You love us. You really love us!* According to a new survey, religion news increased all of 1 percent in 2010, with much of the fresh ink spilt on Islam – specifically the controversy over the so-called Ground Zero mosque.
The Catholic sex abuse scandal and Pastor Terry Jones’ bonfire of inanity were also big news, relatively speaking.
In other news, plenty of conservative Christians are willing to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, now that President Obama says he won’t. The expected success of a gay marriage bill in Maryland, despite the Catholicism of the state’s top leaders, is a sign of the church’s waning influence in the heavily Catholic state, according to WaPo.
Speaking of the church, the U.S. Catholic bishops threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin. The bishops notably ignored Bishop Morlino of Madison, who proclaimed the church “neutral” on the issue, and heaped praise on Archbishop Listecki of Milwaukee, a vocal advocate for unions.
Italian police arrested six Moroccan men suspected of inciting hatred against Pope Benedict XVI.
Under intense international pressure, Afghanistan says it has freed a man who had been jailed since May for converting from Islam to Christianity. The man, Sayed Mussa, had faced the death penalty.
The 21-year-old Muslim convert who posted online threats against “South Park” was sentenced to 25 years in prison. A Saudi national was arrested in Texas for planning to bomb several U.S. sites. Some Christians are “adopting a terrorist for prayer.” Thirteen people have “adopted” Osama bin Laden, according to CNN.
Mike Huckabee said it’s time for conservatives to stop questioning Obama’s faith. “For us to continue to dwell on that is missing the point,” saith the Huckster. Rick Santorum told a private school in South Carolina that American liberals “hate Christendom” and “Western Civilization,” and that the idea that the Crusades were anti-Islam is “absolutely anti-historical.” I actually did hate Western Civ, mostly because the class met early on Friday mornings.
Days after polygamist Warren Jeffs wrested back control of the FLDS, 30 high-ranking members were ousted, according to CNN. A federal court in Utah said that five years of state efforts to reform the FLDS’s communal account are unconstitutional because they entangle the government in religious matters. This all sounds very “Big Love.”
Remember that red-headed Russian spy? Well, now La Femme Nikita’s got a show in Russia about paranormal phenomenon, one of which, according to the NYT, is a baby whose skin mysteriously displays verses from the Quran. The show also discussed rare skin disorders.
A Belgian monastery is pretending to brew beer, but really a big secular brewery in Denmark is making the beer and slapping the abbey’s name on it, a sin that violates so many commandments that all involved should be forced to drink Coors Light for the rest of their lives in penance.
A Connecticut nun turned 103 and promptly broke into a polka. Alumni of a Catholic high school in New Orleans turned out in force to advocate for corporal punishment. The paddle, they said, whipped them into shape, as it were. “Some of those priests could swing,” said one graduate.
*Sorry, channeling my inner Sally Field there, which seems appropriate as we approach Oscar Weekend. By “us” I mean religion journalists, an embattled but indefatigable tribe.
