Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
It is, of course, one of the most infamous job postings in the history of religion writing in the mainstream press. I refer to that 1995 notice at the Washington Post letting the staff know that there was an opening on the beat.
I love the way the Wall Street Journal covers religion. Rather than focus on political-religious stories as so many other media outlets do, the Journal frequently looks at stories about actual religious life. Many readers sent along Alexandra Alter’s fascinating analysis of church discipline:
It must be fun, in a twisted sort of way, to be a religion reporter in those regions where the Anglican Wars are raging. The action just never stops.
Of all the stories readers and friends sent along to me today, the one headlined “Man Sees ‘Mark of the Beast’; Cuts Off, Microwaves Hand” is the most memorable. There’s really no way to get into this so I’m just going to post the entire story:
Washington Times reporter Julia Duin has written dozens of pieces on the big religion story happening in Virginia — the realignment of 11 Episcopal congregations from the Episcopal Church into the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a missionary branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. We’ve read, if not highlighted, her various stories about the incremental updates in the lawsuits the Episcopal Church filed against the departing flocks. Her blog also makes for lively reading, helped along by her writeup of her failed dramatic stakeout of Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.
Where I grew up in California, Saturdays were for Quinceaneras (why won’t WordPress accept the letter n with a tilde?). If you drove by the Catholic church at the right time, you’d see what looked like a wedding party pouring out. The Associated Press’ Eric Gorski uses the hook of Quinceaneras to discuss how the Roman Catholic church in America is embracing its changing identity:
