Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Poll: Religious Groups Divided on Gun Control, but United Against Guns in Churches
posted on August 16, 2012Americans are divided on gun control but a “strong majority of Americans don’t want them in the pews,” reports Lauren Markoe for Religion News Service. The new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 76 percent of Americans “said concealed weapons should not be allowed in houses of worship.” With 62 percent of Catholics favoring stricter gun control, Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, notes, “Catholics may congregate more in urban centers and may be more exposed to violent crimes than people in other parts of he country.”
Are Catholics in the Pews Like Pew’s ‘Catholic Voters’?
posted on August 16, 2012At The Huffington Post, Carol DeChant discusses the so-called “Catholic vote.” A recent Gallup poll “found 90 percent of Catholics split evenly between Obama and Romney,” despite the Catholic bishops’ repeated criticism of the president’s handling of the HHS mandate for contraceptive healthcare coverage. Yet DeChant concludes, “With 7 percent presumably now undecided and a margin of error of 4.6 percent, uncertainty and volatility seem the only sure bets.”
Hungary Far-Right Leader Discovers Jewish Roots
posted on August 16, 2012A prominent leader of a far-right political party in Hungary admitted to having Jewish ancestry, The Associated Press reports. Csanad Szegedi, a member of the Jobbik Party, “was notorious for his incendiary comments on Jews.” “Under pressure, Szegedi resigned last month from all party positions and gave up his Jobbik membership,” the AP reports.
Obama’s Iftar Dinner
posted on August 16, 2012The American Spectator’s George Neumayr criticizes President Obama’s “politically correct spin on Islam.” “[Obama] accuses Christians of waging a ‘war on women,’ [yet] he casts Islam as a benevolent religion to which the Sandra Flukes could take refuge.” According to Neumayr, at the president’s Iftar dinner, Obama misrepresented Islam’s role in American history. “In Obama’s envisioned America, Islam belongs to the ‘national story’ while Judeo-Christianity marks a chapter best forgotten,” writes Neumayr.
Read at The American Spectator
Atheists Rip Mormons, Christians in Bipartisan Billboard Blitz
posted on August 16, 2012American Atheists bought billboard space in Charlotte, NC to coincide with the Democratic National Convention, reports The Salt Lake Tribune’s Peggy Fletcher Stack. The billboards mock Christianity and Mormonism, but won’t be in Florida for the Republican National Convention because “no one in Tampa would rent them billboard space,” explains American Atheist spokeswoman, Teresa MacBain. “If a person believes stupid things, then we have every right to question his or her judgment, and that directly impacts how the nonreligious voter votes,” says MacBain.
Egyptian TV’s Mixed Message
posted on August 16, 2012Writing for Tablet, Joseph Braude takes note of the anti-Semitic nature of some Egyptian television shows during Ramadan. The Anti-Defamation League has claimed that one program mocks “Israelis and Jews for their ‘frugalness’ and includes expressions of support for terrorism against Israel.” However, Braude points out that “repeated depictions of Israeli esteem for Egypt have the additional effect of taking the edge off the ugliness that is also on display.”
Leave Aly Raisman Alone
posted on August 16, 2012Writing for Jewcy, Dvora Meyers criticizes much of the Jewish world for “trying to figure out how to leverage [Olympian Aly Raisman’s] Jewishness, athleticism, and popularity in service of that favorite watchword, ‘engagement.’” Meyers notes that Raisman is only eighteen. “Like anyone that age, she is still finding her voice and opinion on a whole range of issues, Judaism included.”
Paul Ryan Will Provoke a Debate on Catholic Politics
posted on August 15, 2012As Mitt Romney prompted a “Mormon moment,” Paul Ryan will spark a “Catholic moment,” writes Stephen Prothero at CNN. The debate will pit “‘social justice’ Christians on the left versus ‘family values’ Christians on the right.” Prothero hopes for “an intelligent debate about Christianity and the economy,” instead of politicians using God “to gain the imprimatur of heaven for their particular policies or their political party.”
What the Media Got Wrong Yesterday
posted on August 15, 2012Commentary’s Alana Goodman highlights what she believes are misinterpretations of Paul Ryan’s positions that the American media, as well as leading Democrats, have made since Mitt Romney announced Ryan as his running mate. Goodman writes that Ryan’s Medicare reform “wouldn’t go into effect for anyone over the age of 55,” despite DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s claim that it would. The Medicare debate will prove important as President Obama and Romney battle for the votes of America’s senior citizens in swing states like Florida.
Attacking Shariah, Attacking Religious Freedom
posted on August 15, 2012At The Nation, Dr. Zahid Bukhari asserts that Muslim Americans are facing an anti-Shariah movement that is “one of the most profound, and dangerous, expressions of the effort to criminalize Islam.” Bukhari points to a misunderstanding of Shariah, a complex set of Muslim laws and observances, but which “has been reduced to an inflammatory term in this country.” “To ban Shariah is to ban the Muslim religion and harshly strip several million taxpaying Americans of their first amendment rights,” Bukhari writes.