{"id":99675,"date":"2013-01-22T16:32:45","date_gmt":"2013-01-22T20:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=99675"},"modified":"2013-01-23T10:28:02","modified_gmt":"2013-01-23T14:28:02","slug":"at-obama-inauguration-not-all-religion-is-biblical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2013\/01\/at-obama-inauguration-not-all-religion-is-biblical\/","title":{"rendered":"At Obama inauguration, not all religion is biblical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday was a big day for the country, with the second inauguration of President Barack H. Obama. The president gave a very important speech and the media are, excitedly, poring over it. But how were the day\u2019s religion angles covered?<\/p>\n

One of the more interesting angles deals with homosexuality. Not only was a pastor dismissed from the program because he spoke 20 years ago of homosexuality in terms of sinfulness, but affirmation of homosexuality was something of a requirement for participation in the public square yesterday. While mainstream media reporters \u2014 who are among the most important elites to affirm homosexuality \u2014 have noticed one side of that equation, fewer have noted the religiosity of that affirmation or what it means for those who hold to traditional Scriptural views on sexuality. The thoughtful reporter Amy Sullivan<\/a> being a notable<\/a> exception<\/a> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s just stick to the speech itself. I\u2019m not one of those reporters who faints or gets a tingle up the leg at any president<\/a> and I didn\u2019t even get to hear the speech because my children were shouting at me to turn it off. But even so, I think it\u2019s fair to say the speech was remarkable. You can read the text or watch it here<\/a>. You might not be as effusive with your praise as, say, the New York Times<\/em> is in its front page story headlined (best to read this as if flushed or slightly out of breath): \u201cInaugural Stresses Theme of Civil and Gay Rights \u2014 Safety Net Praised\u201d \u2014 but you can still acknowledge it was an important speech laying out the case for a strong federal government.<\/p>\n

Reader Jerry wrote in last night:<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a challenge. Find a mainstream report about today\u2019s inauguration that says what Mark Shields said tonight on the PBS News hour or mentions religion outside of the historical significance of the Bibles that were used. Of course the RNS does<\/a> but the mainstream media? Ghost city.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well, Religion News Service is definitely a mainstream media outlet and it aims to present news objectively and without a sectarian point of view. But I get Jerry\u2019s point \u2014 it\u2019s an outlet that seeks out religion angles.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s PBS<\/a>:<\/p>\n

MARK SHIELDS: I think tone does matter. I really do. I thought it was done with a smile. And I think that\u2019s so important.<\/p>\n

And I was just struck \u2014 just to toss in a little history thing \u2014 I mean, we\u2019re told that we\u2019re more a secular nation. Fewer and fewer people, you know, go to church or belong to a church or whatever. But this is an openly religious event. It begins with an invocation. It ends with a benediction, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing \u201cThe Battle Hymn of the Republic.\u201d It was just a high moment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is this religion or is it more appropriately termed civil religion<\/em>? It\u2019s always been a day of civil religion and inaugural events are great ways to explore how civil religion has evolved.\u00a0 From the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on American civil religion<\/a>:<\/p>\n

American civil religion<\/strong> is a sociological theory that there exists a religion of the United States<\/a>, a nonsectarian faith that has as its sacred symbols those of the polity and national history. Scholars have portrayed it as a cohesive force, a common set of values that foster social and cultural integration. The concept goes back to the 19th century but in current form was developed by sociologist Robert Bellah<\/a> in 1967 in an article, \u201cCivil Religion in America.\u201d The topic soon became the major focus at religious sociology conferences and numerous articles and books were written on the subject. The debate reached its peak with the American Bicentennial celebration in 1976.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup> There is a viewpoint that some Americans have come to see the document of the United States Constitution<\/a>, along with the Declaration of Independence<\/a> and the Bill of Rights<\/a> as being a cornerstone of a type of civic or civil religion<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So throughout this country\u2019s history, certain things have been written into this common set of values and certain things have been written out. Journalists have done a very good job of creating an environment conducive to excluding certain elements from this public square, so perhaps we shouldn\u2019t be surprised that they have not done a very good job of covering the same.<\/p>\n

In any case, as Jerry notes above, Religion News Service<\/a> nailed this aspect of the inaugural. You should read the whole thing but it begins:<\/p>\n

A presidential inauguration is by tradition the grandest ritual of America\u2019s civil religion, but President Obama took the oath of office on Monday (Jan. 21) in a ceremony that was explicit in joining theology to the nation\u2019s destiny and setting out a biblical vision of equality that includes race, gender, class, and, most controversially, sexual orientation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The piece covers the most important angles, although it never explains why it claims that Obama set out a \u201cbiblical\u201d vision of equality. I read the speech but never found him making a particularly biblical case and some might even note the absence of biblical justification. It is definitely true that Obama asserted that God supports homosexual behavior. Did he do that through biblical justification? I didn\u2019t see that. So perhaps that could have been explained more.<\/p>\n

Anyway, please let us know if you see any particularly good or bad coverage of same.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was a big day for the country, with the second inauguration of President Barack H. Obama. The president gave a very important speech and the media are, excitedly, poring over it. But how were the day\u2019s religion angles covered? One of the more interesting angles deals with homosexuality. Not only was a pastor dismissed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3,71,1],"tags":[855,374,774,541,603,646,856,857],"class_list":["post-99675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicals","category-politics","category-same-sex-marriage","category-uncategorized","tag-civil-religion","tag-homosexuality","tag-inauguration","tag-pbs","tag-president-barack-obama","tag-religion-news-service","tag-robert-bellah","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nAt Obama inauguration, not all religion is biblical<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday was a big day for the country, with the second inauguration of President Barack H. Obama. 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