‘They Want Us To Be Scared’: Anti-abortion Activists Target Ballot Measure Organizers in Arkansas

For The 19th News, Barbara Rodriguez and Grace Panetta share stories of pro-choice activists canvassing to get the ‘Arkansas Right to Abortion Initiative’ on the state’s ballot in November. Earlier this month, 80 paid canvassers’ names were posted online by a conservative opposition group as an intimidation tactic, a move that escalated growing tensions and concerns about safety. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, state abortion protection ballot measures have been undefeated; if successful, Arkansas would be the most conservative state to secure abortion protection for its residents. PRRI data has found that 46% of Arkansas residents believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

The Effort to ‘Turn This Country Into a ‘Theocratic State’ Is Being Mainstreamed by the GOP

At MSNBC, Melissa Murray discusses the overt integration of Christian nationalism into mainstream politics with UPenn’s Chair of Religious Studies, Anthea Butler, Ph.D. Butler stated: “When you hear talk from people like [House Speaker] Mike Johnson about America as a Christian nation, what they’re saying to you is that they want white men to be part of that leadership.” PRRI research finds that 40% of Americans completely or mostly agree that U.S. laws should be based on Christian values. Meanwhile, several Jewish lawmakers say they are concerned Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s decisions are being driven by his religious views.

Why Politics Give Gen Z the Ick

State Street, a NPR podcast covering Utah politics, interviews PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., on Gen Z’s political identity, activism, and voting trends. While Gen Z voters are more likely to identify with the left, those on both sides of the spectrum feel discontent and distrust with institutions. “There’s a lot of lack of trust with our political institutions, with the parties, with the media. At the same time, we find that Gen Z Americans are just as likely, if not more likely, to participate and engage in the political system” Deckman explained. PRRI data has found that the majority of Gen Z adults (58%) agree that voting is the most effective way to create change in America. Listen here.

On the Banality of Evil in Catholic Horrors Films

At The Revealer, Matthew J. Cressler describes how two of the most critically acclaimed films of the past year — Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — depict the human capacity for evil. Cressler writes that “like a horror movie, they both projected evil onto the silver screen and insisted you watch without blinking,” however, the evil shown in these movies is not supernatural, but decidedly human. With both films’ central villains coming from a Catholic background, Cressler writes that these films offer an important portrayal of the human evil unleashed by religious people and their institutions throughout history.