In the weekly Resurgence Roundup, I compile some of the most interesting content I find online, as it pertains to the church and the people God has called us to reach. Keep in mind, I don’t endorse or agree with everything you’ll see included in the roundup.

‘Spiritual but Not Religious’: A Rising, Misunderstood Voting Bloc

The Atlantic:
While the evangelical bloc seems to have frayed a bit and liberal mainline religion continues to lose influence, another major religious category is gathering force and deserves politician and pundit attention—the “spiritual but not religious” vote. A fifth of Americans check “none” on surveys of religious preference. . . . 70 percent of “nones” report belief in God or a universal spirit, and 37 percent describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” This may or may not be the story of the decline of “religion,” but it is clearly also the story of the ascent of “spirituality.”

The Disability Double Standard

Joni Eareckson Tada in the Wall Street Journal:
The fear of disability has eroded the most basic of rights, especially now that so many more people are surviving disabling conditions. When such fear is allowed to influence legislation to allow people with disabilities to kill themselves, the notions of personal autonomy, freedom and dignity that the [Americans with Disabilities Act] championed take on a grim irony. . . . While a disabled person’s civil rights are recognized under federal law, those rights are nullified when confronted with stereotypical notions about the “tragedy” of a disabled person’s existence.

Everything you need to know about Japan’s population crisis

The Week:
The Japanese now have one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, and at the same time, one of the highest longevity rates. As a result, the population is dropping rapidly, and becoming increasingly weighted toward older people. . . . Without a dramatic change in either the birthrate or its restrictive immigration policies, Japan simply won’t have enough workers to support its retirees, and will enter a demographic death spiral. Yet the babies aren’t coming.

The rise of the young non-drinkers

BBC:
UK teenagers might have a reputation for binge drinking, but in reality the number of young people consuming alcohol has declined sharply. Why? “There is nothing that says you can’t go out and have fun without a drink,” says Liam Brooks, 18. Since November he’s been old enough to buy alcohol legally in pubs, but he’s never touched a drop. “It’s the mindset the media has that every 18-year-old goes out and gets drunk. Maybe people in the previous generation did. But nowadays, most people would go out to hang out.”

AZ Legislator, Pastor Introduces Bill to Protect Churches That Oppose Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

Christian News Network:
A legislator in Arizona has introduced a bill that would protect churches in the state from being forced to perform same-sex ‘weddings.’ Representative Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park), Associate Pastor and Youth Pastor at Surprise Apostolic Assembly, recently announced the First Freedom Act to ensure that pastors retain their First Amendment rights when it comes to the institution of marriage. The Act would make it illegal to “require a minister to solemnize a marriage inconsistent with a minister’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Fatherless Churches

First Things:
Extensive research on English churchgoing habits . . . shows that 65 percent of the average church congregation is made up of women and 35 percent of men, with the gap widening. . . . If a church has almost no attendees except women, it is understandable that ideas about new theologies of womanhood and new gender-inclusive ecclesial structures are going to seem much more urgent than they would in a Church with a healthier gender balance.

Top UK Christian Judge Issued Judicial Misconduct Warning for Defending Biblical Marriage

Christian News Network:
The official body with responsibility for judicial conduct in the UK has chastised a leading High Court judge, who is also a Christian, over comments asserting that biblical marriage is the best option for society. Sir Paul Coleridge was given a formal warning by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) because he promoted biblical marriage as more stable for children and society than other alternatives.