The Wheat and the Chaff » research http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff discerning religion in the media Thu, 12 May 2011 03:21:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Who speaks for Christianity? http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/2009/10/23/who-speaks-for-christianity/ http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/2009/10/23/who-speaks-for-christianity/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:24:37 +0000 Peter Herman http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/?p=4 A popular trope among religious liberals and progressives is that there is a great, unrecognized majority of our kind. If the mainstream media would only seek out Jay Bakker or James Cone instead of Rick Warren or Pat Robertson, we’d get a more accurate image of contemporary Christian belief. It is a hopeful thought to hold and it is seductive in the suggestion that the socially conservative presence in Christianity today is being overreported. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be true.

A study published in September by Public Religion Research has revealed some thought-provoking statistics on this question. The survey queried both conservative and liberal activists who identify as religiously faithful. In the conservative camp, 99% identified as some variety of Christian. The liberals reported 71% of their numbers as Christian. While the data could be interpreted as the liberal activists being a more inclusive community, it also points to the notion that perhaps equating “Christian” and “conservative” may not be that inaccurate after all.

Resources:
Public Religion Research
Daniel Schultz at Religion Dispatches on this report

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]]> http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/2009/10/23/who-speaks-for-christianity/feed/ 3 About The Wheat and the Chaff http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/2009/10/22/about-the-wheat-and-the-chaff/ http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/2009/10/22/about-the-wheat-and-the-chaff/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:43:01 +0000 Preston Davis http://unionindialogue.org/wheatandthechaff/?p=35 At its base, this blog/dialogue (“blog-o-logue” anyone?) will be a review of religion in the news. Presuming we can pick out the most provocative, conversation-starting religious news, we’ll be looking to separate the wheat from the chaff, if you will. That is, we’ll not simply be looking for the most popular topics concerning religion in the news (though that will happen often); we’ll be looking for the religious news that points to deep issues within contemporary Christianity (and other faiths) in a modern, pluralistic world.

In many ways, this blog will attempt to bridge a gap between the journalistic worldview of religion and the academic/seminarian worldview. It will bring the audience to the stories of religion in the news in hopes that we all will think critically about what we’re seeing and reading. Is what’s showing up in the news accurate? Is it unfairly partisan or potentially harmful? What is it telling us about the shape of belief, faith and religion today?  We will be dealing with it socratically, and we ask you to join us, add to the conversation and at times even point the way.

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