But the organizations responding to victims include atheist groups, Jewish groups, the Salvation Army, the Episcopal Diocese and the Catholic Archdiocese. These moments of crisis remind me that we are at our best when our collective humanity transcends traditions and beliefs.

Read more about them here: religiverse.substack.com/p/kung-fu-nu...

The order itself is pretty impressive. It prioritizes women's empowerment and gender equality within a patriarchal monastic system. And some of the nuns wield swords and machetes. +

For these nuns, the kung fu methods are a form of meditation as well as a form of physical activity and self-defense. “We train very intensely, and hope to encourage other people to be confident and strong,” the nuns proclaim. +

I answered Jimmy Carter, of course, and asked my dad if he was voting for Carter, too.

"Absolutely not," he said.

And that was the first time politics confused me.

And given the rapid expansion of atheist, agnostic and unaffiliated voters, expect non-religious Americans to gain more and more influence on national politics.

Only one in 10 young adults 18 to 29 identify as white evangelicals, even if their parents still are. Look for these shifting alignments and demographics to influence the rhetoric, policy priorities and messaging strategies for both parties in the years to come. +

As a voting bloc, white Protestants are currently very powerful, of course, but rapidly declining in numbers. White evangelical Protestants represented 33 percent of the U.S. population in 1999. Today, they only number 21 percent of Americans. +

Was Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s only goal to get rid of a shared enemy in Assad, or will Syria move toward becoming a strict Islamic country? Those questions remain, and today's Religiverse newsletter explores them.

Neither do they necessarily believe the Islamic rebels currently rolling down the streets of their village who are promising them safety. +

That's the question at the heart of my latest Religiverse newsletter. religiverse.substack.com/p/trump-hegs...

But what happens when that religious diversity meets up with President-elect Trump's Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth—who has expressed a militant Christianity and disdain for other religions?

Words carry emotional weight. The words we use (and the words journalists or editors choose) can reveal perspective before you even get to the story itself.

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