Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Back in my Colorado journalism days, I attended a national conference that drew a wide variety of people who backed the ordination of women. As I walked around the campground scribbling notes (often with a sharp journalist named Douglas LeBlanc), I became aware of just how much diversity was present in that body of believers.
Quick! While we all read more and more about the horrific news out of Moscow, can we agree on something? Please, copy editors and reporters, lend me your ears.
Growing up as a pastor’s kid, my aversion to congregational meetings was earned honestly. I don’t know what it is about people, but time somehow becomes no object when contending for how you want the bathrooms remodeled. And I’m glad that people care about how their congregation is operating, but sometimes that concern translates into some pretty tense moments. I was reminded of my feelings about voters assemblies when reading this horribly imbalanced story about a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran congregation’s recent vote regarding a principal who had been accused of teaching contrary to the denomination’s position.
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.
There’s a viral video out there that doesn’t involve Charlie biting his brother’s finger, Ok Go’s Rube Goldberg project, or a man on a horse. No, this one is much more serious. Angie Jackson’s video of having an abortion (right) has received more than 140,000 hits since she posted it a few weeks ago.
In honor of the upcoming Oscar bash, let me jump in here with another post on the mainstream media coverage of the religious element in “The Blind Side.”
A group of 13 clergy in Ohio petitioned the IRS to investigate the organization that owns a red brick townhouse on Capitol Hill. The C Streeters claim a tax exemption as a church but the clergy group say it’s more an “exclusive club for elected officials” than a church. I wasn’t elated with the early reporting I saw on the claim but this NPR story is particularly notable. Here’s how it begins:
