RELIGION HEADLINES SAT 1-24-26

(SRN NEWS)  Christian legal experts are hopeful that the Supreme Court will uphold state laws that ban males from playing on female sports teams.  John Bursch (BURSH) of Alliance Defending Freedom says “I think there are cultural, political and legal headwinds all supporting this notion that it’s just a lie that a man can be a woman.  If we want a society that respects women and girls, then we need to come to terms with that truth.  And the sooner that we do that, the better.”  ADF has been a leader in defending state laws that keep boys out of girls’ sports.  The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a decision this summer.

(  )  The global music industry hit 5.1 trillion streams in 2025 according to a year-end report from Luminate.  It’s a new single-year record, up 9.6 percent from 2024.  While streams of new music — songs released in the last 18 months — were slightly down from the same time last year, Christian and Gospel music defied the trend.  The uptick in those genres was led by acts such as Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and Elevation Worship.  In Luminate’s year-end report, Christian and Gospel continued to expand in the United States, up 18.5 percent in on-demand audio volume change compared to the year before.

(  )  YouTube is updating its guidelines for videos containing content that advertisers define as controversial, allowing more creators to earn full ad revenue when they tackle sensitive issues in a non-graphic way.  With the update that went into effect this month, YouTube videos that dramatize or cover issues including abortion, domestic abuse, self-harm, suicide and adult sexual abuse without graphic descriptions or imagery are now eligible for full monetization.  Some pro-life channels were under restriction until YouTube made the rules change.

(  )  The new head of the New York City Council has a plan to reduce anti-Semitism in the Big Apple.  Amongst other things, Julie Menin wants a 100-foot buffer zone established around all synagogues and Jewish schools to keep protesters at a distance.  New York Governor Kathy Hochul has already offered a buffer zone proposal but it would only establish a 25-foot limit.  Legal experts say both plans are likely to run afoul of the First Amendment and would probably be challenged in court.  Anti-Semitism has been surging in New York in recent years.