It’s day two of the Religion News Association annual conference in Las Vegas.
That’s right — the nation’s religion journalists are discussing faith and spirituality in Sin City.
More on that as we dive into Friday Five:
Breaking news alert: Nation’s religion journalists have gathered in, um, Sin City for #RNA2019 https://t.co/BtLTtycIL1
— GetReligion (@GetReligion) September 19, 2019
1. Religion story of the week: I wrote about the RNA meeting in my post Thursday.
By all means, follow the conference in real time via the #RNA2019 hashtag on Twitter. Also, the RNA is live-streaming sessions on its Facebook page.
A few highlights:
Politicians in DC have been engaged in combatting anti-Semitism overseas but not as willing to address it at home. They didn’t acknowledge what was happening here until other countries started pushing back, says Julie Rayman. #rna2019
— Kelsey Dallas (@kelsey_dallas) September 19, 2019
Young people are often asked to express their spirituality in terms of consumption, i.e., “I bought this meditation pack and feel better” or “I went to a soul cycle class and feel spiritual after” – great observation by @emmaogreen #RNA2019
— Stephanie Russell-Kraft (@srussellkraft) September 20, 2019
I’m a huge fan of @RosemaryCard and it’s great to see her at #RNA2019 talking about Mormon Millennials and the grassroots changes she and her peers are working toward. pic.twitter.com/PTZmx0oxP7
— Jana Riess (@janariess) September 20, 2019
“I still think there are too many opinion pieces and not enough reporting,” @godgrrl says, echoing earlier comments by @janariess.
Most interesting: They’re saying this on an #RNA2019 panel of religion opinion journalists.
Btw, amen.
— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) September 20, 2019
It’s worth noting, given other threads on #RNA2019, that academia occasionally (even often) marginalizes journalists, accuses reporters of everything from stupidity/lack of expertise to being duped to emphasizing wrong things, and higher ed is often more powerful/stable than news
— Menachem Wecker (@mwecker) September 20, 2019
“Nuance” is the word of the millennial and spirituality panel. #RNA2019
— Aaron Earls (@WardrobeDoor) September 20, 2019
Alan Cooperman at Pew says spirituality is highest among people who identify w/ a religious group and say it’s important. Veronica gives an example from a focus group of a young guy who doesn’t attend church every week, so calls himself spiritual but not religious. #RNA2019 https://t.co/0noS2SkT1B
— Meagan Kay Clark (@MeaganKay) September 20, 2019
What’s a millennial?
“The generational breaks are completely artificial,” says Alan Cooperman of @pewresearch at #RNA2019.
It’s not scientific, just colloquial. But millennials are usually born 1981 to 1996.
— Danae King (@DanaeKing) September 20, 2019
“Las Vegas is like any other major metropolitan area in the U.S….except, maybe, we have more gambling.” J.B. Myers at #RNA2019 on ministering in “Sin City.”
— Ken Chitwood (@kchitwood) September 19, 2019
“I can’t find anywhere in the bible where it says risking any amount of money on a game of chance is a sin,” says J B Myers of Bright Angel Church of Christ. “Now an addiction to gambling could cause someone to stray.” #rna2019
— Menachem Wecker (@mwecker) September 19, 2019
2. Most popular GetReligion post: “Believers must face this: All kinds of people (pastors too) wrestle with depression and suicide,” Terry Mattingly wrote in this week’s No. 1 most-clicked post.
If you haven’t, make sure to read the post. In it, tmatt noted that this is one of the most personal topics that he has ever touched on here at GetReligion. Yes, all of this is linked to one of the major national religion-news stories of last week — the suicide of the Rev. Jarrid Wilson, the 30-year-old founder of a a nationally known ministry for people struggling with depression and suicide. Then again, the recent 9/11 anniversary played a role in this post. And double make sure to listen to the related podcast.
Neutral reporting on the news pages, opinion reserved for the editorial pages. This once was the credo of the newspaper business but it is now being abandoned at a high cost in reader trust. https://t.co/tSTIX0ToWE
— Brit Hume (@brithume) September 10, 2019
3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): The headline on Walter Hussman’s Jr.’s op-ed for the Wall Street Journal says it all: “Impartiality Is the Source of a Newspaper’s Credibility.”
“That means honestly reporting, editing and delivering the news without opinion or bias,” says the Journal column by the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (warning: the piece may behind a paywall).
About George Packer’s takedown of wokeness: is moral absolutism the problem? https://t.co/YFhBUUwJok
— GetReligion (@GetReligion) September 20, 2019
4. Shameless plug: When the two original GetReligionistas offer takes on the same must-read think piece in The Atlantic Monthly, you don’t want to miss it.
Check out tmatt’s piece headlined “The Atlantic bravely attempts a religion-free (almost) look at New York kids in the culture wars.”
Then peruse Douglas LeBlanc’s related column “About George Packer’s takedown of wokeness: is moral absolutism the problem?”
The 20 Most Bizarre—and Hilarious—Things to Happen During a Sermonhttps://t.co/4QY5K2iood
— Facts & Trends (@FactsAndTrends) September 19, 2019
5. Final thought: In the mood for some end-of-the-week religion humor? Here you go.
Happy Friday, everybody!
Enjoy the weekend!
ybvdadminuser
