Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Two basic kinds of stories have been written about the retirement of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. The first are about Dungy’s results on the gridiron, his record-setting 10 straight playoff seasons, and six in-a-row seasons of 12-plus wins. The second story is about Dungy’s faith and his personal impact on the world around him.
Trust me. There are times when your GetReligionistas get tired of writing posts that criticize the same publications for making the same errors, time after time. Meanwhile, we know that readers may also tire of hearing us praise some of the same skilled, talented professionals who know what they are doing on the religion beat.
As part of our new effort to highlight opinion columnist and their work that could have and should have been covered as straight news, I wanted to highlight a pair of articles by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. The first, which dates just before Christmas, highlights some interesting statistics purporting to show that “[w]e liberals are personally stingy.”
We’re going to be seeing lots and lots of commentary about the death of Father Richard John Neuhaus and the end of an era, especially if you combine his passing with that of another important Catholic activist on the right, Deacon Paul Weyrich.
Since so many of you liked talking about Florida Gator two-time champion quarterback Tim Tebow, I thought I would drop this quick follow-up on last night’s national championship BCS championship game. I managed to avoid most of the game until the final quarter, but I happened to stay awake for Tebow’s (short) post-game interview that included a shout out to his Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Yesterday morning, I asked my 16-month-old daughter to pick out one of her books and bring it to me. Instead of “That’s Not My Bunny . . .” or some similar book, she picked up my latest copy of First Things and went through it page by page. It made me laugh but also made me immediately wonder how the journal’s founder Richard John Neuhaus was doing. I knew he’d been in poor health and had received last rites.
I keep forgetting that this evening’s alleged national college football championship game is something in which sports fans are expected to be interested. The lack of a proper method for determining a national champion in college football really puts a downer in my interest in the game. Or maybe I’m still just sore about the Colts and the fact that Tony Dungy likely coached his last game in Indianapolis.
There are many bright lights on the religion beat but for consistency, you just can’t beat the Public Broadcasting Service’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The journalists there produce a great show week after week. Readers of this blog would be remiss to not check it out.
Oh the constant joy it must bring to be a religious person associated with President-elect Barack Obama. With Baptist minister Rick Warren being sued by atheists over the use of the Lord’s name in an inauguration prayer, Obama’s old home church appears to be breathing a sigh of relief now that the election is over and Obama has officially moved to Washington, D.C.
