Supporters of each major U.S. parties are inclined to claim that their presidential candidate is the “real” Christian, or the “better” Christian, or just the “true” Christian.

For a Majority of white evangelical ProtestantsTrump is the great Christian. Christians for Kamala, a newly formed group of self-described Christians supporting the Democratic candidate, say her campaign is the “compassionate heart of Jesus and his teachings.”

But most American adults agree that religion ought to be separate from governmentThis widespread belief is a cornerstone of spiritual freedom. Scholar for religious freedomI even have examined the complex and ever-evolving role of faith in American politics. I argue that while the Christian character of each candidate is being discussed in all places this election yr, religious freedom, one in all the elemental freedoms of American democracy, will not be.

The case of Ezra Stiles Ely

The history of spiritual freedom in America is stuffed with stories that instructive for our present momentOne of those instructive lessons comes from the early Nineteenth century.

The Second Great Awakening was an intense period of spiritual renewal. Evangelical Christians sought to reform American law and policy to reflect what they believed to be true Christianity. According to legal scholars Geoffrey R. StoneAt that point, the claim was made that the “The United States is a “Christian nation” first seriously took root.”

A notable personality from this era is the Presbyterian pastor of Philadelphia. Ezra Stiles ElyOn July 4, 1827, the Yale-educated pastor announced his infamous call for the “foundation of a Christian political party” within the run-up to the 1828 presidential election.

Ely's speech, The duty of Christian suitors to elect Christian rulersis a Nineteenth-century version of what we now call “Christian nationalism.” In it, Ely sets out his distinctly Christian vision of who should function political leader and the way they need to govern.

Before an Independence Day audience at Philadelphia's Seventh Presbyterian Church, Ely declared: “Every ruler should be a professed and sincere friend of Christianity. He should know and believe the doctrines of our holy religion, and act in accordance with its precepts.” Ely also advocated for “a new kind of union, or, if you will, a Christian party in politics.”

Ely concluded his sermon by urging Christians to “be conscious of our sacred duty to our Divine Lord, and not to admit rulers who are not known to be openly Christians without our consent and co-operation.”

Criticism in defense of spiritual freedom

While Ely attempted to unite Christianity and American politics, there have been also voices that opposed this move. Religious freedom was latest to the young nation. But its supporters recognized its importance for American democracy.

On February 7, 1828, a pamphlet entitled Sunday School Union or Union of Church and State was placed on the desk of each member of the Pennsylvania Senate. The pamphlet contained excerpts from Ely's speech through which he argued for the connection between Christianity and politics. Ely's speech was also the topic of debate in several Nineteenth-century newspapers, including the Harrisburg Chronicle and the Pennsylvania Reporter.

Notable amongst these voices was Massachusetts-born and Harvard-educated Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story.

In a speech delivered in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1828, Story boldly declared his support for religious freedom. He explained: “Religious freedom is a birthright of man. Governments have no authority to impose penalties for differences of conscience. And to worship God according to our own beliefs is not only our privilege but our duty, our absolute duty, from which no human court can absolve us.”

“Wherever there is religious freedom,” he argued, “it will first or last bring with it and establish political freedom.”

Politics and American Democracy

America isn’t any longer the identical because it was in the course of the Second Great Awakening, however the role of Christianity in political life seems as alive as ever.

The regular decline in church attendance has not led to a diminished presence of Christianity in American public life. In the general public sphere, strong appeals to Christianity slightly than to a shared democratic heritage remain.

Former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump recently explained“We have to bring our religion back. We have to bring Christianity back to this country.”

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito praised the religious beliefs of residents,“People with deep religious convictions are less likely to succumb to prevailing ideologies or trends and are more likely to act in accordance with what they believe to be true and right. Civil society can count on them as engines of reform.”

A Survey 2023through which the nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization PRRI surveyed greater than 22,000 adults, found that about 3 in 10 Americans supported or held Christian nationalist views. Christian nationalists are inclined to “view political struggles through the apocalyptic lens of revolution and support political violence.”

In my opinion, the mix of Christianity and politics within the United States undermines American democracy. Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Libertya distinguished public voice, explains how Christian nationalism undermines each Christianity and American democracy. In her 2024 book,How to finish Christian nationalism“,” writes Tyler, “Christian nationalism represents the greatest threat to religious freedom in the United States today and a clear and present danger to our constitutional republic.”

While debates concerning the Christian virtues of candidates could also be essential to Christian communities, religious freedom is very important to American democracy. The answer to Christianity and politics will not be more Christianity, but more democracy. And religious freedom is the important thing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first used the term “AIDS“On September 24, 1982, greater than a yr after the primary cases appeared in medical records, the disease was first diagnosed. These early years of the crisis were marked by great confusion about what caused the disease, who it affected, and the way it spread.

But the name itself – acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which we now know is attributable to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – was a milestone. The way people talked about and named the AIDS crisis shaped perceptions of the disease and promoted or combatted a culture of stigma.

In the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties, for instance, conservative Christian leaders reminiscent of Rev. Jerry Falwell described AIDS as “God's punishment” for sexual immorality. Many AIDS activistsOn the opposite hand, additionally they recognized the importance of giving a reputation to those affected. Rather than being known as “AIDS victims,” ​​they preferred terms reminiscent of “people with AIDS” and “people living with HIV” to emphasise their status as people and not only as patients or victims.

As a historian of faith, sexuality and public healthI used to be taken with how moral and spiritual rhetoric has shaped this global pandemic from the start. In my book “After the wrath of God“, I argue that the AIDS crisis can’t be separated from the broader cultural contexts wherein it occurred, including the history of LGBTQ+ people and the Christian right.

In other words, this medical epidemic was also an ethical epidemic from the start.

Before “AIDS”

The naming of AIDS in 1982 got here greater than a yr after the CDC first reported Cases of young, otherwise healthy men diagnosed with rare types of cancer, pneumonia and other infections that occur in individuals with weakened immune systems.

CDC researchers searched for a connection and located that these men “all lively homosexuals.” This confirmed what many gay and bisexual men in places like New York City and San Francisco already knew: There was a mysterious disease of their community.

The first news reports spoke of a brand new “gay cancer” or “gay pneumonia.” Some medical researchers called it GRID – homosexual immunodeficiency – or acquired immunodeficiency. When CDC leaders settled on AIDS as a substitute, they wanted to acknowledge the prevalence of cases in lots of other groups, including heterosexuals.

Despite these efforts, this early connection to homosexuality remained.

In fact, the history of homosexuality was crucial to the invention of AIDS. Scientists have now shown that HIV was in circulation long before 1981particularly amongst intravenous drug users, lots of whom were homeless. However, unusual illnesses and deaths inside this population group went largely unnoticed.

Meanwhile, the trendy LGBTQ+ rights movement had been gaining momentum since 1969, when a Police raid on the Stonewall Inna gay bar in New York City, sparked a series of riots that ignited a brand new wave of LGBTQ+ activism. In the Eighties, queer and trans people gained greater political and cultural influence.

This visibility and increasing cultural influence were crucial to the invention of this recent disease.

Arousing the “wrath of God”

The early link between AIDS and homosexuality also meant that this public health crisis sparked moral and spiritual debates.

As early because the Seventies, conservative Christian leaders warned most people about what they called Epidemic of homosexualityThey argued that social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people is a Signs of ethical decayand warned that if the United States did not eradicate this “moral disease,” the country would face the identical fate because the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed by God.

In other words, the Christian Right had already his own way of talking about homosexuality as an epidemic, as a threat to society itself. The AIDS crisis only looked as if it would confirm their belief within the wrath of God.

Medical and public health officials weren’t resistant to this rhetoric. In the Eighties, hospitals across New York readily invoked WOGS – the Wrath of God Syndrome. Doctor on the Medical College of Georgia wrote an editorial for the Southern Medical Journal, which questioned whether AIDS fulfilled a biblical statement about “due punishment” for sexual sins and beneficial conversion therapy for homosexuals.

In the White House, as Historian Jennifer Brier has shownPresident Ronald Reagan's conservative advisers Gary Bauer and William Bennett formulated a method to combat AIDS that emphasized the moral rightness of heterosexuality and abstinence outside of marriage.

They were frustrated by the resistance of Reagan-appointed Surgeon General C. Everett Koopa pediatric surgeon who was also a frontrunner of the evangelical pro-life movement. He insisted that national AIDS policy should concentrate on comprehensive sex education.

In 1988, Koop sent a mailing called Understanding AIDS in virtually every household in America. Conservatives balked at Koop's approach, although he nonetheless touted abstinence for single people as the most effective type of protection.

Bauer and Bennett complained that the flyer contained details about condoms and described the risks of infection through oral and anal sex. Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative Catholic crusader against feminism, abortion and gay rights, accused the Surgeon General of attempting to teach: “protected sodomy“ to 3rd graders.

Beyond the Christian Right

Not all conservative Christians understood AIDS as God's punishment for sexual sin. Many evangelical groups and Catholic leaders even opposed this concept – and yet spoke of it in religious and moral terms.

Cardinal John O'Connor, the Archbishop of New York, drew the ire of many AIDS activists when He spoke about AIDS within the Vatican in 1989. “Good morals,” he proclaimed, “are good medicine.”

Many Christians took more progressive positions. The Southern Baptist ethicist Earl Shelp and Chaplain Ronald Sunderland worked as research fellows on the Texas Medical Center, where they first encountered individuals with AIDS. Together they began certainly one of the primary AIDS programs focused on helping gay men with AIDS without prejudice.

And many queer and feminist Christian and Jewish leaders, including Jim Mitulski, Yvette Flounder And Joel Kahnformulated queer-affirming and justice-oriented responses to the stigma of AIDS. They challenged the notion that AIDS was a “gay disease,” but additionally focused on how AIDS harmed populations that were often marginalized, including people of color, women, and drug users.

What's in a reputation?

Today, once I teach the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis, my students are sometimes confused by this early reference to homosexuality. They associate AIDS with sub-Saharan Africa, which the epicenter of the pandemic within the Nineteen Nineties.

Yet my students have grown up in a world where AIDS is significantly better understood. Thanks to the work of Activists and scientistsMany more people now know that HIV could be blocked by condoms and sterile needles. Antiretroviral therapy has proven to be very effective in Treatment of individuals in a position to receive and tolerate the medication.

But irrespective of how scientific or objective people could also be, epidemics are shaped by culture. And studying this history helps us understand more about ourselves.

In recent months, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been involved in a legal battle with Annunciation House, a network of shelters within the El Paso area that gives basic needs and legal counsel to migrants. On July 2, 2024, the District Court ruled Judge Francisco Dominguez made a ruling and denied Paxton's try to close the Annunciation House. Paxton
Appeal filed two weeks later.

In his original suit, Paxton tried Annunciation House revoked Ability to operate as a non-profit organization in Texas, arguing that the federal government’s efforts to assist migrants were based on “human smuggling.”

Dominguez explained in his ruling that Paxton's demands for Annunciation House documents were merely a pretext to attain the predetermined final result of closing the shelter, and that quite than first gathering evidence, Paxton assumed a criminal offense had been committed after which sought evidence of it.

The judge further stated that Paxton's appeals against immigration law were unenforceable because immigration was a matter of federal law and that the state had violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by unfairly burdening Annunciation House in its religiously inspired humanitarian activities. Paxton has now appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas to take over the case.

This case has drawn media attention to conflicts between religious communities supporting migrants and the goals of political authorities. Religious leaders got here to the defense of Annunciation House, citing religious principles and a convention of hospitality. Even Pope Francis commented on the controversy in an episode from “60 minutes”, and condemned the lawsuit. “It is madness, pure madness, to close the border and leave them there,” the Pope said. “The migrants must be welcomed.”

As a Scholar who studies this Types I imagine that this case, despite the various conflicts, underscores the continuing and evolving commitment of spiritual groups to supporting vulnerable populations, despite legal and political challenges.

Lessons on migration and hospitality

Religious leaders and communities often look to texts and traditions to guide their actions towards migrants. For example, the late Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, noted that the commandment to “welcome the stranger” in at the very least 36 times within the Torah, more often than another instruction.

Many Hindu families practice unconditional hospitality, Honoring the guests of their rituals. The late scholar Alfred Hiltebeitel noticed that the Laws of Manu, a foundational text for dharma or ethical conduct within the Hindu tradition, enjoin hospitality as a fundamental aspect of right conduct. According to Hiltebeitel, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata show how God is each host and guest within the devotion of the faithful. Hospitality is subsequently a central feature of worship for many Hindus.

The Christian scriptures emphasize kindness towards strangers. Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul encouraged The first Christians welcomed strangers. Paul wrote that some hospitable people “have unknowingly hosted angels”.

Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs and other faiths also cultivate hospitality and remember the migration journeys of their founders. These teachings have historically inspired religious Communities to assist immigrants.

Help for fellow migrants

Based on these beliefs, recent migrants have throughout history founded religious communities to function a support network for brand new arrivals from their home countries and thus make sure the preservation of their languages ​​and cultures.

This happened all around the country, from Italian Catholic migrants in New York to Buddhist migrants in San Francisco, Chicago and elsewhere.

An example of that is my home state of Nebraska. German, Swedish, Czech and Danish immigrants In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ethnic and spiritual communities were created. Churches and Church organizations offered a strategy to preserve community and culture. For example, Swedish Lutheran immigrants founded the Luther Academy in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 1883, and the language of their catalog modified from Swedish to English and back again for at the very least the primary decade, reflecting their changing linguistic and cultural identity.

Charities for Migrants

In the United States, religious communities often resort to the principle of neighborly care by establishing institutions to support vulnerable populations, including migrants.

For example, the Catholic Charities, founded in 1910 began providing Help for displaced individuals after the Second World War. Today it supports refugees and immigrants with social and legal servicesThe Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, now Global Refuge, began its refugee assistance program in 1939. In the Forties expanded its mission from helping Lutheran refugees to all those fleeing war or persecution. The refugee settlement organizations DECORATIVErooted in Jewish tradition and World Aidwhose roots lie in Protestant Christianity, have their very own history of helping displaced people of various religions.

This longstanding commitment to assisting immigrants and refugees explains why religious groups often challenge laws that criminalize such assistance. In 2018, volunteers from the Tucson, Arizona-based nonprofit No More Deaths successfully appealed Convictions for littering and driving in protected areas on the grounds that their religious values ​​forced them to depart water and supplies for migrants within the Arizona desert.

Similarly, Florida passed a law in May 2023 that targets each illegal immigrants and employers. was modified after religious leaders expressed concern that the ban on transporting undocumented immigrants would penalize individuals who drive migrants to church activities. A pastor argues that the law would place churches in an “untenable” position by forcing them to choose from following the law and obeying the biblical commandment of compassion.

In the Annunciation House case, the Catholic bishop of El Paso and other religious leaders defended the humanitarian mission of the animal shelterThey stressed that Annunciation House neither enforces nor breaks immigration laws, but focuses on providing assistance and legal advice.

Annunciation House staff and supporters cite religious principles as their motivation for providing this assistance, becoming the most recent in an extended line of spiritual people to say the identical.

Faced with declining membership numbersAging buildings and enormous, underutilized properties, many American places of worship have closed their doors in recent times. Presbyterian minister Eileen Linder argued that 100,000 churches could close in the subsequent many years.

But some communities are using their land in latest ways in which reflect their faith – a spotlight of my urban planning researchSome are converting their property to create reasonably priced housing, the actual estate crisis is worsening across the country.

Take Arlington Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia. In 2016, the church sold its historic stone constructing to the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing to a 6-storey complex with 173 apartments, often known as Gilliam Place. The constructing still has space for the community in addition to La Cocina, a bilingual cooking school and a restaurant. In Austin, Texas, the Catholic parish of St. Austin is working with a developer to construct a 29-story tower with 200 beds for affordable housing for college studentsalong with latest rooms for worship.

Other places of worship are pursuing similar projects today.

Same mission, latest projects

Religious organizations have been constructing housing for a few years, but generally through Acquisition of additional propertyIn recent years, nonetheless, an increasing number of houses of worship are constructing reasonably priced housing on the identical property because the sanctuary.

This may be done in several ways. Some communities Adaptation of the prevailing sanctuary and other buildings owned by the religious community, while others are demolishing existing buildings to construct a brand new settlement which will Space for the communityAnother possibility is construct on surplus land, corresponding to a car parking zone.

Depending on how a development agreement is structured, a spiritual organization may receive proceeds from selling its land or from leasing its property to a developer—money it might then spend on pastoral care or on a brand new place to worship. If a brand new project also creates space for the congregation, it can sometimes rent it out when it shouldn’t be getting used for worship, which can even profit the congregation financially.

Religious organizations often view these projects as a chance to do “God’s work.” In some cases, they include community services that transcend just housing.

Near Los Angeles, the Episcopal Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Placentia has partnered with a nonprofit reasonably priced housing developer – National Community Renaissance, also often known as National CORE – to 65 units for the elderlyThe complex also features a 140 square meter community center. The city's diocese goals to create reasonably priced housing on 25% of its 133 properties.

For some communities, these are mission-oriented projects rooted in social justice.

In Washington, DC, the Emory United Methodist Church has renovated its property and built The Beacon Center – which has 99 reasonably priced housing units, community spaces and a industrial kitchen that gives job training for recently incarcerated people – while preserving the sanctuary. In Seattle, the Nehemiah Initiative works with black churches within the Central District, a historically African-American neighborhood, to convert the properties there into reasonably priced housing and thus prevent the displacement of residents.

Potential for further development

Churches have also experimented with different housing models.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Mosaic Christian Communitywhich is affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, has joined forces with a corporation called Completed to construct tiny houses on the church property, including a bed, an attic, a kitchen and a small closet. Peace Presbyterian Church in Eugene, Oregon, sold its property to the reasonably priced housing nonprofit SquareOne Villages develop Peace Villagea fancy with 70 residential units.

Peace Village uses a hybrid ownership structure that gives Cooperative with limited liability with a Community Land Trustand separates land costs from housing costs. SquareOne owns the land but leases it to the co-op after which rents or sells apartments to its members, who also manage the land – a partnership that goals to maintain the fee of land reasonably priced.

As states and cities struggle to offer reasonably priced housing, studies have been conducted from Nashville To New York City the quantity of land owned by religious organizations and their potential as partners in housing.

In the Washington DC metropolitan area, for instance, the Urban Institute found: almost 800 undeveloped plots owned by religious organizations. In California, based on a report by Terner Center on the University of California, Berkeley found about 170,000 “potentially developable” acres of land owned by religious organizations and nonprofit colleges and universities.

Legal reforms

Places of worship attempting to create housing can face a lot of challenges, including zoningSome communities have difficulty adapting development plans to latest land uses, minimising parking requirements or increasing residential density.

In response, many states and municipalities have reformed laws and regulations. Washington state lawmakers approved a bill in April 2019, which provides religious organizations with a density bonus for constructing 100% reasonably priced housing on religious land – allowing a rise within the variety of units allowed to be built. In the identical 12 months, San Diego reduced or in some cases Parking requirements removed for organizations that create reasonably priced housing near public transport hubs.

In October 2023, California lawmakers will a law passed allowing religious organizations and colleges to bypass local permitting processes to create reasonably priced housing on their property.

In March 2024, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio introduced the “Yes, in God's Backyard Act.” His “YIGBY” proposal would supply technical assistance to spiritual organizations excited by constructing reasonably priced housing.

YIGBY vs NIMBY

Another challenge for places of worship that need to create reasonably priced housing is resistance from the population.

Places of worship will not be only spiritual centers, but can be essential anchors within the neighborhood, providing social services and space for community events. They may be aesthetically pleasing and sometimes historically significant.

In New York City, for instance West Park Presbyterian Church has been fighting against the community for nearly a decade his desire to renovate the propertyThe historic church is a listed constructing and requires multimillion-dollar repairs that the congregation says it cannot afford.

Instead, the municipality wants to construct a multi-use facility that gives housing and space for the community to proceed offering arts programs and community activities. However, under town's historic preservation regulations, a chosen property can’t be demolished or altered.

Even if a redevelopment project has no legal obstacles, it might be difficult to search out the needed skills or financing. Nonprofit housing agencies corresponding to Pursue and that Support society for local initiatives have established technical assistance programs for organizations searching for to create reasonably priced housing, including places of worship. Other nonprofit groups corresponding to Bricks and Mortals, Partner for sacred places and that Campus of Faith Leadershipsponsored by Trinity Church Wall Street, can be advising on the event process.

Despite these challenges, many places of worship are constructing housing and changing people's attitudes concerning the role of spiritual organizations of their communities.

Jon Etherton, a member of Arlington Presbyterian Church, told me of the redevelopment process, “The call of God to create something for affordable housing was bigger than the building itself.”

In the times since Oklahoma Secretary of State Ryan Walters took office ordered school districts to show the Biblehe was defend his mandate.

For example, he claimed in an interview on NewsNation that the Bible “has been banned from classrooms, and we say, listen, we are proud to be the first state to bring it back.”

In fact, federal law has never prevented public schools from using the Bible as an appropriate tool in secular instruction. Rather, what the present Supreme Court precedent prohibits is using the Bible as part of non secular instruction in public schools.

Walters' mandate – sent to districts on June 27, 2024 – appears to blur that line between secular and spiritual instruction. It also contributes to a bigger trend by which state officials seek to blur the lines between religion and state.

Another distinguished example is the latest law in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. This law has already triggered a lawsuit by civil rights groups.

As someone who studies religious freedom lawI view these government initiatives as part of a bigger effort to extend the presence of Christianity in the general public sphere and challenge constitutional protections for religious freedom.

Secular vs. religious use

The most vital Supreme Court case coping with Bible reading in public schools is Abbington v. Schemppwhich was decided in 1963.

The issue was a Pennsylvania state law from 1913 that required that “at the opening of every public school, at least ten verses from the Holy Bible must be read without comment every school day.” The law allowed children to be excused from class on the request of their parents.

The Schempp family, whose children attended public schools in Pennsylvania, sued on the grounds that the law violated the primary amendment to the US Constitution.

In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court agreed that the law against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendmentwhich prohibits the federal government from enacting laws “regarding the state religion.”

Originally, the Establishment Clause only applied to the federal government. This modified after the ratification of the the 14th Amendment of 1868The Supreme Court has interpreted the 14th Amendment to mean that State governmentsincluding public schoolsto comply with a lot of the provisions of the Bill of Rights.

In the Pennsylvania case, the Supreme Court made it clear that public school instruction involving the Bible or religion will be constitutional “when presented objectively as part of a secular educational program.” Religious texts may, for instance, be utilized in the classroom as a part of a comparative religion lesson or within the study of literature.

Crucially, nevertheless, the court found that Pennsylvania's law violated the Establishment Clause since it had a spiritual, not a secular, purpose. Daily Bible reading constituted “a religious ceremony” that was “intended by the State,” whether or not children were exempt from it.

Christian Nationalism

The messages on the brand new mandate blur the excellence between secular and spiritual Bible teaching.

For example, in Walters' memo Teaching schools to show Biblehe explains: “The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and, along with the Ten Commandments, a cornerstone of Western civilization. It is used as an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like, as well as for its significant influence on the founders of our nation and the fundamental principles of our Constitution.”

As well an announcement Referring to the mandate, he claimed that the Bible was “a necessary historical document to teach our children the history of this country, to give them a comprehensive understanding of Western civilization, and to give them an understanding of the fundamentals of our legal system.”

These statements underscore the challenge of distinguishing between secular and spiritual uses of the Bible in education. Reading religious texts can provide useful context for some history lessons—for instance, in explaining the beliefs of some colonists. Yet arguments that the Bible is central to understanding U.S. history and law are also a pillar of Christian Nationalismthat’s, the assumption that Christianity must have a privileged place in politics, law and society within the United States because “America is a Christian nation.”

Many scientists reject this controversial view of historyand argued, for instance, that misrepresents the religious and political opinions of the founders.

But this belief has gained importance inside the political right within the USA. As the Yale sociologist Philip Gorski has noticedChristian nationalism “no longer operates beneath the surface or in the background. It is now at the center of power.”

Accordingly a Pew survey from 2022More than 4 in ten Americans imagine that “the United States should be a Christian nation,” although they disagree about what which means.

Americans united for the separation of church and state describes Walters' mandate as “textbook Christian nationalism” and has declared that it’s “ready to intervene” to attempt to block it.

Part of a trend

Walters' mandate is consistent with a broader movement opposing restrictions on religion in public schools, a movement that has made significant progress on the Supreme Court in recent times.

For example, in 2022, the court ruled that under certain circumstances public funds may very well be used to pay tuition at private religious schools in Maine and that a public highschool football coach had the correct to the correct to wish along with his players on the 50-yard line after the games.

Another challenge arose in Oklahoma in 2023 when the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved a charter for a Catholic institution. This move, which was supported by Walters And Governor Kevin Stittwould have founded the country's first religious charter school. The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected this plan on June 25, 2024and declared it unconstitutional.

Two days later, Walters sent his memo about Bible classes. Oklahoma Law already allows Use of the Bible to show religion, history and other subjects in public schools. Walters' mandate, nevertheless, goes much further. It requires statewide Bible instruction moderately than simply allowing it. “Every teacher, every classroom within the state can have a Bible”, he announced.

Given current precedents, the mandate appears unconstitutional. For that to vary, Walters' mandate, or one much like it, could have to find yourself within the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gyanendra Shah, former King of Nepal, is celebrates his 77th birthday on July 7, 2024. Twenty years ago, his birthday would have been a Nepali national holiday. When I first travelled to Nepal in 2001, the country was proud to have a good time the “the last Hindu kingdom in the world.” The king’s face was on every rupee note. The national anthem sang his praises.

But between 2006 and 2008 Transition from a Hindu monarchy to a secular democracy. It completely dissolved its monarchy, and Shah left the palace in June 2008. He has lived since then as a personal individual.

When I submitted my doctoral thesis on the transition in 2012, it seemed that Nepal had finally abolished its monarchy and Nepalese were looking forward to their secular future. But today many Nepalese disillusioned with their democratic multi-party system. After a big pro-monarchy rally in November 2023Nepal’s capital has witnessed a series of modest but Vocal follow-up demonstrations advocates a return to the Hindu monarchy.

What did religious kingship seem like in Nepal? Why was it abolished and why do some want it back?

Hindu monarchy

Unlike European monarchies, which were closely related to Christianity, Nepal's monarchy was rooted in Hinduism. This meant that the King of Nepal needed to be born right into a Hindu family and marry a Hindu woman. He had to watch the rituals of the family lineage and pray at his ancestral shrine. He also had to take care of close relationships with Brahmin priests.

The modern palace employed a priesthood of Brahmins – everlasting employees who appeared every day in a palace office to perform rituals. The king needed to honor a very powerful Hindu holidays by public appearances and the performance of ritualsHe inspected the military on Shiva Ratri, a festival in honour of Lord Shiva, and blessed government leaders through the Hindu festival of Vijaya Dasami. He received a Blessings of his patron goddess Kumaria young girl, believed to be the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Taleju, through the festival of Indra Jatra.

These roles made the king the patriarch, protector and archetype of the nation. Although the king did indirectly run the federal government for many of Nepal's history, he was, because the royalists put it, Nepal's “ekta ka pratek”: the symbol of unity.

Consolidation of the monarchy

Modern Nepal has only existed for about 250 years. For centuries, present-day Nepal was divided amongst many small principalities. In the 1760s, nevertheless, a small local king conquered all his neighbors, moved his capital to Kathmandu and placed his dynasty on the throne. But after this ambitious and successful king, the descendants who followed him were mostly weak and ineffective rulers. In 1800, the country was ruled by regents within the name of the king and self-proclaimed Prime Minister.

In 1950, nevertheless, King Tribhuvan Shah, who had held a purely ceremonial role since 1922, formed an alliance with a burgeoning democracy movement to realize more direct political power. From King Tribhuvan onwards, Nepal's kings actively led the federal government.

The modern monarchy was further centralized and consolidated by Tribhuvan's son, King Mahendra, who ruled from 1955 to 1972. Urban and cosmopolitan, he worked on the modernization of the country and his role as king. In the meantime, he has expanded the thought of ​​Hindu kingshipHe also dissolved the country's first democratically elected government to place himself on the helm the Panchayata supposedly grassroots democratic system that was in point of fact tightly controlled by the palace.

He also issued a nationalist program that may transform a various Nepal right into a single identity, with itself because the symbol of national unity. This program was summed up by the slogan:a king, an elephant, a language“: “One king, one country, one national costume.”

Nepal's dozens of Minority languages And ethnic identities were suppressed in favor of a national culture centered across the religious, ethnic and linguistic background of the king. When the youngsters went to highschool, they learned a fastidiously compiled curriculumthat are taught only in Nepali language, from books that specify Hinduism and the central importance of the Royal familyby teachers wearing the newly codified Nepalese national costume for men, the “Daura Suruwal”.

Modern nationalism subsequently meant a united Nepal, which erased ethnic, regional and spiritual differences for the unity of the monarchy.

The monarchy collapses

King Mahendra handed over the throne to his eldest son Birendra. But in June 2001, King Birendra murdered within the palaceallegedly by his own son, along along with his wife and youngsters and half a dozen other members of the royal family. This event had a catastrophic Blow against the monarchy.

In the turbulent aftermath of the regicides, Gyanendra Shah – Mahendra’s second son and brother of the murdered king – ascended the throne.

The nation was in mourning and traumatized, and folks perceived the brand new King Gyanendra as an uncharismatic monarch. An armed Maoist insurgency threatened rural Nepal and tried to capitalize on the tragedy while the multi-party parliament was arguing within the capital. To bring the situation under control, King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency and took direct control of the federal government in 2005.

The country has united against him.

In spring 2006 went on the road This brought Nepal to a standstill for 3 weeks. King Gyanendra capitulated to the rebellion.

At that point he was so unpopular that the Transitional government decided to completely dissolve the monarchy. They stripped the king of all ceremonial roles and spiritual activities. They removed the king from the national anthem and removed his portrait from the national currency. They officially declared the country a secular democracy and turned the palace right into a museum. The king moved out of the palace in June 2008.

The transition from monarchy was intended to free Nepal from its history of forced unity. The first post-monarchy parliament consisted of members wearing all manner of clothing, taking their oaths in many alternative languages ​​and tasked with Writing a brand new, inclusive Constitution. A pluralistic National anthem announced: “We are a Nepalese wreath made of hundreds of different flowers.”

Challenges today

Unfortunately, Nepal's post-monarchical government has problems to meet the hopes that had brought them to power. The latest structure got here out years late, while vital leaders have been accused of corruption. The political Parties fight coalitions together, and the constantly tipping over The government has experienced 12 governments in 16 years.

This instability has led some Nepalese to develop into nostalgic for the thought of ​​unity through monarchy.

Today, when people take to the streets to demand a return to Hindu monarchy, a lot of them don’t express love for Gyanendra Shah. The former king was not loved; he ruled under a cloud of grief and was dismissed before many had develop into accustomed to his presence.

The ex-king has lived in Nepal for 16 years. He rarely appears in public, but occasionally attends religious events and once appeared in a nightclub. He makes regular public statements calls for political peace and unity. While he support the recent rallieshe has not explicitly expressed his intention to return to power.

But while the present government is arguing and the Nepalese have gotten increasingly disillusioned with their government, I argue that the previous king a useful gizmo for protests.

Children in American public schools traditionally learned the three R's: reading, writing and arithmetic. Today, students in greater than half of U.S. states can learn a fourth R: religion.

Oklahoma is the most recent state to permit school boards to introduce “free periods”: extracurricular courses with religious or moral instruction that students in grades 1 through 12 can attend for a part of the varsity day with parental consent. Governor Kevin Stitt signed Bill 1425 right into a law approving this system, on June 5, 2024.

Oklahoma law requires school districts to determine policies that allow students to attend up to a few hours of exemption classes per week. Classes should be held in independent facilities that aren’t on school property. Teachers don’t have to be certified educators but must keep attendance records, and students are liable for making up missed classes.

In what’s prone to be a controversial move, the Satanic Temple – a non-theistic religious group that advocates the separation of church and state and concepts resembling rationality, compassion and bodily autonomy – announced the intention to supply courses on his Facebook account.

The release date may lead to debate, but is just not latest. Programs were proposed in New York City in 1905, but the primary program was not implemented until 1914 in Gary, Indiana. The variety of states with programs increased within the Thirties and '40s—and the problem soon reached the Supreme Court.

Two cases, two results

The first of two Supreme Court cases on exemption was decided in 1948. Controversy arose when an area board within the state of Illinois allowed Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholic leaders to enter public schools and supply religious instruction to children whose parents consented to them missing regular classes to attend religious instruction.

In McCollum v. Board of EducationThe Supreme Court rejected this system for 2 reasons.

First, the judges ruled that this system improperly permitted the usage of tax-funded buildings for religious instruction, which violated the First Amendment to the Constitution – which states: “Congress shall make no law establishing a State religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Second, the Court invalidated this system since it provided invaluable, impermissible assistance to spiritual groups by helping them spread their faith.

Four years later, in Zorach v. ClausonThe Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of one other New York City exemption program that allowed public school students to be exempted from public school to attend religious classes off school grounds.

This time, the judges confirmed that state school authorities could accommodate parents' religious wishes by exempting their children from classes outside of faculty.

The court upheld the exemption because public schools aren’t used for religious instruction. The judges said that the exemption was consistent with the popularity of parental freedom of selection and control over the education of their children. The underlying law stays in place.

National Landscape

As in Ohio, South Carolina And TennesseeOklahoma law allows students to earn academic credit for these courses, although they can not take them rather than a core curriculum course. The law specifically directs school boards to determine standards under which waivers for these elective courses are eligible. The law also features a provision stating that faculty boards aren’t liable for students during extracurricular courses.

In total, 16 states – from California and Montana to Massachusetts and West Virginia – have laws and one state has a regulation that offers school authorities the chance to make regulations for allowing school-free classes.

In addition, authorities in eleven other states and Oklahoma are actually required to introduce exemption regulations.

The remaining 21 states and Washington DC don’t have school closing time laws, but parents or religious organizations can petition the local school board to implement such a program.

Questions that remain

Oklahoma's exemption laws are consistent with those of other states. However, two questions arise.

First, given the Satanic Temple's intention to supply classes, will supporters of this bill defend the suitable of minority religions to accomplish that?

Second, what impact does the break day have on learning?

As someone who teaches and researches legal topics Regarding religion and education, I readily acknowledge the worth of learning about religions. But at a time when academic achievement is lagging in lots of places, in some as a consequence of the pandemicwhy do children miss lessons about their very own faith after they can learn it outside of faculty – be it in church services, online classes, and even online?

I need to confess, though, that Zorach v. Clauson was my favorite case in elementary school, though I couldn't name it on the time. My classmates and I might finish early on Wednesdays at our Catholic elementary school in order that the general public school kids could have religion classes—the identical day that Carvel Ice Cream Parlors had their weekly two-for-one deal.

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had hoped for a landslide victory within the country’s six-week parliamentary elections – the biggest demonstration of democracyby far, in a yr by which elections were held worldwide. But with the outcomes not due until June 4, 2024, the party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed on the technique to a narrow parliamentary majority.

In order to form a government by itself, the BJP needs 272 seats. If it fails to accomplish that, it’ll must depend on the assistance of its coalition partner, the National Democratic Alliance.

The Conversation US spoke with Sumit GangulyDistinguished Professor of Political Science and Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, to learn more concerning the election results and their significance for Indian democracy.

The BJP had spoken of a landslide victory, however it looks as if it’ll not get a majority. How do you explain this result?

Part of the reply is that the Modi government has not recognised that The economic advantages were considerabletheir distribution was uneven. India experienced a Increase in inequality And persistent unemployment in each rural and concrete areas. Unemployment amongst 20- to 24-year-olds is at a high of 44.49%. And that's the national total; this data doesn't tell us that things could possibly be much worse in certain regions.

The other explanation is that Modi's exploitation of the historical tensions between Hindus and Muslims seems to have run its natural course. One can beat the religious drum – and Modi did so with rhetoric, including calling Muslims “Infiltrators“- but then on a regular basis problems like work, housing and other necessities of that sort predominate, and these are the things which are most significant to people.

In my evaluation, the BJP made a mistake. It didn’t realise that in a rustic where only 11.3% of kids receive adequate nutritionHindu pride can’t be eaten – ultimately it comes right down to the worth of potatoes and other essential goods.

Let's speak about Uttar Pradesh, the northern Indian state with 80 parliamentary seats. It plays an important role in every national election and Modi and his alliance are prone to lose the state. What happened?

It is one other example of the identical miscalculation that we’re seeing on the national level within the BJP. The state's chief minister,Yogi Adityanathsaw himself as a fiery Hindu nationalist and probably a successor to Modi.

But he too didn’t have in mind the impact of his policies on the poorer sections of the state's population, who’re predominantly Muslims and other people at the underside of India's caste hierarchy.

He pursued great Infrastructure projects like latest highways and airports, and these could have been attractive to the center class – but to not the poor.

In addition, a few years of chairmanship of a state government that Police violence to suppress dissenting opinionsoften the poor and marginalized, have taken a toll on Adityanath's support.

How can we explain the BJP’s success within the southern state of Kerala, where it’s heading in the right direction to make history by winning a parliamentary seat?

The gains within the South are puzzling, and more data on voting behavior are needed for a more detailed evaluation.

Historically, the BJP couldn’t achieve success to the southern states for quite a lot of reasons. These include linguistic subnationalism as a result of hostility towards Hindi.

The other problem within the South is that the practice of Hinduism may be very different, including festivals and other regional traditions. The BJP's vision of Hinduism is predicated on the “great tradition“ from northern India, which believes within the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as creator, preserver and destroyer gods.

The southern states are also engines of economic growth and ultimately subsidize the poorer states of the north. As a result, there are Resentment against the BJPwhich has long had its political base in northern India.

In July 2023, 26 opposition parties formed a coalition called INDIA – the Indian National Developmental and Inclusive Alliance – to challenge the BJP within the elections. Did they’ve a good likelihood?

No, the starting position was anything but equal. The mass media was largely co-opted by the ruling BJP to push its agenda. Apart from one or two regional newspapers, all national dailies are conscientiously avoid any criticism of the BJPand the most important television channels often act as cheerleaders for presidency policies.

Several secret services are accused of were abused for obviously partisan purposes against the opposition parties. Political leaders have been imprisoned on charges that will prove dubious. For example, Arvind Kejriwal, the highly popular Prime Minister of New Delhi, accused of alleged irregularities involved within the awarding of alcohol licenses and was arrested just just a few days after the election date was announced.

Despite the electoral losses, Modi is predicted to return for a 3rd term as prime minister. Given that the BJP won only two seats within the 1984 elections, the query arises as to what aspects led to the party's meteoric rise.

The BJP has built a solid organisational base across the country, unlike the Indian National Congress, the foremost opposition party. And the Congress Party has done little to revive its political foundations, which had eroded within the Seventies after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency and a non-Congress government got here to power for the primary time.

The BJP also appealed to the feelings of the Hindu majority population with slogans portraying India's largest minority, Muslims, because the reason for countless social problems. Hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities rose across India lately.

Finally, the BJP also benefited from economic reforms that the previous Congress government had set in motion from the Nineteen Nineties, including a national goods and services tax and the privatisation of the loss-making state-owned airline Air India, which helped significant economic growth in India.

In December 1992, Hindu nationalists demolished the sixteenth century Babri Mosque. How crucial was this to the BJP's rise to power? And what can we conclude from the lack of its Ayodhya seat?

The destruction of the Babri Mosque definitely mobilised a major section of the Hindu electorate and led to a surge in support for the BJP. In 1999 – just seven years after the event – ​​the BJP got here to power for the primary time in a coalition government by which it 182 of 543 seats within the Indian ParliamentTwo national elections later, in 2004, Modi took office as prime minister with a transparent majority of 282 seats.

In January 2024, just just a few months before the election, Modi inaugurated a newly built temple in Ayodhyathe positioning of the Babri Mosque. It was a rigorously staged event with a watch on votes.

However, BJP lost its seat in AyodhyaIt is feasible that each one the joy concerning the latest temple appealed to people outside Ayodhya – but to not the residents of the town, who proceed to Waste mismanagement and other problems.

What's next for Modi? And what do the outcomes tell us about Indian democracy?

It is sort of possible that Modi will form the federal government with coalition partners. I consider that Modi, as a wise politicianwill almost certainly learn from this setback and adapt its tactics to the brand new realities.

The results could also provide a useful corrective: the Indian voter has shown once more that she or he could also be willing to place up with some things but not others.

Indian voters have shown prior to now that once they see democracy threatened, they have an inclination to punish politicians with autocratic tendencies. We saw this when the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suffered a crushing defeat within the 1977 electionsThe elections followed a state of emergency imposed by Gandhi, which suspended all civil liberties. At the time, it was India's poor who voted them out.

This time, we could have to attend for added electoral data on the voting behavior of certain caste and income groups.

The local leader of a mission group in Haiti and a young missionary couple from the USA were attacked and shot by gang members after leaving a youth group activity at a church, a member of the family told the Associated Press.

The killing of Jude Montis, the local director of Missions in Haiti Inc., in addition to Davy and Natalie Lloyd on Thursday occurred locally of Lizon in northern Port au PrinceNatalie Lloyd is the daughter of a Republican state representative in Missouri.

Haiti's capital is crumbling under relentless attacks from violent gangs that control 80 percent of town, while authorities await the arrival of a police force from Kenya, a part of a United Nations-backed mission to stem gang violence within the crisis-ridden Caribbean nation.

Here you may learn more in regards to the missionary work that focused on helping the youngsters of Haiti and the gang attack that left three people dead.

Working in Haiti

The Missions in Haiti website states that the organization's goal is “to ensure that the gospel of Christ makes a difference in the lives of Haiti's young people.”

Davy Lloyd's parents, David and Alicia Lloyd of Oklahoma, founded the organization in 2000 to concentrate on the youngsters of Haiti. David and Alicia Lloyd are full-time missionaries within the country.

“Although the entire country is mired in poverty, children suffer the most,” they wrote on the web site. “Thousands are malnourished, uneducated and headed for a hopeless life without Christ.”

Hannah Cornett, Davy's sister, told AP that they grew up in Haiti. Davy went to the U.S. to attend Bible school and married Natalie in June 2022. After the marriage, the couple moved to Haiti without much delay to do humanitarian work.

Cornett said Montis, a Haitian, worked in missions in Haiti for 20 years.

The organization's activities include the House of Compassion, which provides housing for 36 children – 18 boys and 18 girls – based on its website. “All are designated to stay at the House of Compassion until they finish school and are ready to stand on their own two feet.”

The Good Hope Boys' Home provides a house for 22 boys, based on its website. The organization also built a church, a bakery and a faculty with greater than 240 students.

The attack

A Facebook post on the Missions in Haiti page said that 23-year-old Davy Lloyd and 21-year-old Natalie Lloyd were leaving a church with some children after they were ambushed by gang members in three trucks.

Davy Lloyd later called his family and told them that gang members had hit him in the top with the muzzle of a gun, dragged him upstairs, stolen their belongings and left him tied up, Cornett said.

While people were helping to untie Davy Lloyd, one other group of armed men appeared, Cornett said.

“Nobody understood what they were doing. I'm not sure what happened, but one was shot and now this gang has gone into attack mode,” the Missions in Haiti post said.

The couple and Montis fled to a house attached to the mission.

“They tried to take cover there, but the gang shot up the house,” Cornett said.

Ben Baker, Natalie Lloyd's father and a Missouri state representative, said on Facebook Friday that the couple's bodies had been safely transported to the U.S. embassy.

Cassidy Anderson, a spokeswoman for the family, said in a later Facebook post on Baker's page that they were working to get better the bodies.

“We need to obtain a special permit to transport their bodies without full embalming, as there are no facilities in Haiti that offer this service,” the post said. “After that, we need to find an airline willing to carry out the transport. We pray that everything goes smoothly.”

Grieving families

Cornett said Montis left behind two children, ages 2 and 6.

Montis' family couldn’t be reached for comment Friday and the missions in Haiti didn’t reply to AP's request for comment.

Missions in Haiti said in a Facebook post on Saturday that they were facing “the most difficult time of our lives.”

“The embassy is working to get all the paperwork completed so the children can be flown to the States and many other things behind the scenes to make everything happen more quickly and safely,” the post said, adding that the youngsters and mission staff in Haiti had been relocated to a safer location.

“I have never felt such pain,” he said. “Most of you know that my daughter and son-in-law, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, are full-time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked by gangs tonight and both killed. They went to heaven together. Please pray for my family, we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family too. I am at a loss for words right now.”

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Associated Press author Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed.

Researchers have long known that religious young individuals are less prone to get entangled dangerous behavior. My team's research explains why.

We surveyed the religious beliefs and risk behaviors of over 1,400 Florida teenagers multiple times between 2010 and 2012. Although nearly all of our sample self-identified as Christian, most of the teens reported belonging to other religious groups or not being religious.

Our work has focused on dangerous behaviors – akin to the usage of alcohol, drugs and tobacco – which are socially unacceptable, potentially harmful and sometimes illegal for young people.

What deters dangerous behavior?

We identified 4 conditions that may reduce dangerous behavior: low opportunities, attractiveness, acceptance, and high levels of self-control.

Let's take alcohol consumption for example. Teens are less prone to drink once they do there’s an absence of options or in the event that they find alcohol consumption unattractiveperhaps since the people they care about Consider drinking unfavorable. Teens are also less prone to drink alcohol in the event that they perceive it as alcohol morally unacceptable. Finally, teens are less prone to drink once they can control their impulses and resist temptation or Peer pressure.

These 4 conditions overlap. This can occur, for instance, through disapproval from peers each reduce the appeal and that moral acceptance the consumption of alcohol. In addition, circumstances akin to parental supervision that limit opportunities may express that the behavior is morally unacceptable or unattractive.

What religion offers

Although religions differ of their beliefs, all of them have commonalities that may impact the 4 conditions that discourage dangerous behavior.

First, all religions Offer people a worldviewThese are a set of beliefs that address questions akin to why people exist, how they need to behave, and what happens after they die.

Worldviews provide guidelines that may influence the desirability and moral acceptability of dangerous behavior. My research team found that religious teenagers – teenagers who express themselves stronger religious beliefs and more likely to interact in religious behavior – have a stronger one A way of purpose and a transparent understanding of what is true and what’s incorrect. These worldview advantages were also related to lower rates of smoking, drinking, and marijuana use.

Second, religions often revolve around belief in an omniscient entity or God who monitors behavior and may punish or reward. Faith in God, in turn, can promote Self-monitoring, self-control and ultimately less dangerous behavior.

Third, religions usually are not only a set of beliefs; They represent communities of people that can influence considering and behavior. You can restrict Opportunities to get entangled in dangerous behavior. You can communicate valuesB. the concept drinking alcohol is incorrect influences the attractiveness and moral acceptability of dangerous behavior. And they will bid Support and feelings of belonging This may help teens with impulse control.

What stays unknown

Most research on the consequences of faith on risk behavior examines Christians within the United States and Europe. We need more research from other cultures and other religions. It is noteworthy that our research suggests that the association between greater religiosity and fewer dangerous behavior is general The same applies to girls and boys and to all religious and racial groups.

Research suggests that a way of purpose and a transparent understanding of what is true and what’s incorrect are related to less dangerous behavior even amongst non-religious teenagers. Our interpretation is that a powerful worldview is more vital than the source of the worldview.

Furthermore, secular communities lack belief in an all-powerful God. But the larger point is monitoring and rewarding from authority figures can influence dangerous behavior. Secular communities may give you the option to cut back dangerous behavior amongst teenagers through increased monitoring and rewards and by adjusting other features of faith that appear to discourage dangerous behavior amongst religious youth.

The Research Brief is a transient insight into interesting scientific work.