Shock, Anger, Confusion Grip Alabama After Court Ruling on Embryos

The Washington Post’s Tim Craig and Sabrina Malhi report that advocates, attorneys, and physicians say the Alabama state Supreme Court’s recent ruling on frozen embryos creates a divisive legal landscape for IVF clinics. This ruling, which was decried by the White House as “exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” claims that frozen embryos should be afforded protection under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. Physicians believe patients may have to undergo longer and more expensive treatments as a result. PRRI found that just one-third of Americans (34%) favored overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Many Believe the Founders Wanted a Christian America. Some Want the Government To Declare One Now

For the Associated Press, Peter Smith reports that although belief in America’s Christian origins is fairly mainstream, a smaller, more vocal group of Americans support privileging Christianity over other religions. Former President Trump has echoed some of these ideas, vowing to bar immigrants who “don’t like our religion.” Anthea Butler, chair of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said the idea of America as a Christian nation is a “trope of exclusion” that centers white Protestants as the ones who “should be running the country.” According to last year’sPRRI/Brookings report, one-third of Americans believe God intended America to be a promised land for European Christians to set an example to the world.

Taylor Swift, White Womanhood, and the Battle Over Who Gets to Be the Face of the Nation

A new Spotlight Analysis by PRRI Public Fellow Allyson Shortle, Ph.D. examines how Taylor Swift’s wide range of critics reveals the power of normative beliefs through which people understand national identity. Shortle writes that when it comes to Swift’s right-wing critics, data reveals that celebrating Swift as an ideal American challenges the far right’s deeply held understanding of the primary ingredients of an ideal American: supporting both masculinity and Christianity. However, more progressive Americans remain skeptical of celebrating white women’s success as a sign of progress for all women, pointing out that white women say that white supremacy is not a problem at four times the rate of Black women.

America’s Becoming Less Religious. Is Politics to Blame?

At TIME, Samuel L. Perry exploresthe connection between right-wing politics and religion, alongside other secularizing factors like economic prosperity, pluralism, and functional governance. Perry writes that among young people, the association between religion and politics has caused those with left-leaning political views to disaffiliate from religion. PRRI data finds that religion is less important for Americans today than it was a decade ago with just 16% of Americans saying that religion is the most important thing in their life.