Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
When presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said during the Republican primaries that he was comfortable speaking the language of Zion, he clearly referred to the social and, to some degree, theological contexts of conservative evangelical Protestants. I’ve long sensed that Obama speaks in the cadence of Zion, one that seems familiar to any ears familiar with black churches.
I had the privilege of attending the inauguration yesterday and sitting in some ridiculously good seats. As in, eighth row. As in, Beyonce was many rows behind me. I have to say, if you’re going to see an inauguration, you can’t get closer than the press area. Or at least the press area I was in.
I am posting this video here for discussion for a very specific journalistic reason, even though I know I am stretching the boundaries of what we do here.
Some prayers and sermons are given more news value than others. For example, the fact that HBO did not broadcast Bishop V. Gene Robinson’s prayer on Sunday made a rather significant news ripple. However, a CNN interview with Colin Powell received priority over the mealtime prayer of Rear Admiral Barry C. Black (Ret.), U.S. Senate Chaplain, before Tuesday’s rather significant congressional luncheon with President Obama.
Can there be anyone who has not read or heard about the stirring ideals of racial reconciliation made concrete in the inauguration of Barack Obama, the son of a white mother and a black father?
Let people say whatever they wish about Rick Warren’s invocation. I loved CNN’s shot of church women shedding tears as Warren invoked Martin Luther King Jr., and others in the great cloud of witnesses, shouting with joy in heaven.
