Here are 7 things you may not know, but these short items are important:
1. 1,850 Megachurches in U.S.
The Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that while the nation has approximately 1,850 megachurches, they attract an estimated 10 million worshipers on a typical weekend.
67% of megachurches now report attendance above pre-pandemic levels.
2. AI Answers: Biased Against Religion
According to AllFaith Benchmark, each of the LLMs (Large Language Models) such as Chat, Gemini, Grok and Claude showed “clear and consistent biases in giving out religion conversion, systematically encouraging movement toward some faiths and away from others.”
Grok produced the strongest biases in both directions, strongly favoring Catholics and Protestants while displaying strong negative bias toward Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baha’i and Hindus.
Anthropic’s Claude models scored among the least biased overall.
3. Nicaragua Continues its Unrelenting Campaigning to Eliminate Religious Freedom
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new warning about communist Nicaraguans’ attack on religious freedom.
They said: “In 2026 the government of President Daniel Orgega and self-appointed Co-President Rosario Murillo weaponized laws on treason, sovereignty, and various crimes that restricted freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).
The government used arbitrary arrest and detention, closure of nongovernmental organizations, and transnational repression to harass, intimidate, and repress religious individuals.
4. More States Criminalize Mail-Order Abortion Drugs
Many states restrict abortion. So, to get around the laws, mail order into those states is booming. But some states now are pushing back.
For example, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa enacted laws banning the distribution of dangerous chemical abortion drugs through the mail.
The laws criminalize sending the two-drug abortion pill regimen of Mifepristone and Misoprostol through the mail in the state.
5. Home School Parents Arrested for Biblical Beliefs
A couple in Brazil have become criminally convicted for homeschooling their children and sentenced to 50 days in prison.
The sentencing judge found that the home education program for heir daughters, aged 15 and 11, didn’t include instruction on “gender and sex education” or “tolerance and diversity.”
6. UFC: Players Proclaim Christ
Competing on the South Lawn of the White House during the historic UFC event, Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil knockout victory over Michael Chandler in the opening round before turning his attention away from fighting and toward faith.
Quoting John 3:16 during his post-tight interview, the 29-year-old Brazillian shared a Gospel message with those in attendance and the millions watching around the world.
“’For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,’” Ruffy said. “Jesus saved my life; he wants to save your life, too. Give your life to Jesus.”
Following the win, Ruffy also celebrated on social media: “Jesus completely changed my story, and He has His arms open to transform yours too. Our greatest victory is not achieved by our own strength, but when we let Him take control of everything,” he wrote in Portuguese.
7. First: “The Passion of the Christ”, Next: “The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One”
‘The Passion of the Christ’ will come out newly remastered on September 10-17. It will include an exclusive sneak peek at Gibson’s highly anticipated epic The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, opening in theaters May 6, 2027.