Mecca
Thousands of Muslims from the United States have traveled to Saudi Arabi to participate in annual pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites known as the Hajj. They join up to two million other believers from around the globe for one of the five basic practices or pillars of their religion. The other four are repeating the great confession, praying five times a day, giving alms to the poor, and fasting during Ramadan. The Hajj focuses on a rock in Mecca known as the Kaaba, in accordance with the teaching of Muhammad.
Texas
Southern Baptist pastor, scholar, and seminary president Russell Dilday died. He was 92. Elected to the presidency at the beginning of the power struggle in the SBC, Dilday was dramatically fired by his trustees and replaced by his nemeses Paige Patterson who himself was later fired for multiple offenses. Dilday represented the moderate or progress wing of the denomination and led the seminary to its largest enrollment ever.
Washington DC
The Supreme Court declined to hear a case from College of he Ozarks, a Christian college near Branson, Missouri. It affirmed the lower federal court ruling that the “College has not shown that there exists a credible threat that the defendants will enforce the Fair Housing Act against the institution based on its religiously-based housing policies.” In other words, the college lacked standing, as it had not yet been subject to action by the federal government for violating federal standards of discrimination, specifically against transgender students.
Charleston IL
Two thousand people were asked the question, “Did you, yourself, happen to attend church, synagogue, temple, or mosque in the last seven days?” and 31% responded Yes. This registers a slight uptick from the last few years but down a few points from pre-pandemic numbers. The high point of church attendance was during the 1960s when it reached almost 50%. Attendance at religious services has been on a steady, slow decline since 2000. These results were reported by Ryan Burge.
Pittsburgh
At their annual meeting this week in Pittsburgh, the Unitarian Universalist Association elected Rev. Sofia Betancourt as their new president. Which means that this year, the Unitarian Universalists join with American Baptists, the Alliance of Baptists, the Disciples of Christ, the United Church of Christ, and the National Council of Churches in being led by a Black Woman.
