The Faith & Culture 5

Pope Leo’s AI-Inspired Name + Who Counts as Christian? + Danny McBride’s Love Letter to the South + More

Happy Friday!

In a time when our attention is scattered and our institutions often feel distant, there’s something grounding about exploring the ties that still bind—faith, identity, legacy, and the stubborn human instinct to make meaning. This week’s selections circle around those threads: from the surprising power of a pope’s name, to the satirical clarity of The Righteous Gemstones, to the Episcopal Church’s evolving role in refugee resettlement.

Each piece holds its own kind of gravity. Some challenge, some illuminate—but all offer a lens into how belief, tradition, and community continue to shape our lives in ways both obvious and quietly profound.

As always, I hope these stories bring a bit more depth—and maybe even connection—to your week.

Let’s dive in:

1. Who Counts as Christian?

A new initiative will necessitate that the Trump administration makes difficult judgment calls about the faith.

2. Danny McBride Sends a Love Letter to the South with ‘Righteous Gemstones’

McBride's latest show, which he co-created and stars in, is The Righteous Gemstones, a dark comedy about a family of rich Southern televangelists. Though they talk about salvation on TV, the Gemstone family is mired in dysfunction, greed, scandal and crime.

3. Episcopal Church Refuses to Resettle With Afrikaners, Ends Partnership with US Government

In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,' the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said in a letter.

4. Pope Leo’s Name Carries A Warning About the Rise of AI

When Robert Francis Prevost announced on Saturday he would take the name Leo XIV, he gave an unexpected reason for his choice: the rise of AI.

5. How to Survive the Trump Years with your Spirit in Tact

David Brooks describes Trump’s atmosphere, as “pagan.” The pagan values of ancient Rome celebrated power, manliness, conquest, ego, fame, competitiveness and prowess, and it is those values that have always been at the core of Trump’s being — from his real estate grandiosity to his love of pro wrestling to his king-of-the-jungle version of American greatness.

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The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments—and lifetimes—of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

Thank you so much for being a part of this community! I’ll see you next week.

Jm

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