GetReligion

IRS scandal and ‘easy’ religion ghosts

2013-05-18T04:01:32Z

On a recent Crossroads podcast, host Todd Wilken remarked with interest on how many of the year’s major news stories have to do with religion. A cursory glance at the headlines proves it, year after year. But even the non-religion news stories frequently have religion angles. And so it is with one of the scandals [...]

One, two, trend: Godbeat pros changing jobs!

2013-05-17T21:23:06Z

Here at GetReligion, we focus mainly on critiquing the mass media’s coverage of religion news. Occasionally, though, we like to call attention to news related to the Godbeat itself. Alas, at least three well-known individuals in the world of religion news reporting have made or announced major moves in recent weeks. And as we all [...]

A nun, some nukes and a haunted holy ghost story

2013-05-16T22:16:29Z

So a nun and two peace activists walk into a nuclear facility … It’s not the start of a bad joke, but the start of what could turn out to be a bad dream for a trio of protestors convicted of trespassing and defacing a nuclear weapons site. A few weeks ago tmatt mentioned the [...]

Pod people: Define ‘fetus’ and give three examples

2013-05-17T10:28:23Z

The first question I faced, in this week’s “Crossroads” interview, sounded relatively simple: Why did journalists struggle to use the word “fetus” accurately when covering the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell? Like or not, I have had to pay a lot of attention to this issue in recent weeks. For those who have been off [...]

Victoria’s Secret is way sexier than faith details

2013-05-16T19:57:42Z

At first glance, the current mini-wave of news coverage of former underwear model Kylie Bisutti is nothing more than a chance — in this search-engine-driven world in which we live — to slide the mouse-click friendly terms “God” and “Victoria’s Secret” into the same headline. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. On closer inspection [...]

Protip: Religious liberty is a civil liberty

2013-05-16T16:51:45Z

Let’s begin this post with a quick definition from Burton’s Legal Thesaurus, 4th edition: civil liberties noun First Amendment guarantees, First Amendment Rights, freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of thought, fundamental individual rights, guarantees from the Bill of Rights, human rights, individual rights, right to life, right to [...]

Paedophilia and the left redux

2013-05-16T14:36:04Z

Absent a priestly predator is paedophilia a religion news story? In comments posted in response to my 24 April 2013 story “Paedophilia and the Radical Left of ’68″, Ira Rifkin questioned whether politics and paedophilia were properly within the ambit of GetReligion. Was I pushing too hard? Confusing the moral and ethical issues in the [...]

Ready! Set! Be bored by Illinois’ same-sex marriage debate!

2013-05-15T23:39:46Z

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s “Religion News on the Web” page is one of the places I go to peruse religion news. A headline from Illinois caught my attention today: AP: Politics and the pulpit: Black churches at heart of gay marriage debate in Illinois That topic interests me, so I clicked on [...]

Hey Reuters: Historic details really matter in Istanbul

2013-05-15T18:05:59Z

Istanbul is the kind of place in which the past often seems to be just as real, or even more real, than the present. Sometimes this shows up in the headlines. For example, back in 2004 I visited the center of Eastern Orthodox life there and learned the history of the stark, black, closed gate [...]

Well here’s a new spin on female ordination

2013-05-15T12:33:22Z

Let’s begin this post with this link to the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law: Can. 1024 A baptized male alone receives sacred ordination validly. Now, keep that in mind as you read this Miami Herald story about Madre Laura, who was beatified by Pope Francis on Sunday: In her lifetime, Laura Montoya’s stubborn determination to [...]