Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
If you watched the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s, you probably noticed two things: that Tim Tebow hardly could have been more brilliant in his final collegiate game and that his iconic biblical eyeblack referred to Ephesians 2:8-10.
I suppose all good things must come to an end eventually but, after 20 years, the final New York Times‘ Beliefs column was printed on New Year’s Day. Terry, as usual, had some vital things to say about this development on the Godbeat — so go read his post below already if you haven’t done so now. Still, a major development has room for more than one us here at GR to comment on, even if Tmatt is a tough act to follow.
In July of 1997, the U.S. State Department, after months of pressure from human-rights activists, released its first global report on the persecution of religious minorities. The report was six months overdue and, thus, had not been released during a tense campaign by the Clinton White House to obtain Most Favored Nation trade status for China.
Ben Nelson is facing some bad news back home in Nebraska after he switched his vote to support the Senate’s health care bill. A Rasmussen survey shows 55 percent of Nebraska voters now hold an unfavorable view of Nelson, who is up for re-election in 2012, while 40 percent view him favorably. So Nelson took to the airwaves during the University of Nebraska’s Holiday Bowl on Wednesday to defend his position, but some reporters seem to forget what started it all: abortion.
Last week I read a Washington Post article about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man charged with attempting to bomb a flight to Detroit. In the same way that some media coverage of Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan explored his mental state, this Post article took the clinical approach with Abdulmutallab. Like Hasan, he was lonely and wanted to find a wife.
Remember Mollie’s post a few weeks ago taking issue with a quote in the NYT regarding Muslim terrorists and the price of beer? Well here we go again. The subject in this Washington Post article isn’t five northern Virginia men but Nidal Hasan of Fort Hood infamy.
GetReligion readers likely are familiar with John Allen, the National Catholic Reporter‘s ace Vatican reporter. His latest column analyzes the biggest Vatican stories of the last 10 years. An aside: is anyone else annoyed at all of these “best of decade” lists coming a year prior to the end of the actual decade?
If, like me, you’re long since tired of reading stories about Tiger Woods’ sordid personal life, please hang with me for one more.
Over the weekend, I discussed a New York Times story about a possible rift between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Health Association (CHA) — which represents the many Catholic hospitals in the country — over health care reform legislation. The Times reported the following: “In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation’s Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate’s compromise on the issue, raising hopes of breaking an impasse in Congress and stirring controversy within the church.”
