Consumer spending on Easter is expected to reach a record total of $24.9 billion this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The amount surpasses the previous record of $24 billion set in 2023. On a per-person basis, shoppers are budgeting a record high of $195.59, up from the previous record of $192.01 in 2023. (National Retail Federation)
Read MoreThis is one of the world’s great religious debates and one of its most intense historical detective stories, and my guest this week has spent his career as a leading participant, joining the skeptical side as a New Testament scholar after growing up as a believing Christian. (Douthat, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe idea that a “vibe shift” is under way, and that young people in particular are more open to Christianity, has taken hold. A survey published by King’s College London in December found that 18 to 34-year-olds were much more likely than their elders to believe that there was a “guiding purpose in life” and to feel gratitude to God. (Davies, The Times)
Read MoreA recent national survey from Common Sense Media found that 36% of boys age 11 to 17 in the U.S. have gambled in the past year. "It's a lot of kids," says Michael Robb, the head of research at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that promotes digital safety for kids. "A third of kids is a lot of kids." (Carrillo, NPR)
Read MoreWhile many Americans would see this as an unthinkable regression to a time when women were treated as second-class Americans, proponents of the concept believe deeply that this arrangement is what God envisioned in a marriage. (Yee, The New York Times)
Read MoreThis “tradwife” movement urges a return to traditional roles and, when researchers in the US recently set out to examine what kind of men support it, they expected to find a cohort fond of old-fashioned chivalry. The reality, they say, was rather different. (Blakely, The Times)
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