What is this? Forbes goes to bat for Eden Foods critics

July 23, 2014 By tmatt

Several years ago, your GetReligionistas created a new item in our archives list of news “categories.” As faithful readers know, we focus on hard-news material produced by mainstream news organizations. The only time that we write about editorial columns, op-ed pieces, academic essays or the like is when they focus directly on issues in our home turf — religion-beat news. However, every now and then people would send us URLs for items published by religious wire services, denominational magazines or... Read more

Study: Religious kids believe the Bible and other ‘fiction’

July 23, 2014 By Jim Davis

Is this Clutching at Straws Month? Because I don’t know how to dress or what to buy for it. I do know how to celebrate, though. Just publish a study that counters traditional beliefs. And don’t ask questions that might uncover flaws. The latest example emerged this week in the July issue of Cognitive Science. Three researchers alleged that young children who are “exposed to religion” — gotta love that wording — have trouble telling fact from fiction. This claim... Read more

Pod people: Are all political liberals also on moral left?

July 22, 2014 By tmatt

Every now and then, Issues, Etc., host Todd Wilken take and I off in one direction when doing a “Crossroads” podcast and then — boom — we will suddenly veer off in what at first seems like a totally different direction. Radio is like that, you know. That is certainly what happened this time around, big time. Click here to check out the podcast. Wilken started out by repeating that question that I have been asking over and over during... Read more

The Mosul purge: How good is the media coverage?

July 22, 2014 By Jim Davis

The purge of Christians from Mosul in northern Iraq — home to thriving Christian communities almost since biblical times — is a historic human rights abuse. Yet mainstream media have done comparatively little coverage on it, probably because they’re stretched thin with the twin stories of the airline shoot-down in Ukraine and Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Also, of course, the Islamic State is in no mood to allow access to the “kafir” media. Still, some reports have emerged, and some... Read more

How should we define — and assess — atheism?

July 21, 2014 By Richard Ostling

DANIEL ASKS: Is it becoming possible to be religious without believing in god? (the lower-case “god” is Daniel’s usage) THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: This is partially a repeat from March 22, 2013, when The Guy posted “Is atheism a ‘religion’? Is the Pope Protestant?” That headline indicated the idea seems ludicrous on its face. Yet, as the item explained, things are actually somewhat complicated. The Guy won’t repeat that material here. Meanwhile there’s intense interest not only in definitions but... Read more

Big news report card: Oklahoma same-sex marriage ruling

July 21, 2014 By Bobby Ross Jr.

Give the New York Times an F for its sketchy coverage of an appeals court striking down Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage. The Times managed to report on Friday’s court decision affecting “conservative-leaning” Oklahoma — as the Times described my home state — without quoting a single source who supports the traditional view of marriage. On the other hand, The Associated Press deserves an A for its solid news report that quoted sources on both sides of the issue —... Read more

Yo editors: Can the state pay Catholics to help immigrants?

July 21, 2014 By tmatt

As usual, there was a stack of Baltimore Sun newspapers waiting for me at the end of last week when I returned from a consulting trip to a campus in Iowa. One of the papers contained a very timely and newsworthy story. My goal here is to argue that — just possibly — this story was even more newsworthy than the Sun editors thought that it was. More on that in a minute. The immigrant children crisis is one of... Read more

LATimes shreds old-school language in religious liberty story

July 20, 2014 By tmatt

The following information cannot be examined too many times during the media storm that has followed the so-called Hobby Lobby decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Back in 1993, early in the right-wing reign of terror led by the Clinton White House, the U.S. Senate voted 97-3 to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The “nay” votes were cast by two Democrats and one Republican, each hailing from somewhere on the political right. Taking a stand in favor of a... Read more

Calvin the Fundamentalist and other General Synod myths

July 19, 2014 By geoconger

Monday’s vote by the General Synod to allow women bishops has put the Church of England onto the front pages of the world’s press. News reports and commentary from around the globe have weighed on this development giving voice to a variety of opinions. Some of this reporting has been quite good, most of it average, while a few pieces have fallen short. The Huffington Post‘s piece contained two errors of note. At the end of the piece the article... Read more

NYTimes warns: Evangelistic speech near the National Mall!

July 18, 2014 By tmatt

Are there any GetReligion readers out there who remember the mini-media storm back in 1999 when the Southern Baptist Convention published a series of booklets to guide church members in their prayers for the conversion of members of other faiths? As you would expect, some faith leaders were quite offended by this, especially Jews who — readers with really long memories will recall — had previously been involved with a Southern Baptist or two about issues linked to prayers and... Read more