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Earlier this week, a regional church court heard a case in which a Presbyterian pastor from Pittsburgh was accused of performing a same-sex wedding ceremony in violation of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Too often, we aren’t sure. Do we have a religious story with a political dimension — or a story about politics that has a religious angle? When journalists cover a story about the “culture wars,” the religious convictions that may fuel someone’s position on an issue sometimes end up buried in the end quotes.
Tonight’s debate may be one of the most anticipated of the year. Somehow I sense there will be a let-down in terms of theatrics since that’s probably what both sides are seeking. However, what we will be looking for this evening will be religious questions and answers.
In the early days after the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the Republican ticket, the mainstream media ran quite a few stories wondering whether a female candidate with children should really be in such a position of authority and responsibility. Now they’ve decided to try really hard to get religious adherents to carry their water. The Associated Press chose one denomination — out of the many and various Christian groups that retain the traditional male-only clergy — to frame a story about whether females should be in secular power:
Thank you to the GetReligion readers who let us know that we had been called out, so to speak, over at the Spiritual Politics weblog at the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College.
Not so long ago, in the days when the country’s financial system was not falling down a cliff, Barack Obama was said to have a problem with white Appalachians. He couldn’t connect with them; he didn’t speak their language; he had denigrated them. Why?
Religion is not the first topic that comes to mind for James Bond, the MI6 agent portrayed in dozens of movies, numerous print productions, more than a handful of video games and who knows how many parodies. I know the next Bond film Quantum of Solace is scheduled for released in November, but this weekend isn’t too early to take a light-hearted look at the possible religious faith of this womanizing, fearless secret agent thanks in large part to The Times‘ http://timesonline.typepad.com/faith/2008/04/was-james-bond.html “>Faith Central blog.
Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, has long been known as an influential port city. But it’s a huge tourist destination as well. The city is constantly building, allegedly claiming 15-25 percent of the world’s cranes. It has the tallest man-made structure, the only 7-star hotel, massive man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree. Half the time I see pictures of Dubai, I’m unsure if what I’m seeing is real or computer generated.
