Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
720 New Ways to See U.S. Religious Identity
posted on September 5, 2012At On Being, Beth Katz, founder of Project Interfaith, blogs about her organization’s website RavelUnravel.com, “an interactive, multimedia exploration of the religious and spiritual identities that make up our communities and worlds.” The website allows for individuals of varying faiths and beliefs to upload videos with discussions of their personal identities and how stereotypes have impacted them. Katz’s hope is that RavelUnravel.com can “reshape the way people think, learn and talk about identity, religion, spirituality, and culture.”
Mormon Speakers at RNC Mark Sharp Departure from Romney’s Reticence on Faith
posted on August 31, 2012CNN Belief’s Dan Gilgoff recounts the slate of Romney’s Mormon friends who spoke at last night’s RNC. Many of them gave “moving testimonials” about his time as bishop in his Mormon ward. “After years of keeping quiet about his Mormon faith,” Gilgoff writes, “Mitt Romney’s campaign thrust his church life into the national eye Thursday night.” Gilgoff goes on to interview Richard Bushman, a religion scholar and Mormon, who was surprised at the strong emphasis on faith. “The number of Mormon notes struck in this one evening was remarkable,” Bushman said. “It must have been some kind of balance of power in the campaign that shifted.”
Republican vs. Republican
posted on August 31, 2012At The New Yorker, Philip Gourevitch remembers the convention 20 years ago which nominated George H.W. Bush for reelection. Gourevitch writes, “Bush, the last of his breed to head a Presidential ticket, was a patrician product of the pre-Reaganite Republican establishment: business-friendly, foreign-policy-minded, more secular than not, anti-Communist but otherwise minimally ideological.” According to Gourevitch, this all changed with Pat Buchanan, his likeminded colleagues, and the increased focus on social issues. Gouretvitch writes, “[T]he culture war that Buchanan trumpeted is no longer an insurgent cause but a permanent condition of the Republican Party, and, increasingly, it is being fought within the Party.”
Romney’s Mormon Faith Takes Center Stage
posted on August 31, 2012In the lead-up to Romney’s RNC acceptance speech last night, WBUR’s Bob Oakes and Lisa Tobin interviewed Grant Bennett, Laraine Wright, and John Wright – Mormon friends of Romney’s and fellow ward members from Belmont, Massachusetts. On Thursday night, Bennett addressed the convention delegates. Of his invitation from the Romney camp, Bennett told WBUR, “My invitation was very simple and very direct. It was to simply talk about serving with Mitt Romney in the church. That is an unexpected but wonderful invitation and I look forward to doing it.”
Talking to W’s Chief of Staff
posted on August 31, 2012At Tablet, Yair Rosenberg interviews Joshua Bolten, former chief of staff to George W. Bush, at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. As Rosenberg writes, Bolten “was only the second Jewish chief of staff in White House history,” but he has now been succeeded by two more fellow Jews, Rahm Emanuel and Jack Lew. Of President Bush and the First Lady, Bolten said they “were always very interested in Jewish heritage and Jewish faith and were very receptive when we had ideas like lighting the menorah in the White House and serving the first truly kosher meal there.”
From Conventions to Colbert, Cardinal Dolan Plays on Top Stages
posted on August 31, 2012The Washington Post‘s Michelle Boorstein profiles Cardinal Timothy Dolan, “the most visible and influential U.S. Catholic bishop in decades.” Dolan has agreed to give a benediction at the Democratic National Convention, just as he did for the Republican National Convention. He is known to be affable, outgoing, and extroverted, giving interviews to a myriad of outlets. “Whatever people think of Dolan’s style,” Boorstein writes, “the image of a player-bishop is hard to resist.”
Abortion and the GOP
posted on August 31, 2012At Religion News Service, Mark Silk reminds readers that the GOP’s stance on abortion has roughly stayed the same for the last 28 years – and that includes being against abortion in instances of rape, incest, or when the health of the mother is at stake. “As we contemplate the increased conservatism of this year’s Republican platform, we need to keep in mind that when it comes to abortion, the Party’s position hasn’t changed since 1984,” Silk writes. “GOP politicians clearly take their longstanding abortion plank seriously,” he concludes. “So should the rest of us.”
The Rise of the Corporate Chaplain
posted on August 31, 2012At Bloomberg Businessweek, Mark Oppenheimer documents the rise of the corporate business chaplain, which “can be found at more than 1,000 companies in the U.S. and Canada.” Oppenheimer writes, “These chaplains are a rising regiment of corporate America’s human-resources army, as employers have found that a pastoral touch is often more appealing to workers than an impersonal hotline of the sort included in many benefits packages.”
Read at Bloomberg Businessweek
UT Finds No Scientific Misconduct in Study on Gay Parenting
posted on August 31, 2012The University of Texas has determined that faculty member Mark Regnerus is not guilty of scientific misconduct for his study that raised concerns about the risks of gay parenting. “A number of sociologists and gay marriage advocates objected to his findings, contending that they subverted a decade of research,” reports Ralph K.M. Haurwitz for the Austin American-Statesman. Still, the university’s inquiry provided “no falsification of data, plagiarism or other serious ethical breaches constituting scientific misconduct.”
Read at Austin American-Statesman
How Mitt Romney Decided to Start Talking about Mormonism Again
posted on August 30, 2012BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins chronicles the change in strategy Mitt Romney has taken in regards to talking publicly about his faith. “The official explanation for the sudden shift in strategy,” writes Coppins, “is that the campaign was always waiting for Tampa—where they would have tight control over the choreography and the narrative—to start telling Mitt’s Mormon story.”