Monthly Archives: November 2011
What about Ron Paul?
By Mark Silk — November 11, 2011
Doug Wead, the Parson Weemsish character who taught George W. Bush about evangelical politicking, makes a case that it will be Ron Paul who wins the Iowa Republican caucuses in a couple of months. Sure, Wead’s working for Paul these days, and it’s his job to spin such tales. But Wead learned the tricks of […]
Black seminaries embrace hip-hop
By Tracy Gordon — November 11, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) It’s hard enough to get young people out of bed and into the pews on a Sunday morning, but two leading black seminaries think they have found a way to grab the next generation: hip-hop. “If we’re going to take young people seriously, we have no choice,” said Alton B. Pollard III, dean […]
Why Penn State abuse is (and isn’t) like the Catholic Church
By Tracy Gordon — November 11, 2011
(RNS) Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno is out in the university’s burgeoning sex abuse scandal, and comparisons to the Roman Catholic Church’s own abuse scandals are in. “The parallels are too striking to ignore. A suspected predator who exploits his position to take advantage of his young charges. The trusting colleagues who don’t want […]
Thursday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 11, 2011
Members of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia are lifting their eyes to the heavens a lot these days. No, they’re not being pious: they’re looking out for golf balls from a uncomfortably close-by driving green. It’s a situation that’s not exactly par for the course, you might say. Eh? Eh? The Jewish Daily […]
ThursdayâÂ?Â?s Religion News Roundup
By David Gibson — November 10, 2011
Coaching legend Joe Paterno is out at Penn State over the child sex abuse scandal (oh, the university president is gone, too). Comparisons to the Catholic Church continue to work as the dominant explanation for how this could happen. But Catholic parishioners tended not to riot in protest when, say, Cardinal Law is run out […]
Bishops gear up for fight with Obama
By Tracy Gordon — November 10, 2011
(RNS) When the nation’s Catholic bishops gather for their annual fall meeting next week (Nov. 14-16) in Baltimore, the issue that will stand out in an otherwise small-bore internal agenda is their growing resolve to engage in politically charged battles over gay marriage and access to abortion and contraception. In fact, during their gathering — […]
The PSU-Catholic comparison, cont.
By Mark Silk — November 10, 2011
On a more serious note, Gibson writes of the firing of Joe Paterno and his boss, Penn State President Graham Spanier: Comparisons to the Catholic Church continue to work as the dominant explanation for how this could happen. But Catholic parishioners tended not to riot in protest when, say, Cardinal Law is run out of […]
A Scripture for Perry
By Mark Silk — November 10, 2011
Writing the estimable RNS blog today, David Gibson notes the verse from Isaiah shared by RNC chair Reince Priebus with Herman Cain and puzzles, “Not sure what bible passage might have helped absent-minded Rick Perry, who sounded more like Britney Spears than a would-be president. I suggest Ecclesiastes 3.1…3.7: “To every thing there is a […]
After Miss. defeat, what’s next for ‘Personhood’?
By Tracy Gordon — November 10, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The failure of the “personhood” initiative in Mississippi on Tuesday (Nov. 8) intensified what appears to be a growing divide in the anti-abortion movement. Some backers of the initiative, which aimed to make abortion illegal by defining a fetus as a person from the moment of conception, are pointing fingers at major anti-abortion […]
NCC leader to step down
By Tracy Gordon — November 10, 2011
(RNS) The National Council of Churches announced on Wednesday (Nov. 9) that General Secretary Michael Kinnamon is resigning due to health reasons. Kinnamon, 63, told the ecumenical group’s governing board that he must “immediately and significantly” reduce his activity, especially the frequent travel required by the job, under the advice of his cardiologist. A minister […]
Study says religious services make some women happier
By Tracy Gordon — November 10, 2011
(RNS) Got the blues? Go to church. A new study in the Journal of Religion and Health suggests that — at least for some women of a certain age — there’s a link between optimism and attendance at religious services. “We looked at the religious practices of nearly 100,000 women and — like it or […]
Wednesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 10, 2011
Survey Says: The Public Religion Research Institute released its “American Values Survey” today, revealing all sorts of statistical information about religion and politics in the U.S. Two-thirds of voters, for instance, say it is “very important” or “somewhat important” for a presidential candidate to have strong religious beliefs. Meanwhile, most voters (53%) report that they […]
Rick, Rick, Help me! Uh, Rick?
By Mark Silk — November 9, 2011
The CW tonight is that Rick Perry has stuck the final fork in himself–and who am I to disagree? When you can’t even remember–“oops”–the names of the federal agencies you’ve promised to eliminate, you’re a joke even in this Republican field. It was only four months ago that Perry rode out of Austin as the […]
Progressive Muslims come into their own
By Tracy Gordon — November 9, 2011
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — November 9, 2011
Tuesday appeared to be a good day for liberals, as Mississippi’s personhood amendment, Ohio’s anti-union initiative and Maine’s voting registration restrictions all failed at the ballot box. All three had been opposed by the religious left. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, tossing out a claim that […]
