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David Brooks’ Sept. 8 New York Times column hailed the arrival of National Affairs, a new quarterly magazine that seeks to occupy the same area of the public square vacated by The Public Interest (which closed in 2005): “the bloody crossroads where social science and public policy meet matters of morality, culture and virtue.”
At this point, I think it’s safe to say that the Republicans (“You lie!“) are pretty much irrelevant when it comes to debates about health-care reform.
As my colleague Mollie recently commented, journalists often write stories that analyze happenings in a particular context: winning and losing. Who is climbing up the greasy pole and who is sliding down? Because some find this aspect of a writer’s art fascinating (the closer they live to D.C. or state capitols or New York City, the stronger the temptation to obsess) they sometimes ignore theologicals or doctrinal perspectives in favor of the current catfight.
I feel a bit like a sandbagger when I critique religion stories reported by network and cable news. Fish in a barrel. It’s just one step above criticizing the editorial strength of a college newspaper — and a rung below the college paper I worked for.
I completely understand why many mainstream journalists get frustrated when they try to write — in a fair and accurate manner — about the political force that is usually called the Religious Right.
President Barack Obama will be speaking to both houses of Congress tonight about his efforts at reforming health care. It is news to no one that the five pieces of legislation currently under consideration aren’t being cheered by all Americans. In fact, while many people might agree that health care could use some reforming, they’re not agreeing about many of the particulars about how to do that.
A long time ago, back in the year 1991 to be precise, a circle of six doctrinally conservative priests in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland did a very unusual thing — they published a paper reaffirming ancient Christian doctrines on a host of different subjects, including their belief that salvation was found through Jesus Christ, alone.
Do you oppose same-sex marriage? If so, the Washington Post thinks there’s a good chance that you’re insane.
Due to its power and prestige, The New York Times invites criticism; some of it from people of faith who feel the paper fails to give religion its due. But these critics should take note of the Labor Day edition of the Times, which provided plentiful and nuanced coverage of many major religion stories, leading me to suggest that the paper consider temporarily changing its page-one motto to: “All the Religion That’s Fit to Print.”
