Richard N. Ostling has never gotten used to seeing journalists commit sins of omission and commission on the religion beat. Religion can get very complicated, with layers of emotion stacked on centuries of history, doctrine, symbolism and ritual, said Ostling, who is best known for his decades of work with Time and the Associated Press. But mistakes are mistakes and it isn’t good for readers to keep seeing stories that, week after week, cause them to mutter, “Wait a minute.... Read more
If you want to cause trouble for American bishops, stick them in a vise between Rome and the armies of dissenters employed on Catholic campuses. But the bishops had to vote on Ex Corde Ecclesiae (“From the Heart of the Church”). After all, they had been arguing about this papal document throughout the 1990s, trying to square the doctrinal vision of Pope John Paul II with their American reality. Rome said their first response was too weak, when it came... Read more
Reporter Louis Moore didn’t know much about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod when he began covering its bitter civil war in the 1970s. Nevertheless, as a Southern Baptist with a seminary degree he knew a biblical-authority battle when he saw one — so he caught on fast. Soon he was appalled by the viciousness of the combat between “moderates” and “conservatives” as the 2.7 million-member denomination careened toward divorce. Things got so bad he told a Houston Chronicle colleague that if... Read more
BERKELEY, Calif. — The interfaith coalition that formed in the 1990s to lobby for religious liberty in China was so large and so diverse that even the New York Times noticed it. One petition included two Catholic cardinals and a dozen bishops, Evangelical broadcasters, Eastern Orthodox bishops, Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Baha’is, Orthodox and liberal rabbis, Scientologists and Protestant clergy of a various and sundry races and traditions. One Times article noted that these were signatures that “rarely appear on the... Read more
If you could erase one moment from Sen. Barack Obama’s White House campaign, which would you choose? That’s an easy question for evangelicals, Catholics and other religious believers who back Obama. Most would happily erase all evidence of his speech last spring to a circle of insiders behind closed doors in San Francisco. For those who have ignored national news in 2008, Obama talked about meeting voters in rural Pennsylvania, where hard times have crushed hopes and fueled resentments. “So... Read more
NASHVILLE — Washington correspondent David Brody knew it was a symbolic moment when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Then there was the landmark Nevada trip to interview Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wife Landra at their home. Landing a face-to-face interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton for “The 700 Club”? Say no more. Finally, after a year of negotiations, Sen. Barack Obama’s staff took a leap of faith and scheduled an interview with... Read more
These were the sad, sobering conversations that priests have when no one else is listening. Father John Peck kept hearing other priests pour out their frustrations on the telephone. Some, like Peck, were part of the Orthodox Church in America, a church with Russian roots that has been rocked by years of high-level scandals. But others were active in churches with “old country” ties back to other Eastern Orthodox lands. “These men really felt that their churches weren’t getting anywhere,”... Read more
The political endorsement was clear, although the words were carefully chosen. New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop clearly wanted to inspire his supporters, even his own priests, to back Sen. Barack Obama. Still, he stressed that his endorsement was personal, not corporate. ”I will not be speaking about the campaign from the pulpit or at any church function,” the bishop told reporters, in a 2007 conference call that drew low-key, calm news coverage.... Read more
At the last church she attended before dropping out, Julia Duin was not impressed with the service opportunities available to her as a single woman. She could do child-care work, greet people at the door or join the women in the altar guild. However, since her journalism work required frequent travel, Duin sought more flexible commitments. Perhaps she could play harp before services? Fill an occasional teaching role, using her seminary training or material from her books? After several frustrating... Read more
The punch line rocketed around the World Wide Web, inspiring smiles in pews friendly to Sen. Barack Obama. The Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners saw a campaign button based on this one liner and, on the “Interfaith Voices” public radio show, said it was a fine response to Gov. Sarah Palin’s jab at the work of “community organizers.” Donna Brazile — who ran Al Gore’s 2000 White House campaign — saw the same gag and, on CNN, quickly linked it... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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