The unbearable hypocrisy of Roy Moore's Christian rhetoric

From NBC-

A disturbing pattern has emerged since the Washington Post first reported that four women accused Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of offenses ranging from the creepy to the criminal. People in Gadsden, Alabama, where Moore worked in the District Attorney’s office three decades ago, say it was “common knowledge” that Moore pursued teenagers when he was in his 30s. Locals told the New Yorker that they recall being told than the local mall banned Moore for the same reason.

Accusations of criminal assault are difficult to prove in court and the statute of limitations in these cases has since passed. But Republicans outside of Alabama have started to back away from Moore following the allegations; They have chosen to believe the accusers.

More here-

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/unbearable-hypocrisy-roy-moore-s-christian-rhetoric-ncna821921

Why Don't Democrats Take Religion Seriously?

Video from The Atlantic (January)-

Many religious voters feel alienated from the Democratic Party, says Atlantic staff writer Emma Green. Why haven’t liberals tried harder to reach the broad percentage of Americans who identify as religious? “Democrats in Washington often have trouble speaking in religious terms, and they reflect a broader liberal culture that doesn’t take religion seriously,” she explains. But this is an uncomfortable shift, one that has a political costs. Previous progressive figures have actively relied on religious rhetoric to move policies forward. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter, for example, framed their ideals in religious terms and audiences were receptive. Is it time for Democrats to incorporate religious identity back into their outreach and politics? This is the second episode of “Unpresidented,” an original series from The Atlantic exploring a new era in American politics.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/514691/why-dont-democrats-take-religion-seriously/?utm_source=fbb

Fourteen per cent of US Christians left their churches after Trump's election, new research finds

From Christian Today-

Some 14 per cent of Christians abandoned their churches after the election of Donald Trump, according to research by The Washington Post showing that a number of people who went to a church in September last year had left it by mid-November.

The Post surveyed 957 people before and after the 2016 presidential election, in late September and mid-November. Of those who said they had attended a house of worship in September, 14 percent reported that they had left that particular church by mid-November.

Trump secured the support of 81 per cent of white evangelicals in the 2016 election.

But after that election, 'leavers' were distributed across the religious population, and included 10 per cent of evangelicals, 18 per cent of mainline Protestants, and 11 per cent of Catholics, according to the survey.

More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/fourteen.per.cent.of.us.christians.left.their.churches.after.trumps.election.new.research.finds/107241.htm

Where Evangelicals Came From

From NYRB-

Every few years, it seems, conservative religious groups, quiescent or unnoticed, come blazing back onto the national scene, and the secular press reacts like the bad guy in the 1971 western Big Jake who says to John Wayne, “I thought you were dead.” Wayne drily answers, “Not hardly.” Now, in The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, Frances FitzGerald answers the recurrent question, “Where did these people [mainly right-wing zealots] come from?” She says there is no mystery involved. They were always here. We were just not looking at them. What repeatedly makes us look again is what she is here to tell us.

“Evangelicals” is an elastic term, and FitzGerald intermittently shrinks or stretches it. But she does direct us to the right starting point, to the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Great Awakenings, major religious events in our early history when the word “evangelicalism” came into wide American use. Evangelical religion is revival religion, that of emotional contagion. It can best be characterized, for taxonomic purposes, by three things: crowds, drama, and cycles.

More here-


http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/04/20/where-evangelicals-came-from/

CAN WE STILL BE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK IN THE AGE OF TRUMP AND TWITTER?

From Tablet-

There is a strangeness to being the People of the Book in the Age of Twitter. For two millennia, Judaism has given the world law without politics. Certainly, Jews have not stood outside of history; on the contrary, we’ve been deeply affected by it. But our national culture, the texts to which tradition demands we devote our energy, could not be more different than the torrent of frenzied pettiness (which we call “news” and “commentary”) that now consumes so many of us.

This thought occurred to me recently as I toggled through a handful of my regular news sources before heading to sleep. But as I slipped into bed and said the nighttime Shema prayer, I was suddenly struck by the contrast between my two nightly rituals. The practice of reciting the Shema before sleeping has always seemed to me to be among our tradition’s most powerful. A Jew literally obeys the biblical call to “to speak [these Words] in your lying down and in your waking up” and to “meditate on [the Law] day and night.” In doing so, one affirms physically and verbally one’s obsession—or at least one’s aspiration to obsession—with God’s Word.

More here-

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/228012/can-we-still-be-people-of-the-book-in-the-age-of-trump-and-twitter

A New Kind of Christian Politics

From The National Review-

Like the people of other Western democracies, Americans are living through a political earthquake shaking the foundations of the postwar order. The old, familiar categories that framed political thought and discourse are dead or dying. Where do orthodox Christians fit into this emerging reality? Which side should we be on? Or do we have a side at all? The answer will not satisfy conservative Christians who understand the church as the Republican party at prayer, or who go into the voting booth with more conviction than they show at Sunday worship. Though there remain a few possibilities for progress in traditional politics, growing hostility toward Christians, as well as the corruption of values voters, should inspire us to imagine a better way forward. The Benedict Option calls for a radical new way of doing politics, a hands-on localism based on pioneering work by Eastern-bloc dissidents who defied Communism during the Cold War. A Westernized form of “antipolitical politics,” to use the term coined by Czech political prisoner Václav Havel, is the best way forward for orthodox Christians seeking practical and effective engagement in public life without losing our integrity, and indeed our humanity.
Read more at:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445715/rod-dreher-benedict-option-book-excerpt-new-kind-christian-politics

Trump’s election a ‘betrayal’ of Christian values, says TEC representative

 From Anglican Journal (Canada)-

The election of Donald Trump has caused pain and uncertainty in The Episcopal Church (TEC), says Canon (lay) Noreen Duncan, TEC’s representative to Council of General Synod (CoGS).

Addressing CoGS on November 19, Duncan spoke of the sense of “betrayal” she feels as someone who immigrated to the United States and now sees the values she had always associated with her new home “slipping out from under us.”

In nearly a year of campaigning, Trump was frequently criticized for stirring up animosity toward immigrants, Muslims, and religious and ethnic minorities, as well as for his derogatory comments toward women.

Duncan said Trump’s victory was made more difficult for her by the fact that so many of his supporters identified as Christians. According to the Pew Research Centre, 58% of Protestants, 60% of white Catholics and 81% of white evangelicals voted for Trump.

More here-

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/trump-s-election-a-betrayal-of-christian-values-says-tec-representative

Welby: democracy fails if it does not value individuals

From The Church Times-

CHAMPIONING human rights must be at the forefront of efforts to end to the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

“If we cherish our own rights, then we must have regard for the rights and sensitivities of others. We have a collective responsibility to each other,” he said.

Archbishop Welby was giving the opening address at a dialogue on integration and religious freedom, organised by the Muslim Council of Elders, in partnership with the Anglican Communion, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday.

He was fulsome in his praise of the freedom enjoyed by religious minorities in the country, but he contrasted it with “the increasing marginalisation of and outright hostility to Christian communities within many parts of the world, not least in significant parts of the Middle East”.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/4-november/news/uk/welby-democracy-fails-if-it-does-not-value-individuals

The Christian right is split, but far from finished

From The Pittsburgh Poat-Gazette-

Continued strong support for Donald Trump among many conservative evangelical leaders and activists has led a number of commentators to declare the death of the religious right movement. Yet the history of the movement suggests that it is too resilient to be destroyed by a single electoral defeat.

The argument for the end of the religious right hinges on the following: (1) the likely defeat of the candidate supported by the movement, Donald Trump; (2) the likely election of the person considered the arch-enemy of the movement, Hillary Clinton; and (3) most important, the movement stands exposed to all as hypocritical — willing to support for president a deeply flawed character who appears to be everything the religious right claims to be against.

On the surface, these conclusions seem credible. The movement put its heft behind the likely loser, and with massive GOP defections from the party’s presidential nominee, the religious conservatives now look to be odd outliers in their steadfast continued support of Mr. Trump.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2016/10/30/The-Christian-right-is-split-but-far-from-finished/stories/201610300021

Inside the evangelicals: How religion has shaped American politics over the past 50 years

From Salon-

On Oct. 3, Longwood University, a public university in Virginia, hosted the first and only 2016 vice presidential debate. In what were described as the debate’s “most sincere” and “most honest” moments, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) discussed their religious faiths.

Pence, a Roman-Catholic-turned-evangelical, appealed to familiar concerns of the Christian right, such as abortion and “the sanctity of life.” Kaine, a Roman Catholic, emphasized the moral responsibility of honoring individual choice.

That Pence pivoted toward abortion is not surprising. Since 1973 — when the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade legalized the right to an abortion — the Christian right has put abortion, as well as homosexuality and “family values,” at the center of conservative politics.

More here-

http://www.salon.com/2016/10/19/inside-the-evangelicals-how-religion-has-shaped-american-politics-over-the-past-50-years_partner/

The ‘nones’ are more numerous than you think, but many won’t show up on Election Day

From Religion News-

A quarter of U.S. adults do not affiliate with any religion, a new study shows — an all-time high in a nation where large swaths of Americans are losing faith.

But while these so-called “nones” outnumber any religious denomination, they are not voting as a bloc, and may have little collective influence on the upcoming presidential election.

The rapid growth of the religiously unaffiliated, charted in a survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute Thursday (Sept. 22), is raising eyebrows even among those who follow trends in American religiosity.

More here-

http://religionnews.com/2016/09/22/nones-religiously-unaffiliated-study-nones-prri-voting-polls/

Staying Sane, Involved, Prayerful, and Kind in an Election Year

From Central Florida-

In this election season, isn’t it tempting to get caught up in the frenzy? Everyone we encounter seems to want to polarize and divide us. “Whose side are you on?” “If you vote for him/her you are voting to dismantle our democracy!” “If you don’t vote at all, you’re just giving a vote to him/her.” “How can you call yourself a Christian and vote for him/her?”

Yes, the upcoming election is very important, but losing our kindness and generosity in the process can be worse than voting for any particular candidate.

All of this touches me, too. It’s easy to get frustrated when other people don’t see it your way, right? But I know that if I find myself demonizing people on the other side, I’m on spiritually dangerous ground. The world may act that way, but such behavior has no place in the body of Christ.

More here-

http://cfdiocese.org/bishopsblog/staying-sane-involved-prayerful-and-kind-in-an-election-year/

The Christian Right is on the ropes

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

Since the 1980s, the bulwark of the Republican Party has been its reliable support from conservative evangelical and born-again Christians, as well as conservative white Catholics. These groups compose the core of what is called the Christian Right, and it is unimaginable that the GOP can win the presidency without strong support from these voters.

During this same period, the GOP has nominated for president candidates who either had a very strong affinity with the Christian Right and its agenda (Mitt Romney, George W. Bush) or were authentic conservatives who pledged support for the movement’s positions on social issues (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain). Never in this time has the movement seriously been confronted with the dilemma of whether to support the Republican nominee, sit out the election or vote for the Democrat or a third-party candidate.

Election data show that all of these previous GOP nominees commanded huge majorities of votes from the Christian Right. In the era of Donald Trump, the solid support of its constituencies for the GOP nominee now seems in doubt.

More here-


http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2016/08/07/The-Christian-Right-is-on-the-ropes/stories/201608070050

The agony and ecstasy of Saint Theresa, the vicar’s daughter

From The Guardian-

The Reverend Hubert Brasier died in a car accident on a notoriously dangerous stretch of dual carriageway on the fast-moving A40 approach to Oxford. On his way to take evensong at the tiny Norman church of St Nicholas the Confessor, in the hamlet of Forest Hill, Mr Brasier edged his Morris Marina out of the slip road, not noticing the Range Rover speeding towards him. His daughter, Theresa, was 25 at the time. Mr Brasier had named her after a 16th-century Spanish nun who went on to become a great reformer of the Carmelite order. I wonder how long before cartoonists start depicting the new prime minister’s face superimposed on Bernini’s notorious sculptural depiction, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa?

The parish of St Mary the Virgin in Wheatley (pictured), where Theresa May’s father was the vicar, is deep in the Anglican heartlands and a place of agreeably slow-moving traffic. A mile up the hill is the sleepy village of Cuddesdon, where generations of Anglican clergy have trained for the priesthood (me included) and which one former archbishop, Lord Runcie of Cuddesdon, has described as the nearest thing to heaven this side of death. But Mr Brasier trained at the distinctly high church college of Mirfield in Yorkshire. And, to many, that made him Father Brasier.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/jul/14/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-saint-theresa-the-vicars-daughter

How Kasich’s Religion Is Hurting Him With Conservatives

From Politico-

If the role of religion in Kasich’s life isn’t well-understood, that’s in part because his complex faith journey led him to a denomination that most Americans have never heard of. He was raised Catholic with ambitions to be the best altar boy in his parish, earning him the nickname “Pope” among his friends. But around the time he left for college at Ohio State, Kasich’s belief began to wane. He “drifted away from religion as a young adult,” he wrote in his book. It wasn’t until a drunk driver killed his parents in 1987 that Kasich returned to church. But this time, he entered the Episcopal Church, which his parents had joined later in life.

This is where things get a little tricky: He stayed with his church as it broke off with the mainstream Episcopal Church in the United States in protest over the denomination’s embrace of openly gay priests and bishops. In 2011, Kasich’s home church, Saint Augustine’s Anglican Church in Westerville, Ohio, is one of those that split off under a new, more conservative denomination called the Anglican Church in North America. In departure from mainstream Episcopalians, the ACNA gives local churches the autonomy to decide whether to ordain women, and it politically opposes abortion and euthanasia, while the Episcopal church acknowledges “there may be cases that stand beyond judgment.”

More here-

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/john-kasich-2016-religion-213735

What’s a Christian to do?

From Pittsburgh-

The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes opens with a famous phrase: “Vanity of vanities ... All is vanity.” I look at the state of public Christian faith today and wonder if it should say: “Ironies of ironies … All is irony.”

And there is irony on both the right and the left.

On the right, many Christians, including some of our presidential candidates, reject Darwin’s theories of evolution while embracing social Darwinism.

Social Darwinism is based on “survival of the fittest”: Those who rise to the top — the most “fit” — deserve to enjoy the fruits of their success and should not be encumbered by those near or at the bottom who cannot secure their own rewards.

Christian belief runs counter to survival of the fittest. Christ’s teaching and example in the gospels oppose survival of the fittest. They promote the fittest lifting up the least fit, telling those at the top that they should do everything they can to lift up everyone else, especially those on the bottom.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2016/03/06/Many-conservatives-share-our-faith-but-not-our-compassion-while-many-liberals-share-our-compassion-but-not-our-faith/stories/201603060034

Who do you want to be?

From The Living Church-

Politicians — at least the ones running for president — love theme campaign songs. I don’t know if it’s because they believe they’re a quick way to get a crowd fired up, or if it makes them feel like superheros or professional wrestlers. Whatever the reason, they like playing them when they come out to speak. Sometimes they get in trouble for using songs without permission, especially if their political views don’t align with those of the artist.

Sometimes, the songs politicians pick may reveal something about their personality or their values. A politician who chose the Avett Brother’s song “Ill with want” as their theme would likely get my vote.

The Avetts are one of my favorite bands, hailing from my home state of North Carolina. The guys from Concord have been getting some attention for the past few years, but for a while they labored on while being outshone in the public eye by some of the bands they’d influenced, like Mumford and Sons. The Avetts were raised in a church going family and occasionally still sing gospel songs with their dad and other family members at their concerts or at festivals like Merlefest.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2016/01/25/who-do-you-want-to-be/

Anglicans almost twice as likely to vote Conservative

From The Telegraph-

The traditional image of the Church of England as the “Tory party at prayer” still holds true despite a series of high profile rows between bishops and Conservative politicians over issues such as poverty, polling shows.

Analysis by YouGov for the Church Times found that people who identify themselves as Anglicans are almost twice as likely to vote Conservative as Labour.

It suggest a major divide between the leadership of the church, which has been perceived as leaning to the left on issues such as welfare, and those in the pews.

In marked contrast, Roman Catholics in mainland Britain emerge as more than a third more likely to vote Labour.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11525188/Anglicans-almost-twice-as-likely-to-vote-Conservative.html

How the Presidential Candidates Found Their Faith

From Newsweek-

It was built in the 1920s in the Spanish Mission style, topped by one of those red clay tile roofs so popular in South Florida back then. The Catholics laid their foundation just a short walk from the famed Biltmore Hotel (modeled on the Giralda, the tower of the Seville Cathedral in Spain), and named their church in honor of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as “the Little Flower.” These days, Coral Gables is majority Cuban-American, the Church of the Little Flower’s pastor, the Reverend Michael W. Davis, tells me, which might also explain why he is so comfortably bilingual. Unlike so many Catholic parishes in the U.S., Davis says, his still boasts packed pews and “reflects a vibrant community.” He adds playfully that the church’s lovely setting makes it a “wedding factory.”

On a more serious note, Davis explains the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)—the Catholic conversion program. He tells me about it because Little Flower’s most famous parishioner is a convert: Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida who’s already touted as the Republican front-runner in the upcoming presidential race, attends Mass frequently with his wife, Columba, and their daughter, Noelle. “[He’ll be] gone all week, and yet he regularly makes the liturgy,” Davis says.

More here-

http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/10/get-elected-america-you-better-praise-god-318982.html

Americans are deeply religious, so will we ever see an atheist president? Here’s what we know.

From The Washington Post-

As the 2016 presidential campaign heats up, many of the Republican potential hopefuls have strong Christian convictions.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who is announcing his candidacy Monday, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee are Southern Baptists. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a nondenominational evangelical, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a Seventh-Day Adventist, also are devout Christians. Several of the potential contenders are Catholic, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former senator Rick Santorum.

As recently as 1960, American voters were very concerned about the Catholic faith of John F. Kennedy. Fears that Kennedy would take orders from the pope caused consternation for many voters in that year’s presidential election, and New York Gov. Al Smith’s Catholic faith contributed to his defeat in 1928. What once seemed to potentially disqualify a candidate appears to be off the table, at least for those who are Catholic.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/03/23/americans-are-deeply-religious-so-will-we-ever-see-an-atheist-president-heres-what-we-know/