Vice President Mike Pence, who has been facing criticisms of his own religious views, warned Liberty University graduates that they have to stay strong against the challenges they’ll face from Hollywood, the media and the secular left, USA Today reports.

Said Pence: “Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs. Be ready.”

He added: “Throughout most of American history, it has been pretty easy to call yourself Christian. It didn’t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible. But things are different now.”

Miami New Times: “Giancarlo Granda, the former Fontainebleau pool attendant whose business bizarrely received $1.8 million in loans from famous evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr., wants the world to stop calling him a ‘pool boy.’ He finds the term demeaning.”

“And, perhaps more notable, he officially denies knowing anything about alleged ‘racy’ photos referenced in a Reuters story published yesterday.”

“The Trump administration is pushing to issue an order that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, bringing the weight of American sanctions against a storied and influential Islamist political movement with millions of members across the Middle East,” the New York Times reports.

Washington Post: “White evangelicals had a substantially different reaction when asked about Trump or Clinton. When primed to think about Trump, only 6% of them say that an elected official who acts immorally in private is incapable of being ethical in public life. But when Bill Clinton is mentioned, that rises to 27% — a 21-point increase.”

“By comparison, Catholics differed by only 5 points when asked about Trump or Clinton. And, as we might expect, mentioning Clinton makes secular Americans less likely to worry about the public ethics of a privately immoral official.”

“In short, white evangelicals are far more likely to shift their view of a politician’s private behavior when asked about a Trump than when asked about Bill Clinton.”

“For the first time ‘No Religion’ has topped a survey of Americans’ religious identity, according to a new analysis by a political scientist. The non-religious edged out Catholics and evangelicals in the long-running General Social Survey,” CNN reports.

“Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor, found that 23.1% of Americans now claim no religion. Catholics came in at 23.0%, and evangelicals were at 22.5%.”

“Breaking years of silence on major church affairs, Pope Benedict XVI has written a lengthy letter devoted to clerical sex abuse in which he attributes the crisis to a breakdown of church and societal moral teaching and says he felt compelled to assist ‘in this difficult hour,'” the Washington Post reports.

“The 6,000-word letter, published in tandem Thursday by a Catholic outlet and an Italian newspaper, decries the 1960s sexual revolution, laments the secularization of the West and describes seminaries filled with ‘homosexual cliques.'”

“I’m reluctant to comment on another person’s faith, but I would say it is hard to look at this president’s actions and believe that they’re the actions of somebody who believes in God. I just don’t understand how you can be as worshipful of your own self as he is and be prepared to humble yourself before God. I’ve never seen him humble himself before anyone.”

— Pete Buttigieg, in an interview with USA Today, when asked if President Trump is a Christian.

“I never said he was the best example of the Christian faith. He defends the faith. And I appreciate that very much.”

— Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, in an interview with Axios, on why he supports President Trump.