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In reviewing Bill Maher’s new film, Religulous, Stephen Holden of The New York Times has achieved an unusual thing: A written reflection that is even less informed than the film it discusses.
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:
The Baltimore Sun had a pretty solid article last week about the challenges Muslim athletes face during the month of Ramadan, where fasting during daylight hours is a priority. In reading this article, I wonder whether other local newspapers have covered the issue last month. My local newspaper hasn’t to my knowledge, but let me know if you are aware of other local stories that appeared in September.
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.
So the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is voting on Saturday about whether to secede from the Episcopal Church. Ann Rodgers, the ace religion reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been all over this story for years. Whether she’s covering Episcopal or Presbyterian battles, she writes interesting stories that are chock full of context and give plenty of room for all sides to weigh in.
A denominational mea culpa to a dead scientist and the controversial resignation of a live one have occasioned both indignation and mirth among the British press.
I’m very excited about becoming a contributor to GetReligion. It will be a real kick to do what I have often done as a reader — ponder the lens through which a particular article was written.
