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Americans Say Religion is “Losing Influence”

By Diane Winston

…big tent approach to coverage of American ir/a/religion. But do the Gallup numbers point to new ways we might be thinking about business as usual? Two findings are striking. First: Gallup reported that although Americans felt religion’s influence was declining, many—75 percent—agreed that more religion would be positive for the country. Not surprisingly, churchgoers were most gung-ho about religion’s beneficial impact. But “over half of those who…

Sacred&Profane: The Living Dead

By Gary Laderman

…oked. There are ghosts and graves in the yards of my neighborhood, and the number of skeletons—reclining on lawn chairs, sprouting up from the ground, beckoning from the shadows—has transformed the suburban landscape into a set for a George Romero film. In addition, and beyond bland suburbia, monsters, ghosts, skeletons, vampires, and other playful dead inhabit stores and sell products, entertain across the television dial, and instill a dreadfull…

The Real Goal of Pro-Life Movement Support for Scott Brown: Kill Health Care Reform

By Sarah Posner

…the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion. I also believe there are people of good will on both sides of the issue and we ought to work together to support and promote adoption as an alternative to abortion. Apart from t…

The 17th Century Roots of Roy Moore’s Refusal to Concede the Election

By Karen E. Park

…ially chosen by Him to lead the nation out of the “pit” of moral depravity represented by reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and a society in which women are no longer accepting their status as objects to be used primarily for male sexual gratification. Democracy, the rule of law, and the Enlightenment principles upon which the Constitution is based are no match for Moore’s God, whose will trumps all election results, and will someday overth…

Travolta Airlifts Scientology, Supplies, to Haiti

By Becky Garrison

…“John Travolta to airlift desperately needed e-meters to People of Haiti,” reports Gawker. Even though relief organizations like Doctors without Borders face difficulties landing their planes, Travolta has apparently “arranged for a plane to take down some volunteer ministers and some supplies and some medics.” Travolta is not the only Scientologist who is clear about the need to provide services to Haiti. According to a press release issued by th…

UPDATED: Religion Has Been Framed; Covering the Aga Khan’s Visit

By Hussein Rashid

…uslims, they contribute to the recruiting causes of these groups. The weak reporting inserts itself into popular discourse making a hatred of Muslims that didn’t exist before seem more real to Muslims. A cycle is created between reporting on religion as a source of conflict and those who want to make religion a source of conflict. I marvel at the fact that seven years after 9/11 the US media doesn’t understand how complicit it is in supporting thi…

Change v. Change at NPR

By Warren Throckmorton

…are talking past each other because the media, in this case Alix Spiegel’s report, does not make these distinctions. Spiegel’s report is titled “Can Therapy Help Change Sexual Orientation?” The person who claimed to change runs a group called People Can Change and runs a weekend retreat using holding and touch along with highly active and emotive techniques (beating pillows to vicariously release aggression on parents) in order to change orientati…

U.S. Bishops Reject Pope Francis’ Priorities

By Patricia Miller

…apidly declining number of priests and nuns) and, of course, religious freedom (Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who arranged Kim Davis’ meeting with Pope Francis, received two standing ovations from the bishops.). Then the debate turned to the USCCB’s quadrennial “Faithful Citizenship” voting guide. The bishops had voted earlier to revise the 2007 edition prepared for the 2008 election, which was the last time the guide was completely overhauled, r…

Jesus Christ and Super Stars: How The Holy Rolled Mainstream in Pop Music

By Alana Massey

…r prayers. But these ultra-devout performers share a peculiar space with a number of other artists whose personal faiths are inconsequential to their public personae but whose fluency in the holy plays out in, well, mysterious ways. Lana Del Rey’s catalogue runs deep with both religious imagery and sentiment; waves of apostasy crash over moments of divine revelation and then reverse course back into faith again. She may have claimed “God’s dead…[a…

Orthodox Jews Begin to Reckon with Sexual Abuse

By Paul Berger

…ss prevalent in the Orthodox community than anywhere else; but there are a number of peculiarities to Orthodox Jewish life that have made the reporting of abuse less common than in society at large. “I think the subject of abuse is probably the same in any religious community,” says Michael Salomon, a Long Island psychiatrist, who has just finished working on an as-yet-unpublished book about sexual abuse in the Orthodox world. “Different religions…