Voices
Politics & SocietyDispatches
The homeownership gap between white and black families is as wide as it was in the 1960s, and the remaining barriers to integration include restrictive zoning and newly tightfisted banks.
FaithDispatches
Compared with other Christians in the United States, Catholics are more likely to attend church to please other family members—and are significantly less likely to go because they “find the sermons valuable.” Those were among the findings of a Pew Research Center poll released in August. Pew interviewed 4,729 U.S. adults, including 844 self-identified Catholics, last December to find out why they regularly attended church or stayed away.
Arts & CultureFilm
“Fahrenheit 11/9” is not subtle, and it is not sympathetic to the view that what we need now is civility and centrism.
Arts & CultureIdeas
Fifty years ago, U.S. television began to reflect the political debates going on in our homes. But genuine differences may be to hot to handle in the Age of Trump.
FaithDispatches
The number of permanent deacons in the Catholic Church has steadily grown, to more than 18,000 in the U.S. and more than 45,000 worldwide.
Politics & SocietyDispatches
The fertility rate in the U.S. is down, but the cost of raising a child may be to blame. If not for immigrant families, births would be down sharply.
FaithDispatches
Surveys suggest that younger Americans are turning away from religion, but they may not have been properly introduced to the church in the first place.
FaithDispatches
Easter is second only to Christmas in Mass attendance—and in a tight race with Halloween in candy consumption.
Politics & SocietyDispatches
The Irish-American population is almost seven times bigger than Ireland itself, but it is also aging and shrinking.
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Besides Pope Francis, there was an impressively wide range of topics that got readers’ attention, including reflections on capitalism and philanthropy, and evaluations of the music of U2 and Beyoncé.