The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day.

Report: Global Persecution at Historic Peak

Christianity is “the world’s most oppressed faith community,” and anti-Christian persecution in the worst regions has reached “a new peak” claims a new report by Aid to the Church in Need.

“In terms of the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed and their impact,” notes the report, “it is clear that the persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history. Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”

The report, “Persecuted and Forgotten?”, compiles analysis from a number of sources, including Open Door’s World Watch List and the Pew Forum’s Social Hostilities Index. In 12 of the 13 countries reviewed, the situation for Christians was worse in overall terms in the period 2015–17 than within the preceding two years. The only exception was Saudi Arabia, where “the situation was already so bad it could scarcely get any worse.”

The report claims that the United Nations and Western governments failed to offer Christians in countries such as Iraq and Syria the emergency help they needed as genocide got underway. “If Christian organizations and other institutions had not filled the gap,” says the report, “the Christian presence could already have disappeared in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.”

ISIS and other Islamist militant groups have committed genocide against Christians in Iraq and Syria. The militants are being defeated in many areas, though, which is making it possible for some Christian communities to return to their homes. “The defeat of [ISIS] and other Islamists in major strongholds of the Middle East offers the last hope of recovery for Christian groups threatened with extinction,” says the report. “Many would not survive another similar violent attack.”

Christians have also suffered increased violence and oppression as a result of a rise in religious nationalism. In India, persecution has risen sharply since the 2014 rise to power of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The worst persecution, though, continues to occur in North Korea. As the report points out, the “unspeakable atrocities” against Christians include enforced starvation, enforced abortion, and reports of believers being hung on crosses over a fire and others being crushed under a steamroller.

This week on ERLC podcasts: Daniel Darling talks to Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, about evangelizing the Bible Belt. And on the new ERLC podcast series, “How to Handle,” Trillia Newbell and Christine Hoover talk about messy beautiful friendships.

Other Issues

American Culture

A growing share of Americans say it’s not necessary to believe in God to be moral
Gregory A. Smith, Pew Research

Most U.S. adults now say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values (56%), up from about half (49%) who expressed this view in 2011.

Supreme Court Backs Push To Remove Ten Commandments Monument
Associated Press

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a lower court that ordered a New Mexico city to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the lawn outside City Hall.

The Federal Jail Blocking Some Inmates' Kids From Visiting
Maura Ewing, The Atlantic

Since last year, a detention center in Philadelphia has had one of the strictest visitation policies in the country. “Now it’s a different world in there,” one local lawyer said.

Bioethics

McConnell Says 20-Week Abortion Ban Has Full Backing of the Senate
Grace Carr, The Daily Signal

he ban is "supported by virtually all of my members and we expect to have a vote on it at some point,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says.

Court To Review Ruling Allowing Abortion For Immigrant Teen
Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press

An appeals court on Thursday temporarily stayed a judge's ruling that would have allowed a pregnant 17-year-old being held in a Texas facility for unaccompanied immigrant children to obtain an abortion.

An Absurd Fate: What Happens to Abandoned Embryos?
Jennifer Lahl, Public Discourse

A recent embryo custody battle highlights the plight of the hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos in the United States today.

Christianity and Culture

Study: Congress should end IRS oversight of sermons
Bob Smietana, Baptist Press

In the 1950s, Congress banned charitable nonprofits--including churches -- from endorsing candidates or otherwise intervening in elections. Any nonprofit that violated the ban could run afoul of the IRS. Churches risked losing their tax-exempt status if the preacher endorsed a candidate in a sermon.

International Issues

International Adoptions Drop to New Low as Evangelical Funding Spikes
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, Christianity Today

Churches continue to rally for orphan care while the State Department addresses global restrictions.

Ghana religious leaders join efforts to end child marriage
Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux

According to UNICEF, the UN's children’s agency, 39 percent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa are married before 18, and 12 percent are married before the age of 15.

Marriage Issues

A Closer Look at the Jobs with the Highest and Lowest Divorce Rates
Naomi Cahn, Institute for Family Studies

None of the professions with the highest divorce rates require more than a high school diploma, per a new analysis.

Religious Liberty

Department of Justice announces settlement in HHS mandate suits
Adelaide Mena, Catholic News Agency

A week after issuing new religious freedom guidelines to all administrative agencies in the federal government, the U.S. Department of Justice has settled with more than 70 plaintiffs who had challenged the controversial HHS contraceptive mandate.

Sexuality Issues

California adds 'non-binary' gender option on state licenses
Fox News

Californians who don’t identify as male or female will soon be able to identify as a third gender on state documents.

Events and Announcements

From Wittenberg to Washington: How the Reformation Shaped Our World
Arlington Baptist Church

Listen as Dr. Brian Lee discusses how the Protestant Reformation has shaped our world over the last 500 years. This event is free and open to the public.