainer of the conflict, made even more complicated by competing narratives, the outlet reported.
City council grounds airport Chick-Fil-A
Officials in San Antonio have excluded Chick-Fil-A from restaurants to be added to the city’s airport, citing the chicken chain’s “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.” The Atlanta-based company replied it “would welcome the opportunity to have a thoughtful dialogue with the city council and we invite all of them into our local stores to interact with the more than 2,000 team members who are serving the people of San Antonio.”
-Facts and Trends, Pew Research, Baptist Press, BBC News, Reuters, The Christian Post, USA Today
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