In case you missed it, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) made headlines Tuesday night.
As noted by The Washington Post's Sarah Pulliam Bailey — a former GetReligionista — the denomination voted to change its definition of marriage from "a contract 'between a woman and a man' to being 'between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.'"
In light of the widespread coverage of the Presbyterians' decision, it's time for another "big news report card."
In today's grades, I'm particularly interested in how the major media covered these factors: the decision itself, the ramifications for the denomination, the reactions of supporters and opponents, and the wider context of American Christianity within which this decision occurs:
Nice work by AP's longtime Godbeat pro, Rachel Zoll, on all the criteria I mentioned.
In particular, Zoll did an excellent job of putting the decision into context:
Although several Protestant denominations have taken significant steps toward recognizing same-sex relationships, only one other major Christian group has endorsed gay marriage churchwide.
In 2005, the 1.1 million-member United Church of Christ became the first major Protestant denomination to back same-sex marriage, urging its individual congregations to develop wedding policies that don't discriminate against couples because of gender.