Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
God Talk
posted on October 16, 2012At The New Yorker, James Wood profiles Thomas Cranmer, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533 to 1556, and who wrote the first edition of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Wood explains that Cranmer’s words are still used today in many churches, as well as in popular culture. “Many of his phrases and sentences are as famous as lines from Shakespeare or the King James Bible,” writes Wood. “People who have never read the Book of Common Prayer know the phrase ‘moveable feast,’ or ‘vile body.'”
Same-Sex Marriage In Maryland 2012: Gay Marriage Supporters Hope Nov. 6 Referendum Breaks Losing Streak
posted on October 16, 2012At the Huffington Post, David Crary notes that referendums in four states could legalize same-sex marriage this fall. If any of these referendums pass, it will be a first in gay rights history. In Maryland, prominent Catholics from both sides of the issue are hoping to influence the vote. “Archbishop William Lori and the Maryland Catholic Conference are actively campaigning against same-sex marriage. Catholic VIPs supporting it include Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy,” writes Crary.
The GOP’s Secularism Problem
posted on October 16, 2012David Sessions reports for The Daily Beast about concern within the Republican Party over recent polls, which suggest that the numbers of Americans who claim to be religious is declining, especially among the nation’s youth. Sessions writes that while “white evangelical adults continue to insist that religion drives political rhetoric,” some in the GOP are worried that religiously-infused politics could turn more Americans away from Republicans. “We made a big mistake in the ‘80’s by politicizing the gospel,” said the late Chuck Colson.
In Changing Neighborhoods, Black Churches Face an Identity Crisis
posted on October 16, 2012At The Atlantic, Alessandra Ram writes about the gentrification of many traditional black urban neighborhoods, and the effect that this racial change is having on historically black churches. Today, the membership of many black churches is increasingly moving to the suburbs. Some churches are relocating with their members, while other “black churches … are realizing that alliances must be formed if they want to retain their presence in the community,” writes Ram.
Of Babies and Beans: Paul Ryan on Abortion
posted on October 15, 2012At The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik writes about how vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s Catholic faith will affect his policy decisions. During last week’s debate with Vice President Biden, Ryan was asked how his faith informs his views on abortion. “I don’t see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith,” Ryan said. “Our faith informs us in everything we do.” Gopnik writes, “[t]hat’s a shocking answer—a mullah’s answer, what those scary Iranian ‘Ayatollahs’ he kept referring to when talking about Iran would say as well.”
Teaching Respect to the Faithful
posted on October 15, 2012The New York Times’ Bruce Feiler reports about some Jewish communities’ efforts to instill in their teenage members greater respect for their rites of passage rituals. “Jewish communities around the country, horrified by the appalling lack of manners their children display at bar and bat mitzvahs, are increasingly turning to more-formalized training efforts.” Rabbi Dovid Kupchik, a principal at a Jewish day school in Lawrence, New York, says, “[l]ike many things in life, if you actually talk to the students about how to behave instead of just assuming they’re going to act a certain way, it’s fresh in their heads.”
Religion as a Private Pursuit, Science for Everyone
posted on October 15, 2012At The Huffington Post, G. Elijah Dann argues that young people’s religious faith should not interfere with their scientific training. Dann believes that religion can be a “legitimate” aspect of some people’s lives, “[t]hat is, as long as they keep it to themselves, as a private pursuit, with the richness it can bring in ritual and as myth.” Yet Dann asserts that “[s]trong religion–the sort that turns the Bible into a comprehensive textbook on science, history, philosophy, medicine, sexuality, morality and politics–is debilitating.”
Will Jordan Be Next to Fall?
posted on October 15, 2012Tablet’s Lee Smith writes that the U.S.’ small contingent of troops in Jordan have been stationed there not only to keep an eye on the Syrian civil war, but also to monitor the growing protests against the Jordanian monarchy, a longtime American ally. “Should King Abdullah II become the next Arab ruler to fall as part of the upheavals that have swept through the region now for almost two years, it will mark another major setback for the United States in the region,” writes Smith.
Faith meets football and a dispute ensues in East Texas
posted on October 15, 2012For The Texas Tribune Morgan Smith chronicles the ongoing controversy over whether signs with biblical verses produced by cheerleaders and displayed at public high school football games violate the separation of church and state. An East Texas school board has banned the signs. But recently, a state judge issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the school board from enforcing the ban. “[Kountze, Texas,] has become the latest setting in a string of lawsuits over where students’ rights to religious expression end and the constraints on Texas public schools as governmental entities begin,” writes Smith.
Did Billy Graham Really Tell Romney He’d ‘Help’?
posted on October 15, 2012At Religion Dispatches, Evan Derkacz writes that he remains skeptical of the ubiquitous news reports indicating that Billy Graham all but endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Derkacz argues that the only sources for the statements come from close aides to Romney, as the meeting was closed to reporters. Derkacz writes that the Billy Graham’s promise that “I’ll do all I can to help you,” sounds “a whole lot more like Franklin, whose anti-Islam, anti-Obama statements have piled up over the past decade.”