Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
We had an interesting discussion the other day in the comments pages after my post about coverage of the decision by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to approve the ordination of noncelibate gays, lesbians and bisexuals (and potentially cohabitating straights, as well). The discussion focused on the old, old, old Godbeat term “mainline Protestantism.”
Time has a very interesting take on what the death of Osama bin Laden means for al Qaeda in the May 20 issue. Written by Peter Bergen, he compares 9/11 to Pearl Harbor saying both events demonstrated “a stunning tactical victory that set in motion events that would end in the defeat of” the respective aggressors. We’re told that bin Laden was full of hubris and how some of his shrewder lieutenants didn’t support the particulars of his campaign to destroy the United States.
What we have here is the kind of commentary on the news that GetReligion tries to avoid, since the purpose of this blog is to offer criticism — positive and negative — of actual religion-news coverage in the mainstream press.
Perusing the Faith and Values section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I came across a little story — 335 words — about a little church — Sunday attendance of 15 — that decided to disband and start over.
What we have here is an interesting New York Times feature story about a dead or dying community, one of those rust-belt towns in which — this is a fact — the economic realities of this age are giving people less and less to live for.
It was just a week ago that we all got news about the killing of Osama bin Laden. On Sunday night, crowds of people came out to celebrate this victory in the war on terror. And while many people understood the impromptu reaction, others felt a bit uncomfortable by the celebration. I think we all probably had mixed emotions in our reaction to Osama’s death. Almost immediately, many of my (mostly) Lutheran friends and family discussed what our reaction should be and it was an interesting example of how theology influences our day-to-day behavior.
The New York Times reports that faith groups are campaigning to block gay marriage in the state of New York:
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Down South, though, about 350 people are dead and thousands more hurt and homeless after a swath of tornadoes cut a deadly path across seven Southern states — hitting Alabama hardest — last Wednesday night. It’s the nation’s deadliest twister outbreak since the Great Depression and America’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, according to the news reports I’ve read.
