Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Honk if you’ve heard the phrase “more spiritual than religious.” That, not “WWJD,” appears to be the mantra of today’s young people, even those who call themselves Christian. The movement has significant ramifications for Christianity — and religion in general — in the United States.
Anyone who has followed this weblog for very long knows that, from the get-to, we have been rather upset that legions of reporters insist on ignoring the wise guidance offered by the Associate Press Stylebook concerning when to use, and when not to use, the hot-button label “fundamentalist.”
Anyone who wants to know how seriously The Politico has disturbed the MSM principalities and powers need only click here and read the massive (go get a beverage) New York Times Magazine profile of the cyberscribe Mike “Playbook” Allen, the human alarm clock who helps drive life here inside the Beltway.
This may be the pickiest post I have ever written, but, hey, the mountains of North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are my favorite place on earth, so please allow me to share a news-related chuckle with the locals.
Let’s start with a bit of background. Last week, a federal judge ruled that a law authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. That day is marked in early May and observances can continue until all appeals are exhausted. There’s a group called the National Day of Prayer Task Force. It focuses on Christian events and they worked with the Pentagon chaplain’s office on a National Day of Prayer event to be held next month. They had invited noted Christian evangelist Franklin Graham to give a prayer. Mikey Weinstein, who runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and was also in the news years ago when he fought evangelical influences at the United States Air Force Academy, complained about his invitation and by Thursday, the invitation was rescinded. (And I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or not, but President Barack Obama is actually meeting with Franklin Graham and his more famous father, the Rev. Billy Graham, today!)
It would be an understatement of epic proportions to say that Baltimore is slightly obsessed with the Ravens, its NFL franchise in the tortured era after the sinful betrayal that cost the city the Colts.
Two weeks ago, my husband informed me that April 22 was his second favorite day of the year. What’s so special about this day, you ask? The NFL draft, and he plans to plant himself in front of a television set most of the day. (His favorite day is the NFL’s opening day, which might coincide with our September anniversary someday).
I’ve long complained about the puff piece profiles that run in the Washington Post‘s Style section. The last few times we’ve discussed these profiles it’s been in relation to one done on a supporter of traditional marriage laws. These profiles tend to be favorable no matter which side of the aisle the subject sits on, but in the case of National Organization for Marriage executive director Brian Brown, that was not acceptable to many of the Post‘s more liberal readers.
Now, what happens when you combine the complexities of religious doctrine with the intricate, and at times agonizing, nature of the hair-splitting debates that take place in the U.S. Supreme Court? Only the brave enter that kind of maze.
