Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

RNS @rns.org · 15h

In the first official document of his papacy, Pope Leo placed the poor at the heart of the Catholic Church’s teaching, calling bishops around the world to take on the mantle of social justice in defense of the most vulnerable in society, including migrants.
religionnews.com/2025/10/09/p...

Pope Leo calls on Catholics to care for the poor in first official exhortation

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Leo picks up where Francis left off, when the Latin American pontiff called for a ‘preferential treatment for the poor’ and the need for a ‘poor church for the poor.’

religionnews.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · 19h

Defense Secretary Hegseth tests Constitution in Pentagon worship services www.ncronline.org/news/defense...

Defense Secretary Hegseth tests Constitution in Pentagon worship services

Speaking at a recent worship service at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the US needs to be 'in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'

www.ncronline.org

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 8d

Pope Leo XIV enters US political fray, challenging "inhuman treatment of immigrants" —> religionnews.com/2025/10/01/p...

Pope Leo XIV enters US political fray, challenging 'inhuman treatment of immigrants'

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The first American pope weighed in on a controversy roiling the Chicago diocese, telling journalists the Catholic Church’s political positions include more than opposing abortion.

religionnews.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · 11d

Yes, my thanks to the Cushwa Center and to all the participants for the wonderful discussion!
@booksky.bsky.social
@kecarte.bsky.social
@rachelwheeler.bsky.social
@isaacwein.bsky.social
@yalebooks.bsky.social

Peter J. Thuesen @peterjthuesen.bsky.social · 12d

Back from South Bend and the Cushwa Center's Dolan Seminar in American Religion, which featured a rousing discussion this morning of Tom Tweed's remarkable new book, Religion in the Lands That Became America: A New History (@yalepress.bsky.social). What a treat!

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Peter J. Thuesen @peterjthuesen.bsky.social · 12d

Back from South Bend and the Cushwa Center's Dolan Seminar in American Religion, which featured a rousing discussion this morning of Tom Tweed's remarkable new book, Religion in the Lands That Became America: A New History (@yalepress.bsky.social). What a treat!

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American Religion @amrel.bsky.social · 13d

COMING VERY SOON: American Religion's newsletter! Subscribe now for periodic memos about upcoming journal issues, important announcements, website series, and more!
americanreligion.substack.com

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 15d

Millions of Americans with Obamacare could face steep price increases if Congress lets extra funding expire in December.

Why Obamacare Bills May Double Next Year

Extensive subsidies that reduce premium costs for millions are set to expire, unless Congress extends them.

nyti.ms

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Dominic Preziosi @dominicpreziosi.bsky.social · 22d

We were lucky to live in a country where Kirk could say anything, ugly as it was; now we're in one where talk-show hosts can say nothing. This admin yearns to criminalize dissent, and as I note at @commonweal.bsky.social, Kirk's death is one more pretext www.commonwealmagazine.org/preziosi-kir...

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 29

See Susan B. Reynolds’ call for “documentary accompaniment” in this issue!
@susanbreynolds.bsky.social
@commonweal.bsky.social

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Susan Reynolds @susanbreynolds.bsky.social · Aug 28

My latest for @commonweal.bsky.social is out today — on ICE, the Church, and documentary justice www.commonwealmagazine.org/pinochet-tru...

The Pinochet Parallels

'Second-term Trump has put me in mind of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet.'

www.commonwealmagazine.org

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Commonweal @commonweal.bsky.social · Aug 27

The September issue is here! Inside:
- @susanbreynolds.bsky.social on Trump and Pinochet
- Phil Christman on economics and Christianity
- @heidischlumpf.bsky.social on Catholic 'mom bloggers'
- Lynn Casteel Harper on the virtues of solitude
And more!
www.commonwealmagazine.org/issues/2025-...

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Judith Weisenfeld @judithweisenfeld.com · Aug 26

Job: Associate or Full Professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College specializing in modern American Christianity. Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Macalester College, Religious Studies

Job #AJO30302, Full Professor/Advanced Associate Professor - Margaret W. Harmon Chair, Religious Studies, Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, US

academicjobsonline.org

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 24

open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...

In 7-Hour Vigil, Pope Leo’s Envoy Reads Every Child’s Name Killed in Gaza War

From an Italian church destroyed by Nazis, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi led a solemn roll call of more than 12,000 Palestinian and 16 Israeli children lost to war.

open.substack.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 24

Thanks, Conrad. This piece is helpful.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · Aug 24

I just replied to a bunch of interesting questions.

Are you curious regarding anything else about religious decline around the world?

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · Aug 23

I'll have a blog post soon about our new article "The three stages of religious decline around the world." www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪

Meanwhile, do you have any questions about our research? We argue there's a similar pattern of secularization unfolding at different times around the world.

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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · Aug 24

I just replied to a bunch of interesting questions.

Are you curious regarding anything else about religious decline around the world?

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · Aug 23

I'll have a blog post soon about our new article "The three stages of religious decline around the world." www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪

Meanwhile, do you have any questions about our research? We argue there's a similar pattern of secularization unfolding at different times around the world.

The three stages of religious decline around the world - Nature Communications

Religious decline is happening around the world. Here, the authors show that countries are at different stages of a common global sequence of decline in religious participation, personal importance of...

www.nature.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 22

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Religion in the Lands That Became America

Podcast Episode · The Academic Life · 07/29/2025 · 1h 8m

podcasts.apple.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 19

It was great to continue the conversation with Christina Gessler about hope, despair, and US history!
@academiclife.bsky.social
@yalepress.bsky.social
@booksky.bsky.social
@citylightsbooks.bsky.social
@powellsbookschi.bsky.social

Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 19

open.substack.com/pub/christin...

Hope, Despair, and American History

An Academic Life newsletter bonus discussion with Dr. Thomas A. Tweed

open.substack.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Aug 19

open.substack.com/pub/christin...

Hope, Despair, and American History

An Academic Life newsletter bonus discussion with Dr. Thomas A. Tweed

open.substack.com

1

American Academy of Religion @aarweb.bsky.social · Aug 16

AAR collaborative reseach grants stimulate cooperative research among scholars who focus on collaborative interdisciplinary work with scholars outside the field of religion. Apply by September 22, 6 PM ET: aarweb.org/award/collab...

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Congregational Library & Archives @congrelib.bsky.social · Jul 31

“But I tried to figure out, could I reconstruct ordinary women's lives in some way? And that was turning to oral histories, company histories… so some of them are women we all should have known. But I also try to reach down and try to recover ones who we might not know as well.”

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Jul 28

Can’t wait to talk about my book in Bryant Park on Wednesday at 7:00!
@nyhistory.bsky.social
@yalepress.bsky.social

bryantpark.org/calendar/eve...

Non-Fiction Authors

Bryant Park is located between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues behind the New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman building.

bryantpark.org

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Jul 26

A great piece on Pope Leo and women!
@mollieoreilly.bsky.social
@commonweal.bsky.social

Commonweal @commonweal.bsky.social · Jul 14

"It is already several generations too late to talk about making progress for women in the Church."

@mollieoreilly.bsky.social begs Pope Leo to avoid being 'weird about women':
www.commonwealmagazine.org/pope-leo-and...

Pope Leo and Women

Instead of an assembly of men trying to come up with a theology that explains women, I want to see the Church settle on one theology for everyone.

www.commonwealmagazine.org

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Jul 24

Thanks so much for the generous review!
@ktgerbs.bsky.social
@barnraiser.bsky.social

Barn Raiser @barnraiser.bsky.social · Jul 3

A new history reconsiders who belongs in American religious history and what should count as religion

barnraisingmedia.com/religion-ame...

What Counts as American Religion?

A new history history offers a corrective to narrow visions of American religion that begin with Plymouth Rock.

barnraisingmedia.com

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Jul 21

Thanks to Kyle Roberts and the Congregational Library & Archives for the chance to discuss my new book and its implications for thinking about the Congregational legacy and US religious history.
@congrelib.bsky.social
@yalepress.bsky.social
youtu.be/GfFltKmfdWo?...

Dr. Thomas Tweed on His Book, "Religion in the Lands That Became America"

YouTube video by CongregationalLibrary

youtu.be

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Yale University Press @yalepress.bsky.social · Jul 16

@wordandway.bsky.social calls Religion in the Lands that Became America " a unique and helpful account of the religious life of the peoples who have lived in these lands." Check out the review using the link!

Review: Religion in the Lands That Became America - Word&Way

In this new book, Thomas A. Tweed offers a sweeping retelling of American religious history that shows how religion has enhanced and hindered human flourishing from the Ice Age to the Information Age.

wordandway.org

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Commonweal @commonweal.bsky.social · Jul 14

"It is already several generations too late to talk about making progress for women in the Church."

@mollieoreilly.bsky.social begs Pope Leo to avoid being 'weird about women':
www.commonwealmagazine.org/pope-leo-and...

Pope Leo and Women

Instead of an assembly of men trying to come up with a theology that explains women, I want to see the Church settle on one theology for everyone.

www.commonwealmagazine.org

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · Jul 8

A great snapshot of Pope Leo’s life!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

@americamag.bsky.social

Inside The Vatican

Christianity Podcast · Updated Biweekly · Each week, Colleen Dulle goes behind the headlines of the biggest Vatican news stories with America’s Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell. They'll break down ...

podcasts.apple.com