Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen stories about Muslim rules prohibiting interest payments. Usually these stories are in a non-US context and deal with Muslim banking in general. But this wonderful Associated Press story looked at the issue in a distinctly American context:
Earlier today I was pondering the differences between the 2008 presidential election and the 2000 presidential election. Religion and religious issues were a big deal in 2000. Also different in 2000 was the fact that the nation’s economy wasn’t completely tanking, and the country wasn’t involved in two major wars thousands of miles from home. In 2004, the country was at war, but the economy was relatively stable, at least it appeared to be. Again, religion was a significant part of the national conversation, particularly after the election.
The big issue in tonight’s debate was the economy yet again (with foreign policy as the side dish). The closest the candidates came to discussing issues of morality or faith was both candidates’ criticism of Wall Street for corporate excess and greed and McCain’s frequent calls for faith in the American people.
Many GetReligion readers have been anxious for more religion stories that deal with the economic crisis.
Time‘s headline of “Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess” does an injustice to David Van Biema’s brief and informative update on prosperity theology’s march through the contemporary church.
Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, has long been known as an influential port city. But it’s a huge tourist destination as well. The city is constantly building, allegedly claiming 15-25 percent of the world’s cranes. It has the tallest man-made structure, the only 7-star hotel, massive man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree. Half the time I see pictures of Dubai, I’m unsure if what I’m seeing is real or computer generated.
Few things excite me more than a good presidential debate. Tonight I’ll be live blogging certain aspects of the first debate between the Democratic Candidate Barack Obama and the Republican Candidate John McCain. While it is supposed to focus on foreign policy (and no doubt the economy will be something of a topic), my focus will be on any religious aspects that may come up. Other items are fair game for comment of course.
It’s always interesting to see how religion beat professionals tackle the big issues of the day. And these days, that means the economy. Recently we looked at a PBS program on the moral and religious dimensions of Wall Street problems. Steven Waldman had an item questioning whether attacks on “greed” were too simplistic. Among other things, he notes that Prosperity Gospel folks have sent some interesting messages about financial rewards from God.
Even though we always have a few readers who resist it, I wish we were able to cover an even wider area of religious topics or topics that touch on religious issues than we do now. As last week’s breathtaking corporate bailout occurred, I was surprised we didn’t see any coverage of the moral or ethical issues involved.
