Tag: Religion in America

Facebook and other online platforms are becoming more prevalent in American religious culture. Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (complete with a shiny new web design) looks at the phenomenon with a particular focus on a Boston pastor’s challenge to his congregation to live by the rules of Leviticus for a month and then blog about it at their Facebook group and then looks at the pluses and minuses of online religion.

Muslims got rough treatment during the last election. One campaign tried to smear their opponent by claiming Islam is a shorthand for terrorism. The other campaign virtually ignored the Islamic community so that those smears would not stick. Journalist Jonathan Curiel wants to change that.

Dick Meyer the author of “Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium” says that much of what believe about the role of “values” in American politics is wrong.

Sister Gemma Legel wanted to help her students in Westland, Mich., learn about the saints in a more interactive way earlier this week. So, instead of her usual catechism class at Divine Savior Catholic Church, the students brought the parade of saints to life. They each dressed up as their chosen saint (there were several Joan of Arcs in attendance, for instance) and gave a presentation about that saint.

News reports abounded yesterday about Halloween costumes that were age-inappropriate or too “sexy.” So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that one New Jersey 8th grader was sent home to change when his costume was deemed too distracting. What caused the Associated Press to pick up the story for national circulation, however, was the fact that Alex Woinski, an honor-roll student from an interfaith family, had chosen to wear a white robe, a red sash, sandals, and a crown of thorns.

A new survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc. for WNET’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and the United Nations Foundation says that Americans who routinely attend worship have a divided view of America’s impact on the world.

The New York Times reports about the small town of Roosevelt, New York that has so many churches that locals wonder if so many tax-exempt properties in one town is a good thing.

When Christianity becomes a sub-culture that prides itself on living outside the mainstream but still wants to enjoy all the mainstream perks, what do you get? Here is a blog that looks at what Christian sub-culture likes.