Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
I knew the kerfuffle over Arizona’s tough new immigration law had to be choc-o-bloc full of religious ghosts, and I kept waiting for this angle to work its way into the coverage of the topic. Well, Cardinal Mahony of the Los Angeles diocese decided to kick start things a bit, as you can probably tell from this Associated Press headline:
This may be the pickiest post I have ever written, but, hey, the mountains of North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are my favorite place on earth, so please allow me to share a news-related chuckle with the locals.
Let’s start with a bit of background. Last week, a federal judge ruled that a law authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. That day is marked in early May and observances can continue until all appeals are exhausted. There’s a group called the National Day of Prayer Task Force. It focuses on Christian events and they worked with the Pentagon chaplain’s office on a National Day of Prayer event to be held next month. They had invited noted Christian evangelist Franklin Graham to give a prayer. Mikey Weinstein, who runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and was also in the news years ago when he fought evangelical influences at the United States Air Force Academy, complained about his invitation and by Thursday, the invitation was rescinded. (And I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or not, but President Barack Obama is actually meeting with Franklin Graham and his more famous father, the Rev. Billy Graham, today!)
As the Supreme Court nomination anticipation heats up, Dahlia Lithwick’s piece for Slate reads more like a sigh than anything else. Lithwick suggested that the short lists everyone keeps writing about don’t tell us very much except what people–media included–expect to see the next fight over the court.
Earlier this week, news broke that two top Al Qaeda leaders were killed in an airstrike carried out by U.S. troops:
Did you read this Sunday New York Times story about Swami Ramdev headlined “Indian Who Built Yoga Empire Works on Politics“? I don’t know if it was worse as a religion news story or as a political news story but it really failed to even begin to adequately explain either the religious or political situation in India.
Now, what happens when you combine the complexities of religious doctrine with the intricate, and at times agonizing, nature of the hair-splitting debates that take place in the U.S. Supreme Court? Only the brave enter that kind of maze.
The Northern Baptist Convention? As the Southern Baptist Convention faces declining membership and baptism numbers, a task force has drafted a resurgence plan.
