Monthly Archives: May 2006
COMMENTARY: Getting in Our Own Way
By Tom Ehrich — May 24, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Thanks to a Hollywood ending and avoidance of the novel’s more bizarre musings, I doubt that many viewers will walk out of “The Da Vinci Code” questioning their faith, planning to leave the Roman Catholic Church or embracing paganism. Some might join me in thinking this a better film […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Loyola Cuts Programs After Katrina Devastated Campus, Budget NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Loyola University’s board of trustees has approved a major restructuring plan in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, cutting a host of degree programs and 17 faculty positions as it prepares for lower enrollment next fall. The trustees unanimously adopted […]
For Hollywood, Faith Has Always Been a Contentious Issue
By Stephen Whitty — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) There is faith, and there is religion, and Hollywood has never really embraced both. Movie makers have occasionally paid lip service to the second. The Old Testament remains a sturdy source of spectacle; the rites of the Roman Catholic Church regularly enliven horror movies. Screenwriters in search of a […]
COMMENTARY: `Da Vinci’ Didn’t Weaken My Faith _ It Made It Stronger
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It’s getting harder and harder to be a true Christian. I know, I know, nobody said it would be easy _ look at how poorly they treated the only man who did it perfectly. True Christians get lumped together these days with mean-spirited, intolerant folks who are anti-gay, anti-Hollywood, […]
COMMENTARY: It’s Time to Break the Money Taboo
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It’s time to break the money taboo. The fact that we can’t talk about our finances is getting us into trouble. Even in supportive religious communities, the taboo is so strong that our money matters are very rarely discussed. I interviewed a family living in the suburbs of Orlando, […]
`Da Vinci’ Strong But Not Super at Box Office
By Stephen Whitty — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) You don’t need a Harvard symbologist to decode this one. With its built-in advantage of a best-seller source novel _ and the dependable Ron Howard directing fan favorite Tom Hanks _ “The Da Vinci Code” translated fame into box-office success on its first weekend in release. Its estimated Friday-through-Sunday […]
SIDEBAR: Tips on Keeping Faith in the Workplace
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) How to give employees room to express their spirituality without smothering others: _ Holiday swapping: Provide a process by which employees can swap days to cover religious holidays not included in the corporate holiday calendar. This could be as simple as providing a list of dates known to be […]
As Spirituality Grows, Employers Strive to Be Fair
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A Muslim employee’s daily prayers. A lunchtime Bible study group. A Jewish employee’s observance of the High Holy Days. What does any of this have to do with conducting business? These days, plenty. More Americans are bringing their faith to work, and employers need to be sure their workplace […]
Religion in the workplace; `Da Vinci’ at the box office; Faith in Hollywood
By RNS Blog Editor — May 23, 2006
In Monday’s RNS report Candace Goforth looks at how employers are handling the increasing role of religion in American culture and in the workplace: A Muslim employee’s daily prayers. A lunchtime Bible study group. A Jewish employee’s observance of the High Holy Days. What does any of this have to do with conducting business? These […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Diverse Groups Join to Seek Common Ground on Sexual Issues WASHINGTON (RNS) Delegates of Planned Parenthood, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Organization of Women and the National Council of Churches have all reached some agreement on a topic that usually divides them _ sex. Members of these […]
Progressives Gather to Reignite Spiritual Activist Movement
By Daniel Burke — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ After wandering the political desert for nearly 40 years, organizers of a “Spiritual Activism” conference here this week said that the religious left is taking tentative steps toward the Promised Land. “We’re talking about first, baby steps here,” said Rabbi Michael Lerner, head of the Network of Spiritual […]
`Da Vinci’ Follows Long Line of Touchy Films
By Stephen Whitty — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Hollywood loves a good argument. You’re not supposed to talk about sex, race or politics in polite American society. Yet the movies’ first blockbuster _ D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” _ did all three in 1915. And although it was immediately met by protests by the NAACP, […]
`The Da Vinci Code’ Isn’t the First Film to Anger Catholics
By RNS Blog Editor — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) “The Da Vinci Code,” which opened in theaters Friday (May 19), is not the first film that some Catholic leaders hope will be religiously avoided. In fact, such protests are commonplace. Here are five movies available on DVD that got a thumbs-down from church authorities. (If you’re curious about […]
COMMENTARY: The McCarrick Mystique
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) There’s a reason why they call him Uncle Ted. Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who officially entered retirement on Tuesday (May 16), is a rare bird among America’s Catholic bishops and, sadly, one of a dying breed. Many things would make a man like McCarrick stand out _ his approachable […]
In New Orleans, No Time or Energy for `Da Vinci’ Fight
By Bruce Nolan — May 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ While the opening of the film “The Da Vinci Code” might once have met boycotts and angry opposition from local churches, it is being engaged here much differently: with quiet counter-education and, where the post-Katrina struggle still dominates life, something like dismissiveness. The movie, which opened Friday […]
