Social Issues

Gay rights and religious freedom

Every year I steel myself for the onslaught of Holy Week stories the mainstream media love. You know the ones — media pieces attempting to undermine miraculous stories about Jesus and his life. Some of them have been very bad. But this year those attacks have not been limited to Holy Week. Hurrah.


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Looking back on the raid

The one-year anniversary of the removal of 400-plus children from West Texas ranch operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a tremendous reminder of the valuable asset newspapers are in providing substantive coverage of issues and events that require lengthy and rigorous review of records and in-depth investigation.


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This radical Catholic gets respect

Long ago, while I was on the religion beat at the Rocky Mountain News, I covered several protests linked to military facilities — including a memorable day following Catholic activists out across the prairies of Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas looking for nuclear missile silos. Sometimes people got arrested, but most of the time the authorities looked the other way.


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Why did Dungy say no?

National Public Radio had an interesting interview a few days ago regarding the announcement of former Indianapolis Colts coach and Super Bowl champion Tony Dungy’s invitation to President Obama’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Yes, the invitation was officially announced (nice work Dan Gilgoff), and yes, Dungy declined that invitation for the stated reason of the time constraints of a retired NFL coach.


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And now, speaking for God ...

In the wake of EEE’s post on the latest nonNewsweek sermon from the Rt. Rev. Jon Meacham, please allow me to jump in with a comment or two on the Wall Street Journal counter-statement — before several dozen readers send me the URL.


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Jon's American Religion 101

Many of you know that Newsweek editor Jon Meacham has written books on topics as diverse as the friendship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the faith of the founding Fathers, and the nation’s seventh President, Andrew Jackson. In the YouTube clip above, he’s discoursing in a Gettsburg College lecture about faith and President Abraham Lincoln.


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Nailing down a conflict

The Arizona Republic‘s coverage of an alleged conflict between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its efforts to convert Latino Catholics troubles me in a number of ways. But before I get into my criticism, I think it’s worth saying at the top that just covering this issue is an excellent first step. The challenge faced by the reporter is that this is a massive issue that requires a close examination into a number of different areas that are sensitive, conflicting and anything but straightforward.


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