Cause-and-effect is difficult to prove sometimes, but it is curious how things follow in a sequence of events. The recent round of protests in the Ukraine, particularly in the capital city of Kiev, have upended the country (not to mention a statue of Vladimir Lenin).
The second religion-news storytelling rule: Get the name of the church
Vote now! Time serves up correction of the year (updated)
It may be the religion-beat question of the year. So all together now: Why is Pope Francis so popular with mainstream journalists?
Mandela the sinner? Mandela the prophet? Yes, cover both
One of the greatest mysteries in life is the moral complexity that is often found in the hearts of great men and women who live truly great lives and, even, in their best moments perform great deeds that can be called blessed, or even holy.
Wall Street Journal gets the tone right on Holocaust survivor story
There’s so much bad reporting about religion and religion-related stories these days — the continual surprise evidenced by The New York Times that the leaders of Roman Catholic institutions may choose to act, well, in a Catholic manner, for example — that it’s not a bad thing, I believe to highlight instances where a given reporter (and publication) get it right.
The Methodist roots of Nelson Mandela
A giant banner outside the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg â which I visited during a 2009 reporting trip to South Africa â uses those terms to describe Nelson Mandela, although many more certainly could be applied.
RNS: It's no rumor; Turks want Hagia Sophia as a mosque
I just did a quick search in my email files and it appears that I started receiving alerts about the following story in 2007 — all linked to appeals for Eastern Orthodox Christians to sign petitions opposing Turkish efforts to turn the iconic Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
Reporters: beware of Greeks bearing gay gifts
The essence of life, its meanings, symbols and motives, can be found in television; reporting on the condition of man is reducible to vignettes from Seinfeld and Yes Minister.
Missing nuns, missing details, in Maaloula (updated)
Trust me on this. I know that it must be impossible for journalists to cover events in the war-torn land of Syria right now without getting their heads blown off. This is especially true for correspondents linked to Western news organizations that are trying to cover the actions of Islamist radicals.
