2 of 8

• Earthly rewards for the Christian voter | Has the Christian right really so little to show for its self-sacrifice? (Katha Pollitt, The Nation)
• Identity politics: Is a Christian or Kurd 'a Turk'? | An advisory council report that calls on Turkey to broaden its official definition of minorities and to embrace multiculturalism is stirring a bitter public debate here about national identity (The Christian Science Monitor)
• Old-time religion is good enough for some | The fusion of religion and politics is gathering pace in Australia and the US after the election triumphs of John Howard and George W. Bush. But the extent of the trend and its implications for both countries are the subject of increasingly bitter debate on both sides of the Pacific. (The Australian)
• Divorce data hits below the Bible belt | I make no judgment about divorces, having endured one or two myself. I take note only of the hypocrisy of the self-righteous, who now dominate the ruling American political and cultural right wing (John Brummett, Times Record, Fort Smith, Ark.)
• Morally correct | How evangelicals embraced victimhood. (Peter Beinart, The New Republic)
• The political agenda of the US religious right | Give me Paul's charity, any time, in preference to fundamentalist faith and intolerance (Patrick Van Rensburg, Mmegi, Botswana)
• Using the Bible to support the wrong cause | Today's Christians who oppose homosexuality are akin to generations of similar Christians who found in the Bible strong arguments to support slavery, scorn Jews, demean women and, for good measure, condemn liquor (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
• Robertson urges support for Jewish faithful, Israel | Christians must embrace the Jewish faithful and the state of Israel as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, televangelist Pat Robertson told a gathering Thursday night (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
• Kerry too slow to woo Catholics, activist says | Leader of Catholics for Kerry says he was frustrated by the senator's reluctance (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
• New Abu Snan mayor says his Christianity is a problem | Naim Musa's appointment generated a wave of protest in the town, especially among the Druze (Haaretz, Tel Aviv)
• Religion is a delicate assignment | The belief systems of conservative Christians and the editorial process are in many ways at odds (Mark McGuire, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.)

Same-sex marriage:

• For gay marriage ruling, quiet anniversary | The first anniversary of the court decision sanctioning gay marriage in Massachusetts was marked with little fanfare Thursday, but both sides in the controversy said it was simply the calm before a renewed political and legal storm (Associated Press)
• Religion Today: Where COGIC stands | Like other evangelical Christians, leaders of the Church of God in Christ want to limit abortion and bar same-sex marriage. But that doesn't mean the predominantly black Pentecostal denomination considers itself part of the "religious right" or supporters of the Republican Party (Associated Press)
• Gay-marriage backers, opponents vow fights | On the anniversary of the historic ruling that granted gays and lesbians the right to marry in Massachusetts, supporters and opponents vowed yesterday to carry on their fights into the coming year and held events across the state to mark the occasion (The Boston Globe)
• A year later, Mass. stands alone on gay marriages | Just weeks before the first anniversary of the legalization of same-sex unions in the Bay State, 11 states overwhelmingly approved bans on the practice (The Providence Journal, R.I.)

next page... |  2 of 8

share this page

November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48