A new measure in California looks to bring modest prison reforms to the state’s harsh system. With the help of massive donations from a conservative evangelical, it looks likely to pass—but even then, CA’s reforms will still lag behind those pursued by more conservative states.

As Brazil’s evangelical population grows, its political clout is growing too—so much so that it has already influenced more than one high profile politician to alter her stance on key social issues. But even if evangelicals don’t prove to be game-changers this time around, this story is one to watch.

While it would be wrong to think that the conflict in the Middle East is only about religion, it would be even more wrong to downplay just how much of the conflict actually is just about religion.