Covering religion in Washington DC takes an extra measure of precision, and Washington Post reporter Michelle Boorstein regularly takes that level of care when covering the intersection of religion and politics. With all the scuffles over the economy, foreign policy and other current debates of the day (birth certificate anyone?), religion can easily get lost, but Boorstein keeps finding interesting angles that illuminate current political affairs.
A wedding under the Church of England's watch
If you dare to wake up at 3 a.m. to watch the royal wedding on Friday, consider yourself a traitor. So argues Mark Oppenheimer at Slate, who encourages Americans to boycott the nuptials. This isn’t Mark’s usual religion column, but maybe you’ll enjoy the mini history lesson.
Wedding threatens to overshadow beatification
Friday would be a good day for anyone to admit to some secret scandal because you can pretty much predict that a significant portion of the media will be focused on the royal wedding. And then recovering Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is expected to watch her husband launch into space. Even if reporters break other news, it might be difficult to get people’s attentions.
Easter Googling
I bet an embarrassing number of us would find our Google searches reflect what we think about, our cares and concerns and our future plans. For instance, you might find variations of “royal wedding” and “Kate Middleton wedding dress” shamelessly appearing in my web history this week.
Yes, people discuss sex on religious campuses
Today’s New York Times front page features a story about a hotly debated issue at many Christian colleges and universities. Yes, gay, lesbian and bisexual students attend religious schools and yes, many of them disagree school policies ranging from behavior to campus activism.
Renaming Easter eggs to 'spring spheres'
Filed conveniently under “odd news,” UPI has picked up a story that has been across blogs, Twitter, and provided convenient fodder for the outraged.
Roethlisberger's pre-wedding deal
Wedding bells can be found in Ben Roethlisberger’s future, but cohabitation will have to wait. The Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback revealed some of the nuptial plans to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but buried at the bottom of the story readers will find an interesting nugget with no details or explanation.
Religiously scientific, or not?
The Templeton Foundation gave its annual million-Euro prize this week, and The Guardian‘s science correspondent Ian Sample focused on the religion and science combo more than anything else, even though its recipient says “I’ve got no religious beliefs at all.”
The dim market for single pastors
Occasionally a piece sits for a week or two before one of us realizes it needs to be addressed. Straight from that guilt file folder, we have a New York Times front-page article on pastors who struggle to find jobs because they are single.