OK, so I’ll begin by thanking everyone for being kind to me. I think it’s fair to say that I royally messed up yesterday’s post. So I pooh-poohed the idea that the editing of “God” and “Jerusalem” out of the Democratic National Convention platform was a big story. I wasn’t denying that the story of how religion and religious adherents are treated in the party was big — in fact, I stressed that I’d like to see more coverage of... Read more
What is driving the violence in Burma? Race or religion? And can the two be distinguished from one another. Reports from the South East Asian nation have framed the conflict in terms of sectarian violence — but is religion really the issue here? The English-language service of France 24 reported that Buddhist monks had staged a mass political rally in the streets of Burma’s second largest city Mandalay. But unlike the 2007 anti-government protests that sparked the unsuccessful “Saffron Revolution”,... Read more
So, The New York Times ran one of those lengthy news features the other day that set out to penetrate the walls of Barack Obama’s White House and show readers what is really happening on the inside, in the halls of power that are the center of all that is important in the universe. In other words, “The Other Power in the West Wing” is a story that’s about politics, politics and more politics. But there’s a problem. You see,... Read more
So I watched all of the Democratic National Convention’s first night last night and it included quite a bit of God talk. In fact, the speakers were far more likely to discuss God than at the Republican Convention — one even mentioned making the sign of the cross — even if they were also discussing abortion, which was the theme of the first part of the evening. But it was another religion story that interested many media outlets. First reported,... Read more
The Democratic National Convention has started in Charlotte and we’re seeing some early religion reports come in. I found this brief CNN piece helpful. It looks at who will be offering prayers at the convention and what their significance is. I came across a Charlotte Observer story about a Muslim Jumah held to coincide with the Democratic National Convention festivities: Attendance at this weekend’s Muslim Jumah at the 2012 DNC gathering was originally expected to reach into the thousands but ended... Read more
Anyone who follows the Catholic blogosphere knows that there was a major explosion last week sparked by some controversial — to say the least — remarks by Father Benedict Groeschel, a figure who has been much revered among conservative Catholics as an author, spiritual director, television personality and pastoral counseling professor at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. At the heart of the media storm was the priest’s statement that in some cases of clergy sexual abuse — Groeschel said “a... Read more
A few weeks ago, we looked at coverage of the arrest of an 11-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan on blasphemy charges. She’d been accused of burning pages of the Quran. We had discussed the slight American coverage of the story, compared to interest in English-language press elsewhere. We also noted that there was a failure to talk to people who supported the blasphemy charge against the child. The Associated Press has an update to the story: A Muslim cleric is... Read more
I will be the first person to admit that I did a double-take when I saw the short, one-line New York Times front page headline — online and iPad, at this stage — for its obituary for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Evangelist, Dies For a moment, I honestly thought that the old Gray Lady had identified Moon as an “evangelical.” Instead, we have to settle for “Evangelist,” with a large “E” for some unknown reason.... Read more
Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been invited to give the closing prayer at this week’s Democratic Convention in Charlotte. The New York Times reports the New York cardinal will be one of matched pair of high profile Catholics to appear on the podium before the Democratic faithful, with Sister Simone Campbell of “Nuns on the Bus” fame completing the set. Religion reporter Laurie Goodstein’s story “At Democratic Convention, a Cardinal and an Outspoken Nun” sets the scene and offers a bit... Read more
Is this Spanish news magazine cover of Michelle Obama art or porn? Is it racist and sexist? Or is it a political fantasy of the noble savage, an incisive commentary on the centrality of Mrs. Obama’s sexuality in the presidential election campaign? Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park in this profile of the First Lady? The cover ignited a firestorm of controversy and prompted accusations of racism in the “black blogosphere”, the Huffington Post reported. But behind... Read more
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