The Week Magazine December 12, 2025

The West has been losing its religion for as long as I can remember. In 1990, about 5% of Americans said they were atheists, agnostics, or believed in “nothing in particular.” Today, a record 30% of us are “nones,” and many experts have predicted this share will keep rising, with the Pew Research Center projecting in 2022 that Christians would likely be a minority in the U.S. by 2070. A similar story of secularization has played out across Europe and beyond, with churches shuttering because of shortages of priests, congregants, or both. But during the pandemic, something unexpected happened: People got religion again, and they seem to have kept it. In the U.S., Canada, and U.K., the share of people who told pollsters they were irreligious stabilized. At the same…

What happened President Trump said this week that military strikes on ground targets in Venezuela would “start very soon,” as the country’s autocratic President Nicolás Maduro showed no signs of bowing to a U.S. pressure campaign. The warning of ground action followed days of mounting threats against Maduro, whom Trump has accused of running a “narco-terrorist enterprise,” and three months of U.S. air strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-running boats that have killed more than 80 people (see Controversy, p.6). The U.S. now has some 15,000 troops and 11 warships deployed around Venezuela, including the USS Gerald R. Ford—the largest aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet. Trump said last week the airspace over Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety” but just days later deportation flights from the U.S. to…

A U.S. military operation in Venezuela looks increasingly likely, said Joshua Keating in Vox, but don’t expect “an Iraq-style invasion and occupation.” Much more likely, according to analysts, is an air campaign that targets drug labs, airstrips used by traffickers, or camps near the Colombian border belonging to armed groups backed by the Maduro regime. The U.S. could also launch strikes against Venezuela’s military or conduct drone strikes or “covert actions targeting senior officials, including Maduro himself.” A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution this week to halt what they described as unauthorized U.S. hostilities in Venezuela, said Patricia Zengerle in Reuters. The measure—backed by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.)—would order Trump to withdraw U.S. forces unless Congress explicitly authorizes…

What happened President Trump launched sweeping immigration restrictions this week, saying he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries” in the wake of the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members by an Afghan refugee. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was charged with killing Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, as they patrolled Washington, D.C., the day before Thanksgiving. Lakanwal, formerly a member of a CIA-trained counterterrorism unit, ambushed the troops, reportedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire. He was shot while reloading and taken into custody, and he pleaded not guilty from his hospital bed. The Department of Homeland Security announced an immediate pause of all immigration applications of Afghan nationals “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” Trump…

■ Jeff Siegrist’s first love was a red Volkswagen Super Beetle he bought in 1971. It became “part of the family,” he said, and even had a nickname: Rudolph. By 1996, with three children in tow, the tiny car became impractical, so he sold it. During the pandemic, Siegrist dug up the old car’s vehicle identification number and discovered Rudolph was still active in Georgia. He found the owner and made a deal. Upon reuniting with the car, the first thing Siegrist and his wife did was drive around the block. “Rudolph is back!” his wife yelled. ■ After Amanda McCowen got divorced in 2015, she wanted nothing to do with her ex-husband’s new wife, Angela Maples. The split was acrimonious, and McCowen was territorial about sharing her children with…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has earned the unique distinction of being “a war criminal—without a war,” said George F. Will in The Washington Post. On Sept. 2, as the U.S. military surveilled an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, the Pentagon boss and former Fox News host gave a spoken order to “kill everybody,” two sources told the Post last week. Soon after, a missile smashed into the vessel. But as the smoke cleared, a drone feed showed two of the boat’s 11 crew members “clinging to the wreckage.” To comply with Hegseth’s order, operation commander Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley ordered a second strike; both survivors were killed. To be clear: That attack and the more than 20 subsequent strikes on alleged drug boats were likely already illegal, resting as…