entertainment & pop culture
Friday’s Roundup: Drive-thru edition
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 10, 2012
A quick drive-thru tour of the contraception debate, on your way to a drive-thru funeral home (!!!!) where you may find the former archbishop of Philadelphia but hopefully not the pope.
Mormons confront ‘epidemic’ of online misinformation
By Tracy Gordon — February 1, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) "The problem is not so much the discovery of particular details that are deal breakers for the faithful; the problem is a loss of faith and trust in an institution that was less than forthcoming to begin with."
Gay bishop documentary ‘Love Free or Die’ takes center stage at Sundance
By Tracy Gordon — January 24, 2012
"If my story can help a young boy or girl in their teens believe they can have a wonderful and productive life and family," says the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, "then it's worth my putting up with a film crew following me around for two years in order to comfort and inspire them."
Megadeth star David Ellefson takes thrash metal — and seminary — on tour
By Tracy Gordon — January 23, 2012
CLAYTON, Mo. (RNS) David Ellefson was an honest-to-God founding member of the legendary thrash metal band Megadeth. And his studies at a Lutheran seminary here illustrate why distance-learning programs are increasingly popular as seminarians don't have to uproot their lives to attend. For Ellefson, his new quest for the ministry is also about a peculiar foray through the apparent contradictions of rock and religion.
Tuesday Godbytes: I Have a Tweet; Tebowing Gets Violent; Revolutionary Music
By Jack Jenkins — January 18, 2012
Happy (belated) Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Seminary students: ever wondered how MLK put together his sermons? Well wonder no more — apparently he made up a lot of them on the fly. Yeah, he was that good. MLK was, of course, a Christian. But, as the Houston Chronicle points out, deeply impacted by Gandhi […]
The long spiritual journey of singer Paul Simon
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2012
(RNS) Paul Simon says there's always been a spiritual dimension to his music. But the overt religious references in his most recent album, “So Beautiful or So What,” surprised even him. There are songs about God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife. Simon says the religious themes were not intentional — he does not […]
Wednesday Godbytes: Who is the coolest? Mormon actors, Christian pop stars, or Amish hipsters?
By Jack Jenkins — January 12, 2012
When you hear the word “hipster,” you probably think of many things. V-neck shirts. Awkward mustaches. Flannel. Odd musical tastes. Urban Outfitters. Misuse of the word “ironic.” But now we all apparently have to add another word to that list: Amish. Hear me out: The idea isn’t actually all that far fetched. The internet already […]
Has Matisyahu left Judaism?
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2011
(RNS) Matisyahu, the improbable but undeniable reggae star, announced on Twitter on Tuesday (Dec. 13) that he is shaving the beard that has long marked him as a Hasidic Jew. Fans are confused. Is he giving up the Orthodox brand of Judaism he adopted 10 years ago, and the ultra-religious persona that helped launch him […]
Young hip Jews leading a Hanukkah music makeover
By Tracy Gordon — December 8, 2011
(RNS) Put on your boogie shoes — the new Hanukkah songs are here! What last year seemed like a happy coincidence has become a hip new Hanukkah tradition: groups of harmonizing young Jews releasing seriously Jewish, yet seriously danceable, songs for the Festival of Lights. The Maccabeats, who scored more than 6 million hits on […]
Tuesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — December 7, 2011
The U.S. Army recently announced it will allow an orthodox Jewish Rabbi to attend military chaplaincy training without shaving his beard. Still, the Washington Post wonders if there are other religious barriers in the U.S. Military. No more funny business? Religion Dispatches asks: is making fun of Mormonism cliche? Full Contact Enlightenment (yup, that’s a […]
Monday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — December 6, 2011
The Dalai Lama is out and about in India, much to the chagrin of Chinese officials across the border. And when he’s not irking China, he is also getting some buzz going about his new book on secular ethics. CNN is looking at experts who claim Muslims are “more religious” than other faithful. The Kentucky […]
Students ‘do interfaith’ through universal language of music
By Tracy Gordon — November 19, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) Say the word “interfaith” and the next word to roll off the tongue is probably “dialogue.” It’s hard to think of one without the other. But college students know there are other ways to communicate, and music may be chief among them. Students from three North Carolina universities — Duke, North Carolina […]
Friday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 19, 2011
The eyes have it: Muslim women in Saudi Arabia may be forced to start covering up ‘tempting’ eyes. The New York Times reviews a documentary about the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. (it’s less gloomy than it sounds!) You’ve probably heard that meditation can be good for you, but […]
Wednesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 17, 2011
In Face-Melting News: Hey, remember the Ark of the covenant? You know, the thing from the Bible? No? Okay, you know that thing that melts people’s faces off in the first Indiana Jones movie? Yeah, that. Well it looks like people may have actually found the Ark of the Covenant (but probably not). Let’s hope […]
Mass changes have liturgists scurrying to craft new music
By Tracy Gordon — November 15, 2011
(RNS) For the average American Catholic in the pews, the upcoming changes to the text of the Mass might mean little more than memorizing a few new prayer responses. But when the revised translation of the Mass sweeps into churches across America on the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27), it will bring with it […]
