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Add that forthcoming U.S. House report on Jan. 6 riot to your 2022 religion news calendar

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Add that forthcoming U.S. House report on Jan. 6 riot to your 2022 religion news calendar

We can expect that the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack will unveil findings in time to help Democrats' Nov. 8 prospects and, thus, spur Republican ire.

Even if the report ignores the matter, this report can peg thoughtful and thorough journalistic re-examination of the religious significance of continuing furor over the nine troublesome weeks from the 2020 vote through Jan. 6. Carefully balanced, non-partisan contexting will be needed.

Media and amateur videos show us that -- yes -- some of the rioters uttered prayers and brandished Christian signs, slogans and symbols. Were they isolated cranks, or representative of a broader religious phenomenon, or a bit of both?

A New York Times anniversary walkup last week counted 275 defendants with federal charges for obstructing Congress, 225 or so for acts against police, and another 300 for minor trespass or disorderly conduct. So far, a fifth of these defendants have admitted legal guilt.

Importantly, the Times reported that the mob included "church leaders" (plural).

In a national newspaper, that phrase suggests not some small-time parsons from independent churches but notable media stars, denominational and "parachurch" officials, influential college and seminary thinkers, or at least local pastors from "big steeple" congregations. In fact, that reference appears to echo this Times passage that has been discussed several times here at GetReligion, referring to religious image on Jan. 6:

The blend of cultural references, and the people who brought them, made clear a phenomenon that has been brewing for years now: that the most extreme corners of support for Mr. Trump have become inextricable from some parts of white evangelical power in America.

At some point, it would be good to cite examples of “church leaders” linked to “evangelical power.”

By contrast, last year The Washington Post's Michelle Boorstein perceptively profiled certain of the rioters to highlight Americans' growing trend of concocting idiosyncratic "do it yourself" religions for themselves.


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Return of 'nuns' growing weed: A Rolling Stone puff piece on this emerging religious group

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Return of 'nuns' growing weed: A Rolling Stone puff piece on this emerging religious group

Those PR-friendly, pot-puffing Sisters of the Valley are back. I’m sure that this is shocking news (#NOT) to readers who know anything about the history of this group.

Here’s a GetReligion flashback. Some reporters struggled, in early happy talk features about this group, to make it clear these “sisters” were not, in fact, some progressive Catholic order. One classic piece inspired a blog post by Catholic Deacon Greg Kandra — a CBS News professional in his career before moving to the altar — with this classic headline: “Newsweek, Go Home. You’re Drunk. Those Aren’t Nuns.”

Now we have an update about the Sisters of the Valley in, logically enough, Rolling Stone. Here’s the double-decker headline on that:

Our Ladies of the Perpetual High

How a New Age order of feminist nuns is reimagining spiritual devotion and trying to heal the world — one joint at a time

Yes, some headline writers cannot resist “Our Lady” jokes, which is unfortunate. However, the second part of that headline is clear about the contents of this feature, which helps readers know what is what and who is who. This clarity is what makes this story worth reading.

Before we get to that, let me remind readers of a key point in that “thinker” that ran here at GetReligion last weekend: “Two think pieces on changes in American religious life, with a few political twists.” One of the pieces that I recommended was a Rod “Live Not By Lies” Dreher post pointing to a new blast of information from the Pew Research Center team.

Forget politics for a moment. The headline on Rod’s post — “Christianity Declines — But Not ‘Spirituality’ “ — is what connects that Pew data to this new Rolling Stone feature. Dreher wants to note a renewed surge in a tend that has been around for decades (think “Sheilaism”). Here is a key passage:

America continues to transition to its post-Christian reality. … One of the most interesting, and unexpected, developments is that in the US, relatively few of these people who are falling away from Christianity are becoming atheists. Rather, they are cobbling together a bespoke bricolage religion, one designed just for them.


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20 years later, the Boston Globe clergy sex abuse revelations show why journalism matters

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20 years later, the Boston Globe clergy sex abuse revelations show why journalism matters

The date Jan. 6 means different things to people. For me, as a Catholic, it is the Feast of the Epiphany. It marks the date on the liturgical calendar when the Magi, according to the Bible, brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

This year, the date became a polarizing remembrance of the 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, riots or whatever else one calls it depending on their political affiliation. For me, this Jan. 6 marked a special anniversary — the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking Boston Globe Spotlight team’s investigation into predator priests. The series of articles won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 in the Public Service category.

I must admit that the anniversary went by without much fanfare. It’s surprising given that the ramifications from those original series of news articles reverberates within the church, both in the U.S. and globally, and that it was even made into a 2015 movie “Spotlight” that won the Oscar for Best Picture. Even the Vatican gave the film two thumbs up at the time.

Maybe the events of a year ago in Washington were just too compelling for the news media — even though they love anniversaries — to make room for coverage of anything else.

That’s a shame because the stories remain so very important to both the craft of journalism as well as how the Catholic church failed to police itself in the decades following the Second Vatican Council and the betrayal of trust of so many people over a period of four decades.

The question, for GetReligion readers, is this: What are the elements of this story that are still alive, important and worthy of coverage now and in the future?


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Talking to Jesus? This is big New York Times news when a Hollywood spiritualist is involved

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Talking to Jesus? This is big New York Times news when a Hollywood spiritualist is involved

Let’s see. If you were going to write a New York Times article in which someone claimed to be channeling the Buddha, would you, at some point, talk to Buddhists? Maybe even a scholar whose work is rooted in Buddhist thought?

What about Judaism? If someone was claiming to channel Moses, would you talk to a rabbi or two about that? Maybe a scholar who has studied Jewish mysticism?

How about Islam? How would a reporter approach the claims of someone who says she is channeling Mohammad? And what would Islamic believers think of this process?

With these questions in mind, let’s look at that chatty first-person piece that ran more than a month ago at the Times with this headline: “In Good Spirits — Carissa Schumacher channels the dead for her A-list celebrity clients. But most days, she’s in the forest.”

The headline omits the big reveal: Schumacher claims to channel the spirits of the dead, including her most famous connection — Jesus. This is tricky territory, as demonstrated in the wild correction at the end of this long feature:

Correction: Nov. 29, 2021

An earlier version of this article described incorrectly the biblical name Yeshua. The name refers to multiple people, including Joshua; it does not refer solely to Jesus Christ. The article also referred incorrectly to the Old Testament; while the name Yeshua appears in it, Jesus Christ does not.

Ready for the overture?


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Plug-In: The top religion-beat stories of 2022? Here are some likely scenarios

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Plug-In: The top religion-beat stories of 2022? Here are some likely scenarios

What stories will religion reporters be chasing in 2022?

Veteran Godbeat pro Kimberly Winston asked a handful of national journalists — myself included — that question on Interfaith Voices’ “Inspired” radio show.

“Every one of the reporters we asked had a different answer,” Winston noted.

That’s certainly true.

But a few common themes emerged.

The Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein, The Conversation’s Kalpana Jain and I all mentioned abortion as the U.S. Supreme Court contemplates overturning — or at least severely curtailing — Roe v. Wade.

Other topics cited: the COVID-19’s pandemic ongoing impact on religion and the role of faith and Christian nationalism — so evident in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — in the midterm elections.

The Los Angeles Times’ Jaweed Kaleem said he’ll be reporting on religious activism related to the climate and environment. Faithfully Magazine’s Nicola Menzie expects to keep monitoring issues of importance to Christian communities of color, such as mental health.

By the way, the 2022 question was just one part of a fascinating show in which Winston delved into how religion reporters get their stories.

I was truly captivated, except for the parts where I had to listen to my own voice. I’d highly recommend it.

Look for more predictions for the coming year — including a major global story — in this week’s Inside the Godbeat section.


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Chicago rules vs. the Latin Mass: There's more to 'worship wars' than the Tridentine Rite

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Chicago rules vs. the Latin Mass: There's more to 'worship wars' than the Tridentine Rite

Since the late 19th Century, Catholics have recited the Prayer to St. Michael when facing disease, disaster and despair.

It proclaims, in part: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. … O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls."

Before Vatican II, this prayer was often recited after Mass, although it wasn't in the rubrics. In 1994, St. Pope John Paul II urged Catholics to embrace it -- while preaching on threats to the unborn.

The faithful at St. Joseph's Parish in Libertyville, Ill., stopped reciting the Prayer to St. Michael aloud after Masses this past summer. While debate continues about what the Archdiocese of Chicago instructed, livestreamed remarks by the associate pastor went viral, during a worship wars surge in modern Catholicism.

"What I'm going to say, I'm going to say this with a lot of respect. Following the directive of Cardinal Cupich, we want to remind everyone that the Prayer of St. Michael is not to be said publicly following Mass," said Father Emanuel Torres-Fuentes. "As a priest, I have to obey, and I obey this at peace."

While Cardinal Blase Cupich's actions have made news, this drama opened in July with a Pope Francis apostolic letter entitled "Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of the tradition)." It restricted use of the old Latin Mass, thus undercutting "Summorum Pontificum (Of the Supreme Pontiffs)" by the retired Pope Benedict XVI. That document said the post-Vatican II Novus Ordo was the "ordinary form" for the Mass, but the Tridentine rite was an "extraordinary form" that could be encouraged.

The Pope Francis letter appeared to give local bishops some freedom to control use of the old Latin Mass. Then the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship released guidelines on Dec. 18, explaining the pope's edict.

Many bishops, for example, had granted dispensations allowing some diocesan parishes to use the Latin Mass. But Rome's new guidelines said this was not permitted -- only the Vatican could grant exceptions. Also, any parish allowed to celebrate the Tridentine Mass could not list this service in printed or online Mass schedules.


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Two think pieces on changes in American religious life, with a few political twists

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Two think pieces on changes in American religious life, with a few political twists

It’s time for another “think piece” weekend double-shot.

In other words, I want to point readers toward two different online features that, at first, may not seem to be related. However, when you look closer you can see the DNA that connects them.

The first is a blog post by my friend Rod “Live Not By Lies” Dreher, but I want readers to consider his post as a mere frame work around a blast of data from the Pew Research Center team. The headline on Dreher’s post states, once again, an old trend (think “Sheilaism”), but one that is being more — not less — important: “Christianity Declines — But Not ‘Spirituality’.”

Dreher points to this quotation from a recent Pew feature, which digs deeper into the center’s mine of religiously unaffiliated research:

The secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st century show no signs of slowing. The latest Pew Research Center survey of the religious composition of the United States finds the religiously unaffiliated share of the public is 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago.

Christians continue to make up a majority of the U.S. populace, but their share of the adult population is 12 points lower in 2021 than it was in 2011. In addition, the share of U.S. adults who say they pray on a daily basis has been trending downward, as has the share who say religion is “very important” in their lives.

Currently, about three-in-ten U.S. adults (29%) are religious “nones” — people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religious identity. Self-identified Christians of all varieties (including Protestants, Catholics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Orthodox Christians) make up 63% of the adult population. Christians now outnumber religious “nones” by a ratio of a little more than two-to-one. In 2007, when the Center began asking its current question about religious identity, Christians outnumbered “nones” by almost five-to-one (78% vs. 16%).

The recent declines within Christianity are concentrated among Protestants.

A trend this massive will affect almost every area of American life, including politics.


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New podcast: Are the bitter wars over the Latin Mass about politics or Catholic doctrine?

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New podcast: Are the bitter wars over the Latin Mass about politics or Catholic doctrine?

I like hearing from readers. I really do.

However, every now and then I write a national “On Religion” column and I just know that I am going to hear from readers about a specific angle that — for reasons of space — I had to leave out. This happens less often here at GetReligion, since length is not an issue in online forums of this kind.

Anyway, this week’s “On Religion” column was about the tensions among Catholics about Pope Francis and his crackdown on use of the old Latin Mass. I focused on developments in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where it is clear that there’s more to these “worship wars” than use of the Tridentine rite.

That column is already online in some mainstream newspapers, with headlines such as this: “Latin Mass meets Chicago rules.” That column served as the launching pad for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast (CLICK HERE to tune that in), which also looked at an important analysis piece at Crux about five kids of Pope Francis stories — both doctrinal and political — that readers can expect to see in 2022.

When I clicked “send” on that column (including my private listserv to family and friends), I knew that some Catholics would ask why I didn’t address a, well, colorful Mass that recently took place at the progressive St. Sabina Parish in Chicago. Here is the top of the Catholic News Agency story about that:

Outraged by a freewheeling Christmas Eve Mass that featured jazz musicians, choreographed dances around the altar, and theatrical lighting effects, some Catholics are calling on Cardinal Blase Cupich to crack down on liturgical abuses in Novus Ordo Masses in the Archdiocese of Chicago, rather than imposing severe restrictions on reverential Traditional Latin Masses.

Father Michael L. Pfleger, a well-known social activist in Chicago, celebrated the Dec. 24 evening Mass. … Many of those upset by the Mass say it crossed the line from worship to entertainment. That view is fueled, in part, by the fact that it is not clear from the nearly 2½ hour video of the service, billed as "Christmas Eve at Sabina," when the liturgy actually begins. There is no apparent greeting, penitential act, or opening prayer, all required Introductory Rites of the Novus Ordo liturgy.

In the video, posted on YouTube, Pfleger does not appear on the altar until after nearly an hour of musical and dance performances.

Well, it is unusual for a Mass to include music by Stevie Wonder and the classic Vincent Guaraldi soundtrack from the Peanuts Christmas special.


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Whether art or mere craft, old-school interviewing is a reporter's perennial linchpin

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Whether art or mere craft, old-school interviewing is a reporter's perennial linchpin

The New York Times offers daily doses of clever self-promotion (and often self-congratulation) in a feature called "Inside The Times: The Story Behind The Story." One of these carefully curated items last week, "How Reporters Interview Celebrities," merits contemplation from other journalists.

Interviews are forever the linchpin of all original reporting. This opus tapped three specialists about dealing with show business personalities, a different challenge from typical interviewing. But some points have broad application.

Prepare thoroughly, which assures interview subjects of your professionalism and intent to conduct a knowledgeable discussion . Know what they have said in previous articles, which they may be anxious to explain or rebut. Inevitably you'll have some prickly questions, and a savvy subject will expect this and be prepared, but don't ask them early on.

The best strategy is often "simply to listen."

Those observations, of course, pertain to feature-writing with advance notice and a reasonable amount of time for the conversation itself — as opposed to breaking news stories where the reporter is scrambling and the interview must quickly get to the point.

How does this apply to the religion beat?

For one thing, the field has few celebrities. Over the decades The Guy has met with some, such as the Dalai Lama, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (soon to become Pope Benedict XVI). In those situations, never ever give way to awe, whatever your private reactions. (The Guy has observed this is a more likely temptation among people who do not work the religion beat.)

Even religious leaders who are highly influential within their own spheres typically do not have to deal with inquisitive journalists. They may feel (often for good reason) that representatives of the Mainstream Media will bring little understanding of faith or harbor slight scorn toward this aspect of human experience.


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