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Before we look at the journalistic essay that has me so hot and bothered, let us pause and read two crucial passages in a document that used to be dear to the heart of old-fashioned liberals — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This cornerstone of human-rights work was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Times told us that Christian conservatives and the tea party movement were getting cozy. The same day, Politico told us that evangelicals “fear” the tea partiers. (We looked at those two stories here.)
Last week, I was pretty hard on a New York Times report about the latest round of quote, “ethnic,” unquote violence in Nigeria. This story was very light on the details when it came to describing the role that religion plays in a nation that is, literally, divided by faith.
Here is a question for GetReligion readers and other consumers of mainstream news. Does the name “James Pouillon” ring any bells for you?
Joel Osteen is “the new face of Christianity.” That breaking religion news out of Houston — published 4,845 miles away in London — arrives courtesy of a 3,800-word profile in The Observer, which boldly declares:
Either the religious right is cozying up to the “tea party” movement or it fears it. Depending which story you read, that is. The first article to hit our mailboxes this morning was the Los Angeles Times. “Social conservatives put religious twist on ‘tea party’ message” says that activists are working together based on a shared concern over growing government.
Glenn Beck’s comments about social justice last week made the blog rounds earlier this week, and the reaction has been somewhat predictable. Some ignore it; some eat it up; others are ready to condemn it. Here’s what started it all:
I don’t mean to shock you, but I’m about to accuse the Los Angeles Times of giving some soft news coverage — almost cheerleading — to an evangelical anti-abortion activist.
Sometimes, it’s amazing to see how far people will go to downplay the obvious role that religion plays in many parts of the world, for better and for worse.
