Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Meet John Q. Nones: A Profile of the Fast-Growing Religiously Unaffiliated
posted on October 11, 2012At Religion News Service, Lauren Markoe analyzes a recent Pew survey, which find the growth of religious “nones,” and provides a snapshot of a typical person without any religious affiliation. The Pew survey indicates that 20 percent of Americans now consider themselves to be religiously unaffiliated. Markoe writes, “Meet John Q. Nones, a young, white male who is making a big impression on the American religious landscape for something he doesn’t do: align with any religious group.”
Why Churches Worship Illegally – In Paris
posted on October 11, 2012Allison J. Althoff of Christianity Today writes about the growth evangelicals in France. Althoff finds that many of the new evangelical churches in that country are having trouble finding legal worship spaces, forcing many communities to worship in unsafe buildings. This problem is often the result of a poor relationship with local authorities. “CNEF [French National Council of Evangelical Churches] which represents approximately 75 percent of France’s evangelicals,” states Althoff, “hopes to rectify the situation by promoting dialogue between churches and local authorities.”
Is the British Monarch the ‘Defender of the Faith’ or ‘Faiths’?
posted on October 11, 2012At Religion News Service, Trevor Gundy examines the role of religion in England in the context of the upcoming appointment of the next archbishop of Canterbury. Gundy finds that the country is at a crucial stage in defining its stance on the issue of religious freedom and free speech. Ibrahim Mogra, deputy general secretary of the Muslim Council of Great Britain, says, “[t]he first thing we need to do is define ‘faith’ and then ask how you are going to set about defending faith without interfering in free speech.”
Atheism’s Growing Pains
posted on October 11, 2012With new polls indicating that 20 percent of Americans have no religious affiliation, Adam Lee of the Salon writes about the growth of the atheist movement, and the prospects for its future. In particular, Lee focuses on the advent of Atheism+, a new movement comprised of atheists advocating for social justice. “The animating idea behind Atheism+,” writes Lee, “is that atheism isn’t a stopping point, but a beginning. We’re atheists … because we care about creating a world that’s more just, more peaceful, more enlightened, and we see organized religion as standing in the way of this goal.”
Romney Abortion Comment Draws Democratic Criticism
posted on October 11, 2012Democrats are criticizing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s perceived changing public stance on abortion, reports CNN. In an interview on Tuesday, Romney claimed that his policies contain nothing opposing abortion, a statement that the Obama campaign finds hypocritical. Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, stated, “It’s troubling that Mitt Romney is so willing to play politics with such important issues.”
A Model of Inclusion For Muslim Women
posted on October 11, 2012For The New York Times, Didi Kirsten Tatlow writes about China’s 10 million Hui Muslims, “where female imams and mosques for women are flourishing in a globally unique phenomenon.” In the midst of religious extremism and intolerance, the Hui Muslims provide an example of how Muslims can be religious, while maintaining social rights and liberties, argues Tatlow. Abou El Fadl, a professor of Islamic law at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, “there’s an old, historically rooted tradition, and the Chinese, if they tap into this tradition, they can effectively provide resistance or examples of resistance to puritanical Islam.”
A Model of Inclusion For Muslim Women
posted on October 11, 2012For The New York Times, Didi Kirsten Tatlow writes about China’s 10 million Hui Muslims, “where female imams and mosques for women are flourishing in a globally unique phenomenon.” In the midst of religious extremism and intolerance, the Hui Muslims provide an example of how Muslims can be religious, while maintaining social rights and liberties, argues Tatlow. Abou El Fadl, a professor of Islamic law at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, “there’s an old, historically rooted tradition, and the Chinese, if they tap into this tradition, they can effectively provide resistance or examples of resistance to puritanical Islam.”
Vatican II’s Golden Anniversary
posted on October 11, 2012On its 50th anniversary, George Weigel at First Things analyzes the origins and impact of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II. While many point to the opening of Vatican II “as the beginning of the Catholic Church’s engagement with modern society and culture,” Weigel argues that “Church’s grappling with modernity began 84 years earlier, with the election of Pope Leo XIII on March 3, 1878.”
The Jews of Hollywood
posted on October 11, 2012For The Jewish Daily Forward, Jonathan Rosenbaum reviews Hollywood’s Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema, edited by Daniel Bernardi, Murray Pomerance, and Hava Tirosh Samuelson. Rosenbaum finds the book, “which sets out to mark a new and challenging path of the role of Jews and their experience in Hollywood filmmaking,” to be insightful in many aspects. But Rosenbaum also questions the category of “Jew” the editors use. “Considering how slippery and elastic their definitions of ‘Jews’ can be, part of their path strikes me as familiar and questionable.”
Read at The Jewish Daily Forward
The Mothership of All Alliances
posted on October 10, 2012The New Republic‘s Eliza Gray reports on the unexpected popularity of Scientology for members of the Nation of Islam (NOI). Louis Farrakhan, head of the NOI, told his Chicago congregation that he “found something in the teaching of Dianetics, of Mr. L. Ron Hubbard … How could I see something that valuable and know the hurt and sickness of my people and not offer it to them?” The new recruits could be a boon for the Church of Scientology; the church’s leader David Miscaviage has supported recruiting black members, and the church has struggled with membership declines in recent years.