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While it is hard to explain to outsiders, one of the most fascinating battles in the American Catholic church today is the one that pits the kneelers vs. the non-kneelers. I refer, of course, to the issue of whether bishops should — bowing to the modernization of ancient rites — attempt to prevent the faithful from kneeling before the altar as they receive Holy Communion during the Mass.
Slate published a piece this week that I’ve wondered for a while now: Did Facebook Kill the Christmas Card? Many people reveal their most significant moments of the year through a Facebook status or photo, perhaps eliminating the need for the annual letter or photo card. It seems like even e-cards are disappearing.
Before we dive into the actual 12 days of Christmas — don’t forget to send URLs of any mainstream coverage — let’s look at another really interesting story from a big week for religion news in the Washington Post. The headline was crisp and to the point, if somewhat dry for such an interesting piece:
GetReligion was launched around the idea of ghosts — religious aspects to stories that went unexplained or ignored. Sometimes those ghosts are very straightforward. Sometimes they’re more about subtext and nuance. In this week’s Crossroads podcast, we discuss some of the lingering ghosts surrounding that provocative New York Times celebration of a marriage built on the failure of two previous marriages.
In 2009 and the first part of 2010, I did a four-part series on Churches of Christ in Canada for The Christian Chronicle, reporting from Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and a small town in Saskatchewan.
As you would imagine, I have to do a lot of writing about The Holidays — or the holy days? — this time of year. I try not to think about this as writing about Christmas, because most of what is going on really has nothing to do with Christmas.
The other day we looked at how religion news can appear in a review of a museum exhibit — that is, outside of news pages. Last week a reader noted a couple of advice columns that discussed religion. The Oakland Tribune’s “Growing Older” column discussed holidays for people who are not religious. And the Washington Post‘s Carolyn Hax had a religion-themed advice column. Here’s the last question and answer:
What we have here is a classic “no comments” situation for GetReligion readers. I am about to praise a major Washington Post piece about religion on the other side of the world. It’s even about Islam.
In many ways, a Washington Post story this week titled “We let a wolf in” has the kind of remarkable layers and depth that you’d expect from a 4,300-word piece in that prominent newspaper’s Sunday magazine.
