Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
This pair of stories has been around for a long time, stashed away in my thick GetReligion guilt file (which needs its own logo or something). I haven’t written about these two stories because I have not been able to figure out what I want to say. Logical enough?
Already, 2011 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Ross family. In mid-May, my son Brady will graduate from high school. Just a few days later, the end of the world will start.
Last week, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced he would grant two sisters an early release from prison. Gladys and Jamie Scott had both served 16 years of their life sentences for armed robbery. Because life sentences are unusually long for armed robbery, their cause had been advocated by civil rights groups.
Now I KNOW how much GetReligion readers care about the often strange role that religious faith plays in American sports, including at the highest levels — such as the National Football League.
I went to church on New Year’s Eve, as many do. In the Lutheran church, we mark the eve of the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord. Many black Protestant congregations have Watch Night services, commemorating the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Many other Christians simply mark the new year. It’s so easy to take for granted the peace and ease with which we attended church in the United States.
It’s that time of year when we tend to reflect on the good, bad or ugly in 2010 and resolve to do something better in the next 12 months. Earlier I wondered whether sites like Facebook downplay the value of reflection as it feeds us update after update about our friends’ birthdays and such. Through RSS feeds, Twitter and other mediums, I find stories after stories after stories worth reading, and one of my friends and I sometimes joke: “the Internet had a really good day today.”
Trust me, I have the greatest of sympathies for general-assignment reporters who find themselves forced to wade into the complex details of doctrine, rite and history that are frequently served up by day-to-day events that transpire on the religion beat.
NPR’s Morning Edition had a story this week about how Israel responds to African migrants. “In Israel, No Welcome Mat For African Migrants” was interesting, but I thought it had some flaws. You could begin with the headline, which in addition to stating that Israel is not friendly to African migrants, also seems to suggest that a welcome mat is the standard by which Israel’s immigration policy should be judged.
For better or worse, I’m as Jewish as any of your GetReligionistas. (In a Jewish sense I fall well short of my predecessor here, Ari L. Goldman; I also fall short as a journalist.) Thus, I’m often the guy who gets called upon when there is a bit of Jew news that needs some scrutiny.
