I don’t know. That music video just seemed appropriate this week.
Really, I try not to let headlines dictate my mood. I’m a Christian, and I truly believe that my hope is built on Jesus and his righteousness. But Thursday was tough.
Not only was there the all-day Kavanaugh-Ford hearing that epitomized just how divided our nation has become, but in my home state of Oklahoma, a hedge fund bought The Oklahoman, our state’s largest newspaper and my former employer.
Poynter.org described this depressing, cold-hearted scene:
Employees reported being alerted via email yesterday to a mandatory meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday. They sat through a 35-minute presentation about the sale and upcoming changes before being informed of the layoffs.
Publisher Chris Reen addressed the staffers and said those who'd been laid off had just been notified via email, and their firings were effective immediately.
The entire room then checked their phones, as the meeting disintegrated.
My first inclination was to cancel my subscription in protest. However, that would hurt the remaining journalists, so I won’t.
So with all of that in the background, let’s dive into the Friday Five:
(1) Religion story of the week: The Kavanaugh-Ford hearing was the story of the week, religion or otherwise.
In my post Thursday, I highlighted the nuanced piece by The Atlantic’s Emma Green on why Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, “is a test for the conservative legal movement.”
Earlier today, my GetReligion colleague Julia Duin noted that only Fox News really covered the faith angle in this high-stakes drama.
(2) Most popular GetReligion post: Have I mentioned the fight over the Kavanaugh confirmation?
Our No. 1 most-clicked post this week was Terry Mattingly’s commentary titled “Breaking news: Brett Kavanaugh uses the V-word, which used to be OK for Catholics.”
A key theme in all of this: Is the most important word in Kavanaugh’s spiritual biography “Catholic” or “prep”?
(3) Guilt folder fodder (and more): Godbeat pro Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times is seeking input from young evangelicals.
Dias writes:
The role of evangelical Christianity in American politics today has been a hotly discussed topic since President Trump’s election, both politically and spiritually. Many evangelical leaders have publicly supported Mr. Trump’s policies, and others have pushed back.
I’m a national correspondent for The Times, covering religion and politics. I’ve written dozens of stories about evangelicals over the past few years. I’ve been traveling the country ahead of the midterms, and I’m interested in hearing more from young evangelicals — the future of the evangelical movement.
If you are an evangelical born after 1980, I’d love to hear about the relationship between your faith and politics today. And if you grew up evangelical and your views are shifting, feel free to share that, too. We may publish a selection of the responses.
(4) Shameless plug: I covered a national meeting of Hispanic Catholics in the Dallas area for Religion News Service.
“Latinos are saying, ‘We’re almost the majority, but it sure doesn’t feel that way,’” one expert told me.
(5) Final thought: “Lift Your Eyes to Jesus.” Yes, I’m Uber-impressed with that headline on an article about ride sharing as a ministry frontier. Way to go, Aaron Earls.
Happy Friday, everybody!
Enjoy the weekend!