Journalism

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Getting real on the Middle East

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Buried at 19 paragraphs into an A1 Wall Street Journal story on the religious tensions in the Gulf is a reference that appears to imply that religious issues are not part of the “real world.” Accessing the article requires an expensive log-in (which I don’t have — I am relying on a dead-pulp version), but props to Rod Dreher of Beliefnet’s Crunchy Con and the The Dallas Morning News for catching it Monday and calling us out for missing it.


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In their own words

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We tend to look at mainstream media religion reporters rather than mainstream media religion columnists, but there’s a new religion column in the San Francisco Chronicle that’s worth a look. David Ian Miller writes the column and he came to religion coverage quite recently, after covering city hall, personal finances and technology news. He decided to interview one person each week about their religion.


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On the Romney family tree

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Associated Press reporters Jennifer Dobner and Glen Johnson put together a doozy of a story that ran Saturday on the Mitt Romney family tree. The hook is the fact that several of his ancestors were married multiple times. At the same time. Of course, the supporters of the former Massachusetts governor are quick to note that of the three leading candidates, Romney is the only one to be married once:


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Keeping religion under wraps

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Amazing Grace, an overdue tribute to British abolitionist William Wilberforce, opens nationwide today. The film is well worth seeing, particularly if you’re unfamiliar with the Wilberforce story. Like with almost every movie I see, I had some artistic quibbles with it. (And I’m not snooty: I’m hoping to see Reno 911 tonight.) But most surprising to me was how little religion was included in a movie about someone so religiously influenced. Charlotte Allen, who has the same problem, reviewed the film for The Wall Street Journal:


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Mormons against Romney

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At first glance, the one constituency you would think former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had locked up would be the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. Romney is of course a practicing Mormon.


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To dust you will return

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I always get a kick out of the way my friends and colleagues celebrate Mardi Gras with a fervor not seen since before the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus. But mere hours later the liturgical calendar is forgotten. These devout observers of Shrove Tuesday can be heard telling the Christians they have “dirt on your forehead.”


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