The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel
The phony war on religion
By Tom Ehrich — Religion News Service
Do you see the theme? Religion’s enemy isn’t government. If anything, the American system has bent over backwards to protect religion from the accountability, fairness and justice that are expected of other citizens. No, religion’s enemy — if it has one — is itself.
Fight over birth control mandate becomes battle to frame debate
By Sam Baker — The Hill
Democrats successfully shifted a debate over religious liberty to birth control last week, but opponents of the contraception mandate are trying to shift it right back.
Religious Groups Line Up To Support Affordable Care Act
By Ian Millhiser — Think Progress
On Friday, however, a broad coalition of religious organizations filed an amicus brief supporting the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion that should give the lie to any claim that the faith community opposes the ACA.
Catholic Hospitals Expand, Religious Strings Attached
By Reed Abelson — New York Times
As Roman Catholic leaders and government officials clash over the proper role of religion and reproductive health, shifts in health care economics are magnifying the tension.
Santorum Obliquely Suggests Obama Worships Earth, Not God
By Kirsten Powers — Daily Beast
Perhaps it’s really Senator Santorum who hews to a “phony theology” at odds with the Bible. Santorum, who has been a shameless apologist for polluters, appears to worship at the altar of business and free enterprise no matter the cost to the health of Americans—including unborn Americans.
Immigration and the Campaign
By New York Times, Editorial
The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on Wednesday in Arizona, ground zero for anti-immigrant hostility, it is a good time to ask them hard questions about immigration. The odds are bad that they will have sensible answers.
States Move on Tuition Equity for Undocumented Students
By Julianne Hing — Colorlines
Despite tough economic times and a hostile political environment, immigrant rights activists are forging ahead, and having success, pushing a pro-immigrant youth agenda at the state level.
Voter ID
By Lucky Severson — PBS, Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly
…Many South Carolinians, especially citizens of color, were born at home and lack birth certificates, and so to obtain those birth certificates is a very costly endeavor and also an administrative nightmare.
NYPD monitoring of Muslim students sparks outrage
By David B. Caruso and John Christoffersen — Associated Press
The mayor faced off with the president of Yale University on Tuesday over an effort by the city’s police department to monitor Muslim student groups for any signs that their members harbored terrorist sympathies.
President Obama’s Five Most Personal Religious Statements
By Daniel Burke — Religion News Service
Even as a significant percentage of Americans falsely believe Obama is Muslim, the president has spoken of his Christian faith with increasing fervor during his three years in the White House.
Bishop Minerva Carcaño Has a Nearly Impossible Job
By Mary E. Hunt — Religion Dispatches
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño of the United Methodist Church is part of a new wave of women’s leadership in mainline Christian denominations—and if our recent phone conversation is any indication, she has her work cut out for her.
add a comment »
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel
In weaving faith into campaign, Santorum resorts to chiding opponents
By David A. Fahrenthold and Felicia Sonmez — Washington Post
As his campaign surges, Rick Santorum is testing an untested model for incorporating religion into his message. He is betting that Americans want a president who uses faith not just to inspire — but also to judge.
In the National Spotlight, Santorum Doesn’t Shy Away from Social Issues
By Alex Altman — TIME, Swampland
Rick Santorum’s victories on Feb. 7 kicked off a month-long trial period, which will be capped by Super Tuesday on March 6, to convince Republican voters that he is not only the best conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, but also a viable general-election candidate. Midway through Santorum’s moment, it’s tough to tell if he’s thriving or blowing it.
Birth control as election issue? Why?
By Ann Gerhart — Washington Post
To many observers, it seems that the clock has indeed been turned back. Using birth control to have sex without making a baby has been settled social behavior… For many, it seems the common-sense way to avoid the prospect of abortion, which has been the really divisive issue of sexual politics.
My Take: The myth and reality of the Catholic vote
By Stephen Schneck — CNN, Belief Blog
While there is not an obvious Catholic vote on the macro scale, there are three discreet “Catholic votes” that really matter in American elections.
Latino Mormons speaking out against Romney
By Russell Contreras — Associated Press
As Romney continues to seek the Republican presidential nomination while rarely discussing his faith, a growing number of vocal Hispanic Mormons say they intend to use Mormon teachings as a reason to convince others not to vote for him.
In wake of immigration law, some migrants return to Alabama
By Alan Gomez — USA Today
When Alabama’s immigration law went into effect in September, it sent shock waves throughout Hispanic communities within the state. Whole families left overnight, parents pulled their children out of school, and city centers became ghost towns as legal and illegal immigrants alike hid from police.
The Crazy Rush to Attack Iran
By Peter Beinart — Daily Beast, Opinion
…the experts are speaking out against attacking Iran over its nuclear program, but hawks like the GOP presidential candidates are drowning out the warnings.
Interfaith Group to Political Candidates: Ditch Divisive Religious Appeals
By Sarah Posner — Religion Dispatches
A coalition of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and religious liberties organizations has released a Statement of Principles regarding religion in political campaigns
NYPD Monitored Muslim Students All Over Northeast
By Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman and Eileen Sullivan — Associated Press
The New York Police Department monitored Muslim college students far more broadly than previously known, at schools far beyond the city limits, including the Ivy League colleges of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, The Associated Press has learned.
The many faces of marriage in America
By Los Angeles Times, Editorial
The same shift that occurred in opinions about interracial marriage is happening in attitudes about same-sex marriage. Just ask folks in Washington and New Jersey.
add a comment »
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel
Liberal Catholics challenge bishops on Obama’s contraception rule
By Dan Gilgoff — CNN, Belief Blog
That support was politically important for the White House because the administration doubted it could ever win support from the bishops, even after Friday’s revision.
President Obama and Bishops should keep talking
By Stephen Schneck — The Hill, Opinion
The administration’s move quells the political firestorm in Washington that had raged in recent weeks. More importantly, the tweak answers the specific objections that America’s Catholic bishops identified repeatedly since last summer. It’s curious, then, that reception by the bishops has been mixed.
Strange bedfellows: religious liberty and neoliberalism
By Gerald J. Beyer — National Catholic Reporter, Opinion
Is the fight really about religious liberty, or is it about neoliberalism completely eradicating the hard-won social protections of workers and the poor?
What War on Religion?
By Stephanie Mencimer — Mother Jones
If Obama is hell-bent on waging battle with religious institutions—as his critics allege—he sure has a funny way of showing it.
Dems Accuse GOP Of Denying Fair Hearing On Birth Control Rule
By Pema Levy — Talking Points Memo, TPMDC
Democrats are accusing Republicans of denying a witness who holds contrary views an opportunity to testify at a hearing on President Obama’s birth control regulation…
Media should challenge Santorum and Gingrich’s ‘cafeteria Catholicism’
By James Downie — Washington Post, Opinion
Problem is, when it comes to many other Catholic teachings, Santorum, Gingrich and other Catholic conservatives completely ignore the church.
Evangelicals Defined: The History of American Evangelicalism
By Peggy Fletcher Stack — Huffington Post, Religion
Evangelicals have been in the news a lot lately, from the Denver Broncos’ Tim Tebow and his take-a-knee prayers to the Texas pastor and his wife who spent 24 hours in bed preaching the virtues of sex in Christian marriages…So who are these Christians?
Hundreds rally against Alabama immigration law
By Andy Brownfield — Associated Press
The Rev. Dr. Sharon Richards, president of the Metro Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the bill has caused an economic disaster.
Tennessee Police Training Seminar Taught By Notorious Anti-Muslim Activist
By Jillian Rayfield — Talking Points Memo
…officers in Tennessee attended a training seminar in Murfreesboro this week that was taught by a known Islamophobe who claims that Muslims should not get First Amendment rights.
Susan B. Anthony’s Hit List
By Monica B. Potts — The American Prospect
How a group founded by anti-abortion feminists became a powerful foe of Democratic women.
add a comment »
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel
Bishops plan aggressive expansion of birth-control battle
By Stephanie Simon — Reuters
“Reasonable people should be able to work through the details of this and find common ground,” said John Gehring, Catholic outreach coordinator for the liberal group Faith in Public Life. “But election-year politics doesn’t make for cool heads.”
Obama Shift on Providing Contraception Splits Critics
By Laurie Goodstein — New York Times
The bishops…have taken it one step further, arguing that individual Catholics who own businesses should not have to provide birth control to their employees in their health insurance coverage.
Santorum downplays contraception in victory
By Rachel Weiner — Washington Post
In his Missouri victory speech Tuesday night, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum devoted a substantial chunk of his remarks to the Obama administration’s decision to mandate birth control coverage with very limited exceptions for Catholic employers.
Poll Finds Americans Split on Contraception Mandate
By Lauren Markoe — Religion News Service
Americans are split on a federal mandate requiring nearly all employers — even institutions with strong religious affiliations — to provide insurance covering contraception.
Drumming up a phony war on religion
By Eugene Robinson — Washington Post, Opinion
Within our secular governmental framework, religion has thrived. No other large industrialized nation has nearly as many regular churchgoers as does the United States…..And just as faith somehow survived Nicki Minaj’s burlesque at the Grammys, it will survive the attempt by Republicans to create a religious war out of thin air.
GOP Deficit Hypocrisy at Release of Obama’s Budget
By Michael Tomasky — Daily Beast
Republicans love to harp on deficit reduction when a Democratic president releases a budget. But when they’re in power themselves, they couldn’t care less.
Tentative Deal Reached to Preserve Cut in Payroll Tax
By Jennifer Steinhauer — New York Times
Democrats, elated after winning the Republican tax concession after months of clashes, said they had also been able to beat back new conditions that Republicans had wanted on jobless pay, like requiring beneficiaries to seek high school equivalency degrees, and had found middle ground on Republican attempts to significantly reduce the number of weeks in which the unemployed could draw benefits.
Sheriff hires mosque foe lead to terrorism training
By Bob Smietana and Tony Gonzalez — Tennessean
A former FBI agent who claims mosques in nearby Nashville, Tenn., have no legal right to exist is training the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office about Islam and the threats of terrorism.
N.H. Lawmakers Consider Rolling Back Gay Marriage
By Josh Rogers — NPR
As several states debate measures to legalize gay marriage, New Hampshire is considering a repeal of its same-sex marriage law. The repeal has the backing of some top leaders in the GOP-controlled Legislature. But rescinding rights is never easy, particularly in a state that takes its liberties seriously.
add a comment »
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel
Why I Wish Catholic Leaders Would Stop Saying Our Church Is Under Attack
By Tara McGuinness — New Republic, Opinion
…if this is really a war against religion, maybe it’s time to ask the people of faith who are supposedly under attack. People like me.
How Obama Set a Contraception Trap for the Right
By Andrew Sullivan — Newsweek, Opinion
This could be the moment when the culture-war tide finally turns and the social wedge issues long deployed so effectively by the Republican right begin to come back and bite them.
Medicaid reforms need not undermine vital services
By David Saperstein and William Daroff — Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Opinion
Leading Jewish organizations have made it a priority to fight to protect the services and benefits that individuals with disabilities and their families receive under the Medicaid program.
Racial reconciliation 2012
By David Gushee — Associated Baptist Press
The racially divided Protestant South of so many centuries, in which we sang many of the same hymns and worshipped the same Jesus in segregated churches, is experimenting here with an unprecedented (re)union.
Faith Leaders to Pres. Hopefuls: Don’t Bring Immigration Rhetoric to Tenn.
By Ethicsdaily.com
Dozens of Tennessee faith leaders urged Republican presidential candidates to keep the bitter rhetoric on immigration out of the Volunteer State.
Fear of Deportation Kept L.A. School’s Parents From Reporting Sex Abuse
By Jorge Rivas — Colorlines
Two teachers have been charged with multiple counts of lewd conduct against several students at Miramonte Elementary—a school in South Los Angeles who’s student body is made up of 98% Latinos and 2% black students. Lawyers say at least three alleged victims have not been interviewed by law enforcement because their parents fear deportation.
Education Justice
By Bob Faw — PBS, Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly
What we’re doing here we’re doing within a Christian context. We believe in God’s word as revealed in Scripture, and that faith informs how you think about students. It informs your efficacy. It informs your belief that every child can learn.
The Red Balloon of Social Justice: Wisconsin One Year Later
By Phil Haslanger — Sojourners, God’s Politics
It was on Valentine’s Day just a year ago that a few hundred University of Wisconsin-Madison students carried heart-shaped balloons and “valentines” for Gov. Scott Walker that said, “Please don’t break our hearts.”
Washington Becomes Seventh State to Legalize Gay Marriage
By Tracy Simmons — Religion News Service
Opponents, however, are determined to overturn the measure by collecting enough signatures to send it to the ballot box. If they collect more than 120,000 names…the law will be put on hold until the November election.
Speaking out for same-sex marriage law, black minister stands apart
By Miranda S. Spivack — Washington Post
[Rev. Delman] Coates… testified with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley during a contentious hearing in Annapolis in support of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. Coates is among few African American preachers in Maryland who support the bill…
add a comment »