Godbeat

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Taking the path of Zen

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American obituary writers have nothing on the Brits, where you may be excused for thinking you’re reading a roast rather than a tribute. I’m glad we have a more respectful tradition, but sometimes the obit can come off a bit dry. But this obituary in the Los Angeles Times was a captivating read. It tells some highlights of the story of Robert Aitken‘s life. One of the first Americans to be “fully sanctioned” as a master of Zen Buddhism, Robert Baker Aitken Roshi died last week at the age of 93. Elaine Woo began with his significance to the community:


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Pray, read the Bible, maybe get married?

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So, raise your hands if you are, from time to time, frustrated by news reports that are based on survey data? I know this is a regular subject for posts by the Divine Mrs. M.Z. Hemingway, but I would like to step in here and shout an “Amen” anyway.


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Minnesota's defender of the faith

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Ramadan began yesterday, and with it came a stream of related stories. Holiday stories. You’ve heard me bemoan holiday stories before, and I’m certain I could cherry-pick plenty here. But like with the Jewish High Holidays last year, I’d rather highlight a story that bucked the trend of holiday boredom.


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What does religious loyalty look like?

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It’s always interesting to see what stories reporters jump on and which are ignored. This has actually been a good year for coverage of changes in religious affiliation, thanks to some major studies on the matter. Here’s a CNN piece headlined “Study: Young Americans less religious than their parents,” for instance.


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Chip off the old mainline?

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Long ago, when I was the religion-beat reporter and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News (please pause for a moment of silence), I thought that one of the most interesting stories in town was the growth of the local congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church.


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Serving outrage soup for female priests

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It’s a tough category, to be sure, but Lona O’Connor wins the prize for the worst story I’ve ever seen about female, non-Roman Catholic priests. It ran in the Palm Beach Post and it’s just absolutely embarrassing from top to bottom.


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Newspaper states the very obvious (see 'Holy See')

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One of the big questions that specialty-beat reporters always have to ask themselves is this: “How much background information can I assume that my readers know about the subject of this complex story?”


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Don't leave Cordoba reporting to pundits

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We could probably spend weeks looking at the media coverage of the mosque proposed to be built near Ground Zero. One of the things I find so interesting about this story is how so much of the reporting on the mosque and its backers is being done by non-traditional media. And many of the mainstream reports seem less interested in that aspect of the story than looking at the opposition to the mosque. It creates a weird media climate where the best news and analysis comes from blogs and pundits and, well, the worst treatment and analysis comes from blogs and pundits.


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