Monthly Archives: October 2011
Clergy petition Village Voice to drop ads linked to sex trafficking
By Tracy Gordon — October 25, 2011
(RNS) Three dozen religious leaders have signed an ad calling on Village Voice Media to remove an adult section of its BackPage.com that they and others claim is a conduit for child sex trafficking. “As moral and religious leaders of many creeds and backgrounds, we are united in calling on your publication to shut down […]
A New Pledge of Allegiance?
By Mark Silk — October 25, 2011
I was discussing the history of the Pledge of Allegiance in my class on religion and the media today, and was astonished to learn that some of my students–one from Santa Barbara, others from upstate New York–had been accustomed to recite the Pledge in public school with the words “under all” replacing “under God.” As […]
COMMENTARY: The hard work of just being there
By Tom Ehrich — October 25, 2011
NEW YORK (RNS) Eighteen months ago, when our recovery ministry was getting off the ground, a veteran of such a ministry visited from Richmond, Va., and told us simply: “Your job is to be there every Sunday.” She told us to be a fellowship of peace and purpose where people in recovery from addiction can […]
TuesdayâÂ?Â?s Religion News Roundup
By David Gibson — October 25, 2011
Moammar Gadhafi was buried at dawn this morning, “somewhere in the desert” of Libya. Libyan officials want to keep the location secret to prevent his tomb being desecrated or turned into a pilgrimage site. The burial comes after the corpse of the late Libyan dictator was put on public display in a supermarket meat locker […]
Monday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — October 25, 2011
Do you like infographics? Yes? Good, because OpenBible.info, a website dedicated to extracting data from the Bible, just released a “Sentiment Analysis to the Bible.” The analysis (visualized at left), reportedly displays “good” or “positive” happenings in the bible in black and “bad” or “negative” things in the Bible in red. Speaking of bad – […]
Muslim mortgages in limbo after bank collapse
By Tracy Gordon — October 24, 2011
TORONTO (RNS) The collapse of a lender that offered Shariah-compliant mortgages has left Muslim homeowners in the Toronto area with many questions and so far, few answers. Founded in 2004, Toronto’s UM Financial partnered with an Ontario credit union to offer mortgages and other financial products that promised to circumvent Islam’s ban on interest and […]
Shifting course, St. Paul’s orders protesters out
By Tracy Gordon — October 24, 2011
LONDON (RNS) More than a week after welcoming anti-corporate protesters onto its grounds, London’s historic St. Paul’s Cathedral now wants them to go away because their presence is costing too much money. Asking the demonstrators to leave peacefully after nine days of occupying a makeshift tent city in the churchyard, St. Paul’s dean, the Rev. […]
Vatican blasts `idolatry’ of global markets
By Tracy Gordon — October 24, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Blaming the world’s economic and financial crisis on an “economic liberalism that spurns rules and controls,” the Vatican on Monday (Oct. 24) released an ambitious proposal for global regulation of the financial industry and the international money supply. The 16-page document from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace calls for a […]
Monday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — October 24, 2011
The AJC profiles Herman Cain‘s Atlanta church, noting that it’s solidly Democratic and some of his fellow parishioners don’t recognize the man they see on the campaign trail. Notes one: “This is kind of weird.” The LAT, meanwhile, profiles the Kansas City IHOP (no, not the pancake place) where round-the-clock prayer has been going on […]
Catholics see difference in loyalty to faith, hierarchy
By Tracy Gordon — October 24, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) American Catholics have by and large remained loyal to the core teachings and sacraments of their faith, but increasingly tune out the hierarchy on issues of sexual morality, according to a new study released Monday (Oct. 24) The sweeping survey shows that over the last quarter-century, U.S. Catholics have become increasingly likely to […]
Jewish chaplains memorialized at Arlington
By Adelle M. Banks — October 24, 2011
ARLINGTON, VA. (RNS) In a ceremony steeped in Hebrew prayers and military hymns, a monument to Jewish chaplains who died in active duty was unveiled Monday (Oct. 24) at Arlington National Cemetery. “They are unrecognized heroes of both Jewish and American life, but today we begin the process of publicly acknowledging their contribution and their […]
Market Idolatry
By Mark Silk — October 24, 2011
Market is greatMarket is goodLet us thank Market For our food.By Its Invisible Hand We all are fed, Give us, Supply and Demand, Our Daily Bread.Amen. The new statement on financial reform from the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace contains a pretty good overview of the current world economic crisis–but other such overviews are […]
DNC rediscovers religion
By Mark Silk — October 24, 2011
Back in May of 2010, intrepid WaPo religion reporter Michelle Boorstein disclosed the surprising news that the Democratic National Committee had disbanded the six-person religious outreach team that, under previous DNC chair Howard Dean, helped flip Congress to the Democrats in 2006. Dean’s successor Tim Kaine lamely insisted that religious outreach would get cranked up […]
Vatican hails end of Gadhafi regime
By Tracy Gordon — October 21, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican called the death of Libya’s longtime leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi the end of a “harsh and oppressive regime,” and pledged to work with the country’s new government. Gadhafi, 69, was shot by rebels on Thursday (Oct. 20) near his native city of Sirte, and video images of his dead body […]
Friday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — October 21, 2011
CNN reports that the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi – killed just yesterday by revolutionaries – apparently practiced a “renegade” version of Islam. Folks at Relevant Magazine and the Washington Post are asking whether or not Jesus would be in the streets with the Occupy Wall Street protestors – or if he would protest at […]
