Top Religious Stories of 2007?
December 30, 2007, 3:29 pm
Posted by Cathleen Kaveny
I was watching Nightline last week, which proposed two stories as among the most significant stories on religion in 2007.
One was about a “Garden of Eden” Diet, which encourages people to eat like Adam and Eve did (mainly vegetarian) for long life and vigorous health. The other was about the “God-Men” Movement, which maintains that Christianity has become, well, too wimpy.
Leaving aside the burning questions that arise about consistency in approach between these two Christian groups (e.g., Do Real God-Men Eat Quiche?), it strikes me as highly implausible that these two stories are among the most important stories about religion in the past year.
So let’s make our own list. What do you think are the top religion stories of 2007?
I’d guess that the religion story with the greatest long-term influence on the lives of the most people is likely to be this one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7080327.stm
I would submit three items. I’m sure there are more, but these come immediately to mind:
The revelation of Mother Teresa’s spiritual state, as recorded in the book, “Come, Be My Light.”
The pope’s motu proprio expanding the availability of the Latin Mass.
Mitt Romney’s rise to prominence, and the questions his candidacy rasises, both about the LDS church and about the role of religion in politics. (We could proabably add Mike Huckabee here, too.)
That’s it for now, I’m sure more will come as I review the first half of the year.
Benedict’s remarks at Regensburg was huge. It was their he may have learned that being the leader is quite different than being a congregation head.
The Anglican split on homesexuality was big also.
Some prominent angelicals joining the Tiber was significant for whatever reason.
The decline of the theocons was ever so welcome.
W seemed to stop blaming God for his miscues.
Atheism seemed to become fashionable, and remarkably marketable, which might explain it.
The aging of the clergy will be a perennial story for some time.
Bill beat me to it” Regensburg and its aftermath and the continued fracturing of the Anglican communion (over homosexuality and how we understand scripture.)
It strikes me, as I jump on my end of the year soapbox, that the issue here is clear” dfivision.
How do we deal with that monster?
I think it’s clear that as long as we’re rooted in the god of ecominics as our moral rule her, divioson wil persist. Underlying the divisions in culture, politics and religion itself are seducers of mammon.
Long ago, we were in Depression and the a030′s found an eat note of hope (as per NPR tonight) in , of all people, Cole Porter and his, “”Your the Top.” Today BXVI calls us to hope in his Adven tencyclical.
Wher eis the hope of uniting, not dividing in today’s culture?
Politics? Religion?,
Here’s a dog-that-didn’t-bark-in-the-night story: the secular anglophone media didn’t jump on the neo-atheist band-wagon, in spite of DDandH writing best sellers. Maybe the skeptical part of the Enlightenment tradition is actually starting to wane.
Here’s another one, although it may get more attention next year: the House of Representatives investigating various televangelists like Joyce Meier and Benny Hinn for financial improprieties.
Here’s two more, one uplifting, the other not:
1. The moral courage of the Buddhist monks during the unsuccessful demonstrations in Myanmar.
2. The approx. $750 million paid out in the sex abuse scandal by the Church in LA, Portland, and Spokane.
Selections tend to depend on one’s perspective on the news.
Here is the Top 10 list from a poll of my own tribe, the Religion Newswriters Association:
http://www.rna.org/2007top10.php
Here’s the intro:
“A poll of the nation’s leading religion writers selected the presidential election and the fight for votes among GOP candidates as the top religion story of 2007. Close behind as the No. 2 story were efforts by Democrats to win over voters by showcasing their faith. For the top religion newsmaker of the year, the journalists chose the Buddhist monks in Myanmar. Hundreds of monks protested last September in support of democracy but were squelched by the military-backed government. More than half of those responding to the survey chose the monks over Pope Benedict XVI, President George W. Bush and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, among others.”
The evangelical flagship publication, Christianity Today, also has a Top 10:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/january/2.16.html
No. 1 is: Taliban takes Korean short-term mission team hostage, killing two…
And here is the CNS list:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0707158.htm
And the lede:
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The national debate over immigration issues was the top religious news story of 2007 and Pope Benedict XVI was the top newsmaker, according to the annual poll of client editors of Catholic News Service.
Catholic response to the war in Iraq took second place among the 30 news stories on the ballot, while developments in the stem-cell field came in third.
Pope Benedict dominated the newsmakers list, with 20 of the 24 first-place votes cast. U.S. President George W. Bush was a distant second, followed by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In terms of religious example in forgiveness, the behavior of the Amish community at the brutal slayings and injuries to their children stands alone as the story not just of this year but at least of the decade. One is simply in awe of their faith and love.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15134838/
Indeed a remarkable story, and one that earned top honors in many lists–but last year, as it occurred in October 2006.
One wonders where the Bhutto assassination would have ranked had it been able to be included.
Thanks David. Indeed, Regensburg happened in 2006 and may have staying powere since it was discussed so much in 07. Same goes for the Episcopal church with women and gays, which continues.
I personally think that history is going to mark the Regensburg speech as a diplomatic master stroke that led directly to conversations that saved civilization from self-destructing over religion.
Could be wrong.
The Top 20 stories from Phil Lawler and Catholic World News:
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=55669
(Hint: A certain motu proprio tops the list)
I find it interesting that the Religion Newswriters Association has only one Catholic-specific item of note. Have we become boring? No longer a force with which to be reckoned? Or is it only sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll that interest these writers?
Interesting question, Jimmy. I do think the Catholic Church–pastors and flock–are less of a “presence” and a force in American society. What Catholic stories would you say merit inclusion? I think the Mother Teresa story would be on my list. Not too much else.
England is poised to become a predominantly Catholic country again.
But before you start gloating (heh), it’s not because English Catholics are adept at winning converts (Mr. Tony Blair aside), but because of the number of immigrants the U.K. accepts from Catholic countries.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article1386939.ece
I still think the “God Men” movement is a top story. They’re not incensed about religion becoming generally wimpy, but they specifically object to “feminization,” a trend bemoaned by Mr. George Weigel and other Catholics.
I find it hilarious (sorta) that men, who are at the top of the heap of the hierarchies of most denominations, manage to make themselves out to be victims in order to mute women’s influence in religion.
Jean, that’s interesting. I was talking about the phenomenon with a friend of mine–she thinks its a type of Islam-envy –i.e., whatever the problems with Islam, some conservatives think they do a better job of controlling women than Christianity does.
Ms. Kaveny:
Could you favor us with a specific example of a bona fide conservative saying that, as you put it,
“…whatever the problems with Islam, some conservatives think they do a better job of controlling women than Christianity does”?
If you cannot do this, or are unwilling to, perhaps you may want to rethink this calumny.
I’m happy to do so.
How about Dinesh D’Souza, The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11.
Here’s the review by Andrew Sullivan in the New Republic: http://www.powells.com/review/2007_03_15
Here’s a couple of key paragraph from the review; unfortunately, the book isn’t hyperlinked.
“This is the central argument of D’Souza’s book: that cultural globalization is the last chance for theoconservatism in its death match with liberal modernity. If a majority of Americans do not support a system of government resting on an external and divine moral order, then the obvious next move is to enlist the billions of fundamentalist believers in the developing world to forge a global alliance. If you combine the premodern patriarchs among the Christians of Africa and Asia and the Muslims of the Middle East and pit them against the degenerate, declining individualists in the West, a global theoconservative victory is possible.
“That is D’Souza’s vision, and he is not shy about it. The test case for this strategy can be seen most graphically in the Anglican Church. Theoconservative Episcopalians in Northern Virginia have sought protection under a Nigerian prelate who believes that even speech about homosexuality should be criminalized. If theoconservatism cannot work as a governing majority in the First World, then it is time to forge an alliance between half of America with the Third World
“There is more. Islamist societies are paragons of social meaning and cohesion. Women know their place; homosexuals are invisible; blasphemy is illegal; pornography is banned; modesty is enforced. “My two grandmothers,” D’Souza assures his possibly nervous female readers, “were both tyrants who ruled over their husbands. Patriarchy doesn’t make women less powerful — it merely diverts their power to the domain of the household.” Criticizing Muslim countries for forcing women to wear a veil or a burka in public is to put on the “blinders of ethnocentrism,” even to indulge in “Islamophobia.” Here is a bigotry that the religious right and the politically correct left may together despise. But D’Souza drives the point home for the sake of the right, not the left: “Many Muslims are convinced that women’s liberation and sexual liberation, of the kind promoted by the cultural left, would be a disaster for their society…would undermine their religion, overturn their moral beliefs, and destroy their traditional families. In believing these things, of course, the Muslims are absolutely correct.”
You might want to look up “calumny” in the dictionary, Mr. Schwartz. It means
“a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something.” It’s a strong term, requiring both falsity and maliciousness. I think it is quite presumptuous –and insulting — for you to use this word in the course of requesting a more specific reference that would support an offhand remark made by a friend of mine.
Cathleen, your snips are interesting and provide a context I hadn’t thought about.
I was thinking about something more prosaic that I observe among the fundies in my family. Women can’t be preachers, can’t be lectors, deacons, and the like.
They can basically make hot dishes for funerals, pick out music and decorate the church. The God Men haven’t complained about the food (so far), but they do gripe about the music and the decor.
And as far as I can see, ALL they do is gripe.
Weigel, who, as far as I know, is not a mamber of God Men, has written about how men won’t participate in church if they see too many women as lectors, EMs, altar servers, etc.
I’d be happy to tell these guys that the solution is to quite kvetching and go down to the Home Depot and pick out the paint chips, wallpaper samples, carpet swatches, get some boxing gloves to put on Jesus, and generally step up to the plate to do stuff the women do.
It’s just that simple, as Red Green would tell you.
And, just because I’m the type of person I am, I’d make it a point, if I belonged to one of those churches where men gripe about being sidelined, to make sure every dish I donate was pink and has marshmallows on it.
There are a couple of “Why Christianity isn’t Masculine Enough” books out–they seem to be looking nervously over their shoulder at more masculine religions like Islam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060901462.html?referrer=emailarticle
My organization helps moderate and progressive religious groups get their message out into the world; here’s our favorite stories of 2007: http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2007/12/a_year_of_great_stories_1.html
Sorry, Ms. Kaveny. You are absolutely right.
Don’t worry about it. Happy New Year, Mr. Scwhartz.