Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Obama Appoints First Mormon to White House Faith-based Council
posted on July 30, 2012Religion News Service’s Daniel Burke reports that Elder Steven Snow, the LDS Church’s official historian, has been appointed to the Obama administration’s faith-based council. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who is also a member of the LDS Church said, “The faith-based office is made up of leaders of religions from across our great country, and Elder Snow’s appointment ensures that the LDS faith will have a seat at the table.”
Congressmen to Hold Moment of Silence for Munich 11
posted on July 27, 2012The U.S. House of Representatives plan to “hold a moment of silence for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches slain by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics,” Neil Rubin reports for JTA. Rep. Eliot Engel and Rep. Nita Lowey are cosponsoring a new bill “calling on the International Olympic Committee to hold a moment of silence” during the Olympic opening ceremonies, Rubin writes. “A minute of silence would be a reminder that we must be constantly vigilant against prejudice, hate and intolerance,” Rep. Lowery says.
Read at Jewish Telegraph Agency
Bishop Explains Vatican’s Criticism Of U.S. Nuns
posted on July 27, 2012In an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, Ohio, defends the Vatican’s decision to reprimand the Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious (LCWR), the organization that represents 80 percent of American nuns. After assessing the LCWR, Blair now oversees the organization with two other Bishops. He says he hopes to “educate and help the sisters appreciate and accept church teaching and to implement it in their discussions.”
Mormonism and American Exceptionalism
posted on July 27, 2012At The New Republic, Amy Sullivan writes on Romney’s view of American exceptionalism. In a recent speech, Romney said, “I am an unapologetic believer in the greatness of this country.” Sullivan notes the ties between Mormonism and Romney’s view, writing, “[A]n enthusiastic belief in American exceptionalism is part of Mormon culture and theology.”
Sunstone Speaker: GOP ‘Restorationism’ is to Idealized America
posted on July 27, 2012The Salt Lake Tribune’s Peggy Fletcher Stack reports on historian and religion scholar Mark Silk’s speech at the Sunstone Symposium, “a three-day gathering of Mormon intellectuals.” Silk, an editorial advisory board member at Religion & Politics, spoke on the usage of the term “restore” in Republican rhetoric during the current presidential campaign and in the past. Silk says the message of “restoring America” aims for “an idealized if not utterly mythical America.”
Conservative Christians Working on HIV/AIDS See Burden of Sexual Liberalism
posted on July 27, 2012The Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein reports on a recent event at Georgetown University on Christianity’s role in fighting HIV/AIDS, held in conjunction with the 19th International AIDS Conference being held in Washington, D.C. Boorstein reports that many Christian leaders disagree with the “pro-choice” manner of health outreach by NGOs. Bishop Joshua Banda, an evangelical pastor in Zambia, says NGOs tell women, “[I]f she becomes pregnant, that she can make the choice to throw away the baby.” Banda says, “That mindset is destroying Africa.”
Don’t Criticize Obama for Being Too Rational About Israel
posted on July 27, 2012At The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf responds to an article by Aaron David Miller in Foreign Policy. Miller writes that Obama “would like to see a U.S.-Israeli relationship that is not just less exclusive, but somewhat less special as well.” Friedersdorf counters, writing, “The fact that President Obama wants to treat Israel like lots of other democratic allies … is treated as if it is self-evidently problematic.”
Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No deal
posted on July 27, 2012Chicago Alderman Proco Moreno said this week that “he will block Chick-fil-A’s effort to build its second Chicago store,” reports The Chicago Tribune’s Hal Dardick. Moreno’s objection to the new restaurant comes after Chick-fil-A’s President Dan Cathy announced last week that he supports “the biblical definition of marriage as between a man and woman.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who supports Ald. Moreno’s efforts, says, “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.”
More Men Join the Ranks of Former Eagle Scout
posted on July 27, 2012At Boing Boing, Maggie Koerth-Baker reports on former Eagle Scouts sending their awards back to the Boy Scouts of America in protest of the organization’s policy of excluding gays from joining. Baker posts 13 letters by Eagle Scouts returning their awards. Her husband, also an Eagle Scout, returned his award and wrote, “[B]anning openly gay scouts and leaders is not a neutral position any more than separate-but-equal was a neutral position on race.”
Mogul’s Latest Foray Courts Jews for the GOP
posted on July 26, 2012The New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny reports on a new effort by the Republican Jewish Coalition to win over Jewish voters. Backed by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the push includes “a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in the coming weeks called ‘My Buyer’s Remorse,’ targeting voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania,” writes Zeleny. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the Democratic National Committee’s chairwoman, responded to the campaign by saying, “they can’t dress themselves up to be something appealing to the Jewish community when they aren’t.”