Michelle Boorstein
@michelleboorstein.bsky.social
curious religion reporter. cockapoo-obsessed. I have questions.
What We Get Wrong About Christian Nationalism www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/o...
Opinion | What We Get Wrong About Christian Nationalism
www.nytimes.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:26 AM
What We Get Wrong About Christian Nationalism www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/o...
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
Column: With fewer than 40 bills signed into law as of Monday, the House and Senate set a modern record for lowest legislative output in the first year of a new presidency, according to data maintained by C-SPAN and Purdue University.
Column | Congress set records in 2025, some more dubious than others
Republican lawmakers reflect on a year without much productivity and greater ceding of powers to the White House.
wapo.st
December 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Column: With fewer than 40 bills signed into law as of Monday, the House and Senate set a modern record for lowest legislative output in the first year of a new presidency, according to data maintained by C-SPAN and Purdue University.
Bonkers: Son of celebrated D.C.-area sculptor and stone carver who has taught workshops and done restoration work at the Smithsonian Castle was sending threatening, antisemitic letters
“He was a mainstream member of the community"
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
“He was a mainstream member of the community"
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
He mailed dozens of antisemitic letters. Volunteers helped track him down.
Threats can’t be ignored, security experts, nonprofit leaders and community members said, when violence against Jewish people persists year after year.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Bonkers: Son of celebrated D.C.-area sculptor and stone carver who has taught workshops and done restoration work at the Smithsonian Castle was sending threatening, antisemitic letters
“He was a mainstream member of the community"
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
“He was a mainstream member of the community"
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Cardinal Timothy Dolan Tapped the Power of the New York Pulpit www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Cardinal Timothy Dolan Tapped the Power of the New York Pulpit
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Cardinal Timothy Dolan Tapped the Power of the New York Pulpit www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Deep, important @washingtonpost.com reporting on the impact of Trump's federal surge on one D.C. neighborhood.
Includes hard data, powerful video that sheds light on what these surges mean for actual humans and actual crime.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/int...
Includes hard data, powerful video that sheds light on what these surges mean for actual humans and actual crime.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/int...
The lasting impact of Trump’s federal surge on one D.C. neighborhood
Those at the 10th Place apartments in Southeast Washington said the president’s crime strategy deepened their distrust of police and made them feel no safer.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Deep, important @washingtonpost.com reporting on the impact of Trump's federal surge on one D.C. neighborhood.
Includes hard data, powerful video that sheds light on what these surges mean for actual humans and actual crime.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/int...
Includes hard data, powerful video that sheds light on what these surges mean for actual humans and actual crime.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/int...
NEWS: Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral’s promotion over swastika, noose policy
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral’s promotion over swastika, noose policy
Adm. Kevin Lunday had condemned both symbols and directed they be prohibited, but a new workplace harassment policy downgrading them to “potentially divisive” was allowed to take effect.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
NEWS: Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral’s promotion over swastika, noose policy
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
NEWS: Coast Guard enacts policy downgrading swastikas, nooses to ‘potentially divisive’
New, from Tara Copp and me
and me
wapo.st/4540Xi5
New, from Tara Copp and me
and me
wapo.st/4540Xi5
Coast Guard enacts policy calling swastikas, nooses ‘potentially divisive’
The Coast Guard’s workplace harassment manual that downgrades the definition of swastikas and nooses quietly went into effect this week.
wapo.st
December 16, 2025 at 7:47 PM
NEWS: Coast Guard enacts policy downgrading swastikas, nooses to ‘potentially divisive’
New, from Tara Copp and me
and me
wapo.st/4540Xi5
New, from Tara Copp and me
and me
wapo.st/4540Xi5
In a shift, at least six White clergy and a seminarian — including evangelicals — are running for Congress as Democrats in 2026.
The jump reflects alarm among progressive pastors about the spread of Christian nationalism.
religionnews.com/2025/12/15/w...
The jump reflects alarm among progressive pastors about the spread of Christian nationalism.
religionnews.com/2025/12/15/w...
White Christian clergy running for Congress as Democrats face skeptics in their own party
(RNS) — At least six white clergy and one seminarian — some from evangelical Christian backgrounds and others from mainline Protestant denominations — have declared to run as Democrats in 2026.
religionnews.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
In a shift, at least six White clergy and a seminarian — including evangelicals — are running for Congress as Democrats in 2026.
The jump reflects alarm among progressive pastors about the spread of Christian nationalism.
religionnews.com/2025/12/15/w...
The jump reflects alarm among progressive pastors about the spread of Christian nationalism.
religionnews.com/2025/12/15/w...
Alexander Kleytman was a boy when he fled the Holocaust, then endured years of starvation in Siberia that left him hunched. He suffered decades of antisemitism in the Soviet Union.
He thought he had a haven in Sydney, where was shot dead this weekend.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
He thought he had a haven in Sydney, where was shot dead this weekend.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
He survived the Holocaust and exile only to die a hero in Bondi attack
Alexander Kleytman, 87, had endured antisemitism his whole life, which ended when he shielded his wife from bullets at the Hanukkah celebration.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Alexander Kleytman was a boy when he fled the Holocaust, then endured years of starvation in Siberia that left him hunched. He suffered decades of antisemitism in the Soviet Union.
He thought he had a haven in Sydney, where was shot dead this weekend.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
He thought he had a haven in Sydney, where was shot dead this weekend.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
Mia Tretta was a freshman when a classmate opened fire at her California high school. Now the Brown University junior worries how she’ll recover a second time.
“I found a place where I finally started to feel comfortable. And it’s been taken again.”
“I found a place where I finally started to feel comfortable. And it’s been taken again.”
She survived a school shooting in high school. It happened again at Brown.
Mia Tretta was a freshman when a classmate opened fire at her California high school. Now the Brown University student worries how she’ll recover a second time.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Mia Tretta was a freshman when a classmate opened fire at her California high school. Now the Brown University junior worries how she’ll recover a second time.
“I found a place where I finally started to feel comfortable. And it’s been taken again.”
“I found a place where I finally started to feel comfortable. And it’s been taken again.”
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
There's a saying in Mexico: "Not all Mexicans are Catholic, but all are Guadalupan." The phrase conveys the deep connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and the country's identity.
Mexican devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe blends into national identity
There's a saying in Mexico: "Not all Mexicans are Catholic, but all are Guadalupan." The phrase conveys the deep connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and the country's identity.
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 7:13 PM
There's a saying in Mexico: "Not all Mexicans are Catholic, but all are Guadalupan." The phrase conveys the deep connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and the country's identity.
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
Sporting officials in Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is severely punished, protested after being drawn to play the “Pride Match” in Seattle during next year’s World Cup.
Egypt and Iran protest being drawn to play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’
Seattle’s plan for the June 26 game to be a “Pride Match” was made before the World Cup draw. Egypt said the move may “provoke cultural and religious sensitivities.”
wapo.st
December 11, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Sporting officials in Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is severely punished, protested after being drawn to play the “Pride Match” in Seattle during next year’s World Cup.
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
Pew debunks the idea of mass conversions to Catholicism or Orthodox Christianity.
Among 18-24 year-olds, 1% say they've become Catholic/12% say they've left
1% say they've become Orthodox, 1% have left
25% have become unaffiliated after being raised in faith
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Among 18-24 year-olds, 1% say they've become Catholic/12% say they've left
1% say they've become Orthodox, 1% have left
25% have become unaffiliated after being raised in faith
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
December 8, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Pew debunks the idea of mass conversions to Catholicism or Orthodox Christianity.
Among 18-24 year-olds, 1% say they've become Catholic/12% say they've left
1% say they've become Orthodox, 1% have left
25% have become unaffiliated after being raised in faith
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Among 18-24 year-olds, 1% say they've become Catholic/12% say they've left
1% say they've become Orthodox, 1% have left
25% have become unaffiliated after being raised in faith
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
One interesting finding is that 18-22 year-olds are a bit more religious than 23-30 year-olds, particularly on worship attendance. Pew notes this was true of the youngest adults in 2007, but they grew less religious over time.
December 8, 2025 at 8:28 PM
One interesting finding is that 18-22 year-olds are a bit more religious than 23-30 year-olds, particularly on worship attendance. Pew notes this was true of the youngest adults in 2007, but they grew less religious over time.
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
Pew Research Center just released a big report on religiosity in America, finding little shift since 2020 across four big indicators of religious commitment in its high response-rate NPORS surveys. Worth a read -> www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Religion Holds Steady in America
Analysis of our polls and other data shows no clear evidence of a religious revival among young adults. Read more about religiousness by age and gender.
www.pewresearch.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Pew Research Center just released a big report on religiosity in America, finding little shift since 2020 across four big indicators of religious commitment in its high response-rate NPORS surveys. Worth a read -> www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Religious leaders say they are observing a hidden trend among younger Americans
The @washingtonpost.com breaks down new, complex data and does loads of interviews with young Americans to help explain the moment
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
The @washingtonpost.com breaks down new, complex data and does loads of interviews with young Americans to help explain the moment
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
What religious leaders think is behind a growing group of young and very devout adults
Religious affiliation has been dropping among young people for decades, but examples abound of surging interest on college campuses and in cities like D.C.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Religious leaders say they are observing a hidden trend among younger Americans
The @washingtonpost.com breaks down new, complex data and does loads of interviews with young Americans to help explain the moment
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
The @washingtonpost.com breaks down new, complex data and does loads of interviews with young Americans to help explain the moment
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
NEW: Fewer and fewer young Americans are religious, but those who are seem to want to go deep www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
What religious leaders think is behind a growing group of young and very devout adults
Religious affiliation has been dropping among young people for decades, but examples abound of surging interest on college campuses and in cities like D.C.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:56 AM
NEW: Fewer and fewer young Americans are religious, but those who are seem to want to go deep www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Vouchers/school choice is the #1 goal of many religious conservative advocates. This may be the deepest profile of the billionaire behind the cause, Jeff Yass. By @laurameckler.bsky.social @bethreinhard.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social of The @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Meet the billionaire pushing taxpayer-funded school vouchers
How one of the richest people on the planet presses his pet issue: school choice
www.washingtonpost.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Vouchers/school choice is the #1 goal of many religious conservative advocates. This may be the deepest profile of the billionaire behind the cause, Jeff Yass. By @laurameckler.bsky.social @bethreinhard.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social of The @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Opinion: Are the jokes the White House and its allies make about killing shipwrecked men like the savagery of ancient gladiator games?
"It’s worth considering what President Trump and his administration are doing to the soul of the nation"
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
"It’s worth considering what President Trump and his administration are doing to the soul of the nation"
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Opinion: Are the jokes the White House and its allies make about killing shipwrecked men like the savagery of ancient gladiator games?
"It’s worth considering what President Trump and his administration are doing to the soul of the nation"
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
"It’s worth considering what President Trump and his administration are doing to the soul of the nation"
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Woah, Lilly is giving $649 MILLION to try and rejuvenate theological education in the US -- which has been collapsing. Grants seem to be going mostly to Catholic and mainline schools, with some evangelical ones too philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/lilly-e...
Lilly Endowment awards $649 million to Christian seminaries, groups
Lilly Endowment awards $649 million to Christian seminaries, groups. The Indianapolis-based endowment awarded $416.1 million to 45 theological schools in the United States and Canada to boost the ordi...
philanthropynewsdigest.org
December 3, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Woah, Lilly is giving $649 MILLION to try and rejuvenate theological education in the US -- which has been collapsing. Grants seem to be going mostly to Catholic and mainline schools, with some evangelical ones too philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/lilly-e...
The examples on the White House's new "media bias" site "is too silly to be worthy of extensive scrutiny. But here are some absurd examples of what earned the White House’s ire"
Prominent longtime factchecker @GlennKesslerWP on journalism under attack
glennkessler.substack.com/p/the-white-...
Prominent longtime factchecker @GlennKesslerWP on journalism under attack
glennkessler.substack.com/p/the-white-...
The White House’s New War on Journalism
A name-and-shame website, faux “fact checks,” and pressure campaigns show how far Trump officials will go to delegitimize balanced reporting.
glennkessler.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The examples on the White House's new "media bias" site "is too silly to be worthy of extensive scrutiny. But here are some absurd examples of what earned the White House’s ire"
Prominent longtime factchecker @GlennKesslerWP on journalism under attack
glennkessler.substack.com/p/the-white-...
Prominent longtime factchecker @GlennKesslerWP on journalism under attack
glennkessler.substack.com/p/the-white-...
Three Jewish liaisons to the White House say "obscene" ideas are being wrongly attributed to Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz.
www.jta.org/2025/12/02/i...
www.jta.org/2025/12/02/i...
In defense of the Sarah Hurwitz we know — and the nuance we all need in this moment - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Three former White House liaisons to the American Jewish community decry online attacks over remarks their friend and former colleague made about the Holocaust and antisemitism.
www.jta.org
December 3, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Three Jewish liaisons to the White House say "obscene" ideas are being wrongly attributed to Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz.
www.jta.org/2025/12/02/i...
www.jta.org/2025/12/02/i...
1,000 US evangelical pastors are in Israel this week on an Israel-backed tour to show support. It's being billed as the biggest trip of US Christian leaders ever, and reflects some evangelical leaders' concern that support for/focus on Israel is waning in their community 1/3
December 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
1,000 US evangelical pastors are in Israel this week on an Israel-backed tour to show support. It's being billed as the biggest trip of US Christian leaders ever, and reflects some evangelical leaders' concern that support for/focus on Israel is waning in their community 1/3
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
The Defense Department under Pete Hegseth has been co-opted into President Trump's norm-shattering bid to exploit what are supposed to be the nonpartisan tools of government to crush political foes.
Hegseth conscripts the Pentagon for Trump’s ‘retribution campaign’
In threatening to deploy the military justice system against Democrats, Hegseth has joined Trump’s norm-shattering bid to punish political foes.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The Defense Department under Pete Hegseth has been co-opted into President Trump's norm-shattering bid to exploit what are supposed to be the nonpartisan tools of government to crush political foes.
Reposted by Michelle Boorstein
This is a lot of words to say, “Yikes! That Washington Post story about us illegally killing survivors on the open seas was 100% correct!”
November 29, 2025 at 12:46 AM
This is a lot of words to say, “Yikes! That Washington Post story about us illegally killing survivors on the open seas was 100% correct!”