A LITTLE BIT O’ THIS AND A LITTLE BIT O’ THAT …

Bad blogger, bad. I realize I’ve been remiss. Please forgive. Last week in NYC felt like two months. I’ve now recovered (read: slept). So here are a few recent notices regarding The God Factor. Thanks to one and all . . .

The Washington Times:
Ran a story about The God Factor and The God Girl on page A2 of today’s editions. Below is a snippet, but you can read the whole shebang HERE:

A star’s-eye view of faith
By Josh Rutledge
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 6, 2006

It’s not surprising nowadays to hear public figures give credence to their faith, their spirituality or God. But what do their words mean?
In her debut book, “The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People,” Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, took on the task of finding out just that. What exactly does spirituality mean to pop-culture icons like rock musician Bono, Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner or lesbian pop star Melissa Etheridge?
“Contrary to what people might think, I believe pop culture is a great place to go looking for God,” Ms. Falsani says. “God shows up in places where people least expect God to be.”
After several peers convinced her that the idea warranted a book, Ms. Falsani began a journey through a theme park of spiritual roller coasters. From the Playboy Mansion to Lower Manhattan, she talked with a variety of figures not known for their religiosity, allowing them to express themselves freely.
“The book was intentionally written in a nonconfrontational sort of way,” the reporter says. “Typically when public figures are asked about their faith, it is generally a way to judge them in one way or another. So, as a result, they usually aren’t very candid.
“I wanted to offer them a place where they could really tell me what they believe without fear of being denounced.”

Galley Cat:
A lovely fellow, Ron Hogan, editor of the fabulous Beatrice.com, interviewed me over a couple of glasses of really crisp Sancerre at Park Bar in Union Square last week. The result was a nice write-up in Media Bistro maven Laurel Touby’s latest creation, Galley Cat. You can read Ron’s whole posting here

Get Religion:
One of my favorite religion-and-culture-ish Web sites had a thoughtful entry yesterday about my interview with Angela Pancella that ran a bit ago at Thunderstruck.org.

Here tis’ (and here’s the link)
and they’re soliciting comments, so have at it …

Talking about The God Factor
Sigh. Another late night with rowdy football fans at the pub outside my window here at St. Edmund Hall in downtown Oxford.

Nevertheless, let me jump in for a second to share a link to an interview with an interesting religion writer — Cathleen Falsani, a Wheaton College graduate who works the Godbeat for the Chicago Sun-Times. Actually she does much more than that, which leads to her book, The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People. She also has a blog called The Dude Abides.

The wonderful faith and pop culture site called Thunderstruck — the much overlooked scribe Steve Beard is the head of it — has a solid interview with Falsani (shown with Moby) conducted by freelance writer Angela Pancella, who may be best known for her work with @U2.

Most of the interview focuses on faith and entertainment, but there is this section that addresses one of the nagging questions that faces religious believers (or nonbelievers, now that I think about it) who work on the religion beat.

Here goes:

In regard to being a religion reporter, how have you chosen how much to reveal about your faith background?

I was never shy about it; it was just a matter of journalistic integrity, and trying to not appear to be biased and all that stuff. There’s a big debate within the religion journalism community about what you should and shouldn’t reveal about your religious predilections. I used to be very, very hard and fast about not revealing anything about myself because I didn’t want to tell people what “team” I was on. I think now it’s a judgment call. I think if you use it as leverage in one direction or another, it’s not right. But when I became a columnist and I was writing about these personal things — when you’re writing in your own voice — you get a very different kind of response from readers, and they were sharing things with me that were very intimate. And then when I started to have more of these conversations with public people, and they were telling me these things, I thought, I really should be talking about this myself. So when it feels appropriate, I let it come out instead of stifling it.

What do you think? Right call?

Idol Chatter:
Homegirl (and wonderful author) Donna Freitas blogged on Beliefnet’s “Idol Chatter” bloggery goodness about the Moby/God Girl event. Here’s the link
and here’s what Ms. Freitas had to say:

Moby Talks About Faith
Last Thursday night, NYC’s flagship Barnes & Noble in Union Square held a special event featuring a conversation about faith between the eclectic, very successful Moby (musician, vegan, tea entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed Christian–sort of), and Chicago Sun Times religion reporter Cathleen Falsani, in honor of her new book, “The God Factor.” The book is a collection of Falsani’s columns of the same name (with a few additions purely for the book). Each one features an interview between Falsani and a public figure, from up and coming politicians (Barack Obama), to the musically and generally famous (Bono), to the infamous (Hugh Hefner is the most startling entry).

Though Moby doesn’t have his own turn in Falsani’s book, they teamed up to give a live demonstration of how Falsani approaches her task of revealing the private religious and spiritual persuasions of the famous for public consumption.

Over the course of an hour, with Falsani’s direction, the audience learned of Moby’s colorful, spiritual history–from a Taoist phase during his teenage years to impress a girl, to his “pro-gnosis” period in college when he and friends decided to believe in everything (get it: pro-gnosis), to his conversion to what he described as an annoyingly, righteous Christian for about a decade, and onward to where he is now: a Christian believer, though one reluctant to label himself Christian. Moby spoke about the spiritual beliefs behind his veganism (don’t hurt any sentient beings), growing up in Connecticut and attending the Bush’s church (turns out, George W. Bush bought that Texas ranch in 1999 at the suggestion of Karl Rove to make him seem less aristocratic), and most interestingly of all, his vision of the spirituality of music. Music, like the spirit, is the only art you can’t touch, he explained. Yet it’s also the only art you can experience with your eyes closed and it is one that permeates the entire body–just like the Holy Spirit.

Funny at times, a bit over the top at others, but wonderfully interesting, smart, and entertaining overall, listening to Moby speak about all things spiritual and religious was a treat. For more where that came from, check out Falsani’s fascinating book, “The God Factor,” and just imagine the conversation happening before you.

The New York Observer:
Falsani, Falsini. Catherine, Cathleen. Whatevs …
A wee shout out in last week’s NYOHere’s what they said:

Whale watch!
Maybe you’re feelin’ a bit punchy from the heat. Maybe you’re tired of hitting yourself in the face with something sharp. Whatever the reason, head down to the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, where Catherine Falsani, author of The God Factor—in which (relatively) famous people chat about spirituality—conducts a live interview with musician and pixie Moby. The mind reels. Fellas, this is a very good event to find yourself a lithe, high-colonic-lovin’ yogini. Who says summer has to be lonely?