United States of America1. Brief Introduction 1. Brief Introduction: The United States has a population of almost 304 million and a population growth rate of .88% (July 2008 est). It had a 2008 HDI ranking of #12 and a 2007 CPI ranking of 7.2. The CIA Factbook (2002 est.) lists the United States as 52% Protestant, 24% Catholic, 2% Mormon, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim, 10% other, and 10% none. The February 2008 Pew survey, taken May-August 2007, found the country as 51% Protestant (17% Baptist, 6% Methodist, 5% Nondenominational), 24% Catholic, 16% unaffiliated (but not necessarily agnostic or atheist), Mormon and Jewish 2% each, and Buddhist, Jehovah's Witness, Muslim, and Orthodox 1% each. It also found that more than a quarter of Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion. The history of religion in the United States can be approached from the triple themes of the country’s traditionally Protestant civil religion, the various waves of immigrants that have enlarged that discourse, and the legal separation of church and state. Protestant historian Martin Marty stressed that America’s revolutionary separation of church and state fostered, nay demanded, a generalized national cultural form not specifically tied to any denomination. This civil religion [term from Rousseau] drew its themes from Protestantism: Americans are God’s Chosen People, whose manifest destiny was to settle the wilderness continent and thereby produce a righteous republic as a living sign of God’s Providence for the nation and the world. So strong was this general cultural orientation in the nineteenth century that immigrant Catholics formed their own private school system since they judged that the public schools were in reality Protestant. As more and more immigrants arrived, Jews and Catholics were included in the national discourse, which became more generalized. Modern presidents as diverse as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes have attended church and employed very general religious sentiments in their political discourse. At present there is further interaction between this national civil religion and new immigrant world religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The United States has also developed a minority secular discourse which interprets the traditional separation of church and state in a very strict sense. As Catholics have risen socio-economically, they have moved from being reliable members of the FDR Democratic coalition to more centrist voters, thus forming a swing vote in recent presidential elections. In fact, Catholic voters supported the popular vote winners in every presidential election from 1972-2004. Hispanic immigration has increased Catholic identification with both progressive social issues and conservative family values. The rise of the Religious Right has been the most politically significant trend in American religion over the last three decades. Supreme Court decisions on abortion, school prayer, and other issues roused fundamentalists [term from early twentieth-century series of pamphlets Fundamentals: A Testimony of Truth] to defend the place of religion in American life. The increased use of direct mail plus televangelism increased the influence of those tech-savvy members of the political and religious right who combined conservative political and religious themes. The Religious Right first threw its full power behind the candidacy of Ronald Reagan in 1980, but it has also supported George W. Bush in two very close elections. Some evangelists have since questioned both the wisdom and the propriety of such a close alliance. See, for example, Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson’s Blinded By Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? (1999) Ex-president Jimmy Carter left the conservative Southern Baptist Convention in October 2000. The Religious Left, mainly the leadership of Jews, Catholics, United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, United Church of Christ, American Baptists, Evangelical Lutherans, Unitarians, and Quakers, have formed traditional alliances on social issues with black churches like the African Methodist Episcopal Church. A July 2006 Pew survey distinguished between the Religious Right and the Religious Left in that the religious right was larger than the religious left and more cohesive in its views. See the Kohut, et al., book below for the general connections between religious and political viewpoints and voting. The general population seems less polarized than the political and religious leaderships on difficult issues like abortion. Indeed, many Americans worry about the increasing fragmentation of American politics exacerbated by the media. In the 2008 presidential campaign, religion has played a role, from the white evangelical support base of former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee to the Mormonism of Mitt Romney to the African-American church rhetoric of Barack Obama. The pope visited the United Nations and the United States April 15-20, 2008 (see below). 2. Religion and Politics Sections: “Religion in National Politics: Church-State Conflict and the Rise of Fundamentalism” (pp. 50-56) “The Rise of the Religious Right in the United States” (pp. 124-30) “Anglo Societies: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and the New Immigrants” (pp. 131-38) “Religion and Politics in the Contemporary West” (pp. 155-63) 3. A Short Introductory Course: Wuthnow provides a classic sociological explanation for changes in American religion during urbanization. Casanova analyzes the changes in Evangelical Protestantism to the mid-1990s, while Steinfels focuses on the current crisis in Roman Catholicism. The Kohut, et. al from Pew, book offers very careful survey data on religious-political interactions. Then consult the later Pew survey data at the site listed. Wilcox and Jelen’s article summarizes the general state of religion in the United States from the theoretical perspective of market competition. For recent intelligent commentary on religion and public life by religious and political practitioners, see the Other Resource Materials section below for books by Carter (2005), DiIulio (2007), Dionne (2008), Kuo (2006), Land (2005), Lerner (2006), Phillips (2006), Sullivan (2008), Wallis (2005). Quite a few of these authors criticize the Democratic Party for being too secular. Wuthnow, Robert. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988). Casanova, José, “Evangelical Protestantism: From Civil Religion to Fundamentalist Sect to New Christian Right,” in Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 135-66. Steinfels, Peter, A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America, with a new afterword and agenda (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004). Very balanced presentation of the problematic of “irreversible decline or thoroughgoing transformation.” U.S. Catholicism is facing twin transitions of leadership from Vatican II to later generational and clergy to lay leadership. Afterword with fourteen recommendations. Kohut, Andrew, Green, John C., Keeter, Scott, and Toth, Robert C. The Diminishing Divide: Religion’s Changing Role in American Politics (Washington: Brookings, 2000) and the latest survey data from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. This is the site to start from on survey data for religion and politics in the United States. Wilcox, Clyde, and Jelen, Ted G., “Religion and Politics in an Open Market: Religious Mobilization in the United States,” in Jelen, Ted Gerard, and Wilcox, Clyde. Religion in the Comparative Perspective: The One, the Few, and the Many (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 289-313. 4. Other Resource Materials Abernethy, Bob, and Bole, William, eds. The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2007). Contributions to PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly television program. Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004). Albright, Madeleine. The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (New York: HarperCollins, 2006). Part One “deals with America’s position in the world and the role played by religion and morality in shaping U.S. foreign policy”; and Part Two “concentrates on the troubled relationships between Islamic communities and the West.” Barrett, Paul M. American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006. Review by David Pinault. Bellah, Robert N. “Religion and the Shape of National Culture,” America. (July 31, 1999): 9-14. Brooks, Stephen, and Wohlforth, William. “American Primacy,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2002): 20-33. Carter, Jimmy. Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005). Chidester, David. Patterns of Power: Religion and Politics in American Culture (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1988). Coleman, John A., S.J., “Selling God in America: American Commercial Culture as a Climate of Hospitality to Religion,” in Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton, eds. Meaning and Modernity: Religion, Polity, and Self (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002). Curry, Thomas J. Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America (New York, 2001). Daalder, Ivo, and Lindsay, James. America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2003). D’Antonio, William V., Davidson, James D., Hoge, Dean R., and Gautier, Mary L. American Catholics Today: New Realities of Their Faith and Their Church (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007). Fine summary of survey literature on current state of American Catholic opinion. The previous three (1987, 1993, 1999) surveys are also briefly summarized in the book. The authors focus on four generational cohorts, pre-Vatican (born -1940), Vatican (1941-60), post-Vatican (1961-78), and Millennial (1979-87). DiIulio, John J., Jr. Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America's Faith-Based Future (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007). Dillon, Michele. Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith, and Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999). Pro-change Catholics rely heavily on the Catholic tradition to question Church teaching and authority. Dionne, Jr., E.J. Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007). See the review by R. Scott Appleby in the New York Times, February 10, 2008, for a comparison of the Catholic Dionne's book with that of the Baptist Amy Sullivan. Both authors predict American religion's return to a more progressive societal role. Dionne, Jr., E.J. and DiJulio, Jr., John J. What’s God got to do with the American Experiment? (Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2000). Dionne, Jr., E.J., Elshtain, Jean Bethke, and Drogosz, Kayla M. eds. Liberty and Power: A Dialogue on Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy in an Unjust World (Washington: Brookings, 2004). Dionne, Jr., E.J., Elshtain, Jean Bethke, and Drogosz, Kayla M., eds. One Electorate Under God: A Dialogue on Religion and American Politics (Washington: Brookings, 2004). Dolan, Jay P. In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002). Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How A “Christian Country” Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2001). Economist, "a special report on religion and public life," November 3, 2007, pp. 21-22, "the lesson from America," on the United States. The United States gets it right in internal politics, but fails miserably to incorporate religion into its foreign policy, says this article. Garcia, Mario T., ed. The Gospel of Cesar Chavez (Lanham, Md.: Sheed and Ward, 2007). UCSB Historian Garcia edits Chavez's spiritual thought under 17 categories. Forward by Mexican-American theologian Virgilio Elizondo. Gibson, David. The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2003). Greeley, Andrew. The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004). Green, John, Rozell, Mark, and Wilcox, Clyde, eds. The Christian Right in American Politics: Marching to the Millennium (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2003). Hamburger, Philip. Separation of Church and State (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002). Harris, Frederick C. Something Within: Religion in African-American Political Activism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Heyer, Kristin E., Rozell, Mark J., and Genovese, Michael A., eds. Catholics and Politics: The Dynamic Tension Between Faith and Power (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2008. This collection offers ten essays on American Catholicism under the three headings of: Catholic Leaders in U.S. Politics, The Catholic Public, and Catholics and the Federal Government. The last two essays concern the U.S.-Vatican relationship (Manuel) and Vatican reform (Reese). Hoover, Dennis R., Martinez, Michael D., Reimer, Samuel H. and Wald, Kenneth D. “Evangelicalism Meets the Continental Divide: Moral and Economic Conservatism in the United States and Canada,” Political Research Quarterly 55 (June 2002). Hurd, Elizabeth Shakman. The Politics of Secularism in International Relations (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008). Shakman focuses on the issue of secularism in relations between the West and Islam. Jelen, Ted G., “The American Church: Of Being Catholic and American,” Paul Christopher Manuel, Lawrence C. Reardon, Clyde Wilcox, eds. The Catholic Church and the Nation-State: Comparative Perspectives (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2006), 69-88. Kagan, Robert. Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003). Kuo, David. Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction (New York: Free Press, 2006). Part auto-biography, part inside story of the Bush Administration’s disdain for their religious allies. Lerner, Michael. The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006). Marsden, George M. Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1991). McGraw, Barbara A. Rediscovering America’s Sacred Ground: Public Religion and Pursuit of the Good in a Pluralistic America (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2003). McGraw, Barbara A., and Formicola, Jo Renee, eds. Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously: Spiritual Politics on America’s Sacred Ground (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005). McKevitt, Gerald. Brokers of Culture: Italian Jesuits in the American West, 1848-1919. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007. Review by John T. McGreevy (America, May 7, 2007) Mead, Walter Russell, “God’s Country?” Foreign Affairs (September/October 2006): 24-43. Mead presents Evangelicalism as the “Middle Way” between Liberal Christianity and Fundamentalism. He is moderately optimistic about its contribution to U.S. foreign policy. Miller, Richard W., ed. We Hold These Truths: Catholicism and American Political Life (Ligouri, Mo.: Ligouri Press, 2008). Essays by Miller, O'Brien, Hi8mes, Himes, Cahill, and Christiansen. National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1983). Noll, Mark A. America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). Nye, Joseph S., Jr. The Paradox of American Power: Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go It Alone (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Olson, Laura R., Crawford, Sue E.S., and Deckman, Melissa M. Women with a Mission: Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Women Clergy (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2005). Phillips, Kevin. American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century (New York: Viking, 2006). Prendergast, William B. The Catholic Voter in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1999). Raboteau, Albert J. Canaan Land: A Religious History of African Americans (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001). Sullivan, Amy. The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap (New York: Scribner, 2007).See the review by R. Scott Appleby in the New York Times, February 10, 2008, for a comparison of the Baptist Amy Sullivan's book with that of the Catholic Dionne. Both authors predict American religion's return to a more progressive societal role. Taylor, M. Lewis. Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post 9/11 Powers in American Empire. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2005. Thomas, Cal, and Dobson, Ed. Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 1999). Thomas, Scott M., "How and Why to Support Religion Overseas," a Foreign Policy in Focus discussion paper, November 6, 2007 (www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4682). Advocates stronger role on the basis of virtue-ethics, e.g., philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. Wald, Kenneth D. Religion and Politics in the United States, 4th ed. (Latham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). Wallis, Jim. God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2005). WEBSITES: The site of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, which fosters criticism of the social policies of the mainline Protestant organizations with its programs like UM[ethodist] Action, Presbyterian Action, and Episcopal Action. The official site of the National Council of Churches of the United States. The official site of the Orthodox Church of the United States . The official site of the Presbyterian Church of the United States. A very comprehensive site managed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is a good place to start on any U.S. issue. The official site of the Southern Baptist Convention. The official site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This site contains up-to-date translations of articles on the United States from the foreign press. 5. Recent Articles (a. General Religion and Politics; b. Religious and Political Issues; c. Internal Church Issues; d. Religion and Foreign Policy): a. General Religion and Politics "A Fluid Religious Life Is Seen in U.S., With Switches Common," New York Times, February 26, 2008. Summary of the latest Pew survey of more than 35,000 Americans and their religious affiliation. For a fine analysis of the academic meaning of the new data, see Boston College scholar Alan Wolfe's article in The Chronicle Review, March 21, 2008. First, the small showing of Muslims, with larger Jewish, Orthodox, and Buddhist communities undercuts both the move to call the United States a "Christian-Jewish-Islamic country" and worries about a "clash of civilizations" within America. Second, the findings are neutral of whether or not liberals necessarily are losing people and more hardline conservative churches winning them. The political influence of the religious right may have peaked. Third, immigration will continue to be a major influence on religion in the United States. This is the first installment of Pew's broad assessment of American religious trends. The second installment is below: "Survey of Religion in U.S. Finds a Broad Tolerance for Others Faiths," New York Times, June 24, 2008. This is the second installment of the nationwide telephone interviews with more than 35,000 adults from May 8 to August 2007, 2007, the "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" by Pew. It undercut the conventional wisdom that the more religiously committed people are more intolerant. Seventy percent of Americans affiliated with a religion or a denomination agreed that "many religions can lead to eternal life." b. Religious and Political Issues “Personal and Political, Bush’s Faith Blurs Lines,” New York Times, October 26, 2004. Analysis of the role of faith in the approach of the president to policy issues. “Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush,” by Ron Suskind, New York Times Magazine (October 17, 2004): 45-106. “When Cleaner Air Is a Biblical Obligation,” New York Times, November 7, 2005. Moving the National Association of Evangelicals to support the environment. “Called by God to Help,” New York Times op-ed by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, March 22, 2006. Strong criticism of House immigration bill, threat to disobey in name of Catholic values. "Wayward Christian Soldiers," New York Times op-ed, January 20, 2006, by UVA religion professor Charles Marsh criticizing unquestioning support for Iraq War from Charles Stanley, Franklin Graham, Marvin Olasky, Tim LaHaye, and others. Contrrast with Lausanne Covenant of 1974 and Anglican evangelical priest John Stott. “Bush Takes On The Brothels,” New York Times op-ed by Nicholas D. Kristoff, May 9, 2006. Praise of Bush’s anti-trafficking initiative, example of bipartisan foreign policy. “Religious Left Struggles To Find Unifying Message,” New York Times, May 19, 2006. D.C. meeting of Network of Spiritual Progressives led by Lerner, with participation from Sister Joan Chittister, Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis, etc. “Presbyterians Revise Israeli Investing Policy,” New York Times, June 22, 2006. Divestment as issue. “Stay Tuned, as 2 Churches Struggle With Gay Clergy,” New York Times, June 24, 2006. Episocpalians and Presbyterians struggle with issue. Newly elected presiding Episcopal bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, urged the House of Deputies, a joint clerical-lay body, to pass a statement that the church should “exercise restraint” in electing bishops “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.” It has. “Religious Voting Data Shows Some Shift,” New York Times, November 9, 2006. Voting data from midterm elections. White evangelicals held for Republicans, but Catholics and mainline Protestants moved toward Democrats. "Focus on Climate Draws Fire of Christian Right," New York Times, March 3, 2007. Criticism of Richard Cizik, NAE's vice president for government affairs by Dobson, Bauer, Perkins, Weyrich, and others for environmental concerns. NAE Board responded with a strong defense of Cizik. In addition, the Board voted 38 to 1 to endorse a declaration against the government's treatment of detainees in the war on terrorism. New York Times, March 14. "Evangelical trend by Latinos could impact politics," San Jose Mercury News, April 26, 2007. Hispanic conversion to evangelical Protestantism coul benefit conservatives. Report on Pew Study. Obit for Jerry Falwell, San Jose Mercury News, May 16, 2007. "Emphasis Shifts for New Breed of Evangelists," New York Times, May 21, 2007. New breed of evangelical leaders "are more likely to speak out about more traditionally liberal causes like AIDS, Darfur, peverty and global warming than controversial social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage." Summary and analysis. "A Blogger's Blend of Prayer and Politics Gains Influence," New York Times, July 10, 2007. Report on David Brody, 42, reporter for Christian News Network. 100,000 per month visit his blog on political concerns of evangelicals. "God '08: Whose, and How Much, Will Voters Accept?" New York Times, July 22, 2007. Analysis of survey data on whether various religious affiliations would help or hinder candidate. "End Time for Evangelicals?" New York Times Magazine (October 28, 2007). With no obvious Republican candidate, the changed political role of Evangelicals. "Romney, Eye on Evangelicals, Defends His Faith," New York Times, December 7, 2007. Candidate Mitt Romney, seeking to persuade Evangelical voters in the Republican primaries, discusses Mormonism and the role of religion in the public square at the George Bush Presidential Library. Compared with a similar JFK speech, he pushed a much greater role for religion in American society. He also addressed a much friendlier audience than the Protestant ministers who heard and questioned Kennedy. On the theological question of the nature of Jesus Christ, he stated both "Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of mankind," and "My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths." "What Is It About Mormonism?" New York Times Magazine (January 6, 2008): 34-39. Article by Noah Feldman on role of Romney's faith in political campaign. Fine summary of relationship of mormonism and American politics. "Young Evangelicals Embrace Huckabee as Old Guard Balks," New York Times, January 13, 2008. Split in Evangelical community over Huckabee candidacy. "A Baptist Coalition Aims for Moderation," New York Times, January 27, 2008. Jimmy Carter convenes some long-divided Baptists to a New Baptist Covenant Celebration. Some described the meeting as an attempt to find a counterweight to the Southern Baptist Convention, which many of these groups has left over what they perceived as too conservative a theological and political stance. American Baptist minister Tony Campolo stated, "The first thing to recognize is that the Southern Baptist Convention has moved very much to the right. . . ." The Southern Baptist Convention's top public policy official Richard Land said "This is part of the continuing search for significance by those who lost in the struggle for control of the Southern Baptist Convention." The 16 to 18-million Baptists make up the second largest denomination in the United States. "An Angry Obama Renouces Ties to His Pastor," New York Times, April 30, 2008. Relationship of Obama and Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. For background on Black Liberation Theology, see "A Fiery Theology Under Fire," New York Times, May 4, 2008. c. Internal Church Issues “With Jesus As Our Connector,” by Jonathan Mahler, New York Times Magazine (March 27, 2005): 30-55. Second-generation megachurches in the exurbs. “Seminary shift,” San Jose Mercury News, March 5, 2006. As number of Catholic priests declines, Vietnamese and Filipinos filling ranks. “Muslim Leaders Confront Terror Threat Within Islam,” New York Times, September 2, 2005. Switch of audience to young Muslims to beware extremism. London bombing as point of change. Islamic Society’s annual convention (40,000) starts in Chicago. “Study Sees Church Rebounding From Scandal,” New York Times, May 18, 2006. Pedophile scandal has not caused Catholics to leave church, stop attending mass, or stop donating to parishes. “Pioneering Rabbi Who Softly Made Her Way,” New York Times, May 20, 2006. Retirement of first woman rabbi ordained in U.S., led Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, N.J., since 1981. “American Muslim Clerics Seek a Modern Middle Ground,” New York Times, June18, 2006. Converts Sheik Hamza Yusuf, 48, and Imam Zaid Shakir, 50, start Islamic seminary in Danville, Ca. Their background. "Anglicans Rebuke U.S. Branch On Blessing Same-Sex Unions," New York Times, February 20, 2007. Directive at end of five-day meeting at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania of the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion. "U.S. Bishop, Making It Official, Throws in Lot With African Churchman, New York Times, May 6, 2007. Anglican Archbishop Peter J. Akinola of Nigeria installed Bishop Martyn Minns of Virginia as leader of an American diocese that will accept congregations that want to leave the U.S. Episcopal Church. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had requested that Akinola cancel his trip. "East meets West, and a storm erupts over the Vatican," article by John Allen in National Catholic Reporter, September 28, 2007. Discussion of Vatican and U.S. Bishops' worries about Vietnamese-American theologian Peter Phan's book, Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue (Orbis, 2004). The article has a sidebar with a list of prominent targets of papal discipline during the last 28 years. In December the U.S. Bishops Committee on Doctrine stated that the book contains "pervading ambiguities and equivocations that could easily confuse or mislead the faithful." America, December 24-31, 2007. "Pope wins friends on first U.S. trip," National Catholic Reporter, May 2, 2008. Stressing the pope's "kindness and candor," John Allen summarizes the visit of Benedict XVI from April 15 to April 20. See also summary coverage and editorials in America and Commonweal. For U.N. speech, see "In U.N. Address, Pope Stresses Importance of Defending Human Rights," New York Times, April 19, 2008. Pope himself brought up sexual abuse problems and met with five victims from Boston. See also "Speaking for Immigrants, Pontiff Touches a Flash Point," New York Times, April 20, 2008. "Sen. Barack Obama names Catholics to his National Advisory Council," National Catholic Reporter, April 14, 2008. National Co-Chairs are Bob Casey, Patrick Murphy, Tim Roemer, Kathleen Sebelius, Tim Kaine, Tom Chabolla, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Sr. Jamie Phelps, and Sr. Catherine Pinkerton. National Steering Committee is Marty Jo Bane, Nicholas P. Cafardi, Lisa Cahill, M. Shawn Copeland, Ron Cruz. "Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes," New York Times, July 17, 2008. The debate in Scranton, Pa. "Palin's Faith Is Linked to Form of Pentecostalism Known as Spiritual Warfare," New York Times, October 25, 2008. Summary of what is known about VP's spiritual background. Fuller provost emeritus Russell Spittler, "Most Christians would accept the view that there are forces and powers in the world that oppose Christian virtues. . . . Spiritual warfare makes a religion of identifying demons by names and ZIP codes." d. Religion and Foreign Policy "Bush Rebuffs Hard-Liners To Ease North Korean Curbs," and "A Diplomatic Success That Defies Critics," New York Times, June 27, 2008. Analysis of changes in Bush foreign policy with regard to North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. November 3, 2008. |
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