This article from The Huffington Post discusses how Catholic Bishops have been big critics of the Affordable Care Act in the past but are now asking Congress to delay its repeal. Bishops in the past have said that they would rather go to jail than support Obamacare. They have been strongly opposed to it due to the fact that it includes coverage of abortion and a birth control mandate, requiring employers to include contraception in health coverage for employees. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has formally requested that Congress delay in repealing Obamacare before having a viable alternative plan. The Congressional Budget Office has found that even just a partial repeal of Obamacare would result in 18 million currently insured people left without insurance. The head of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice, Bishop Frank J. Dewane, says, “Particularly for those who would otherwise be required to use limited resources to meet basic needs such as food and shelter rather than seek medical care, the introduction of great uncertainty at this time would prove particularly devastating,”. This opinion is not only held by U.S. Catholic Bishops, but by many Catholic nuns as well. I find it interesting that although they have opposed the Act in the past, they recognize that without the Act, millions will be uninsured and without access to healthcare and this is more concerning to them than their own agenda. The USCCB is putting the crucial needs of others above their own agenda, something not always common in politics.
Category Archives: News Item
22 Powerful Posts From People Of Faith At The Women’s March
This past weekend there were many Women’s marches throughout the world. Each person was marching for the rights of women. People on seven different continents rallied together. This news article was focused on individuals who held signs at these various rallies. The signs ranged from sayings like “Jews Reject Trump,” “‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ -Jesus,” “Sikhs for equality,” and “Japanese Americans against Muslim Registry.” There were people of all different faiths, creeds, and associations coming together for one cause. Like McGuire argued in Chapter 4, it is the common people who are seen in religion, rather than elites.
This article also is connected to our conversation in class about official religion and non official religion. While this was not specifically within a building, there were still people promoting their religious beliefs. It was multiple people (whoever) practicing “whatever” in “however” they wanted. While this was not specifically religious, people were still practicing religion. This leads to the question is this considered worship or preaching, or is it something else? Was this rally religious in itself? Or was it going against the status quo of western religions?
Linda Sarsour Accused of Being a Terrorist Because of Her Religion
After the Women’s March on Washington this past Saturday, many anti-Muslim people have been attacking one of the organizers of the march, Linda Sarsour, and accusing her of being a terrorist since she is Muslim and wears a hijab. An article from The Huffington Post by Christopher Mathias explains how one of the main leaders of Saturday’s march is being accused for supporting terrorism and are falsely connecting her to terrorist groups. The only comment that Sarsour has ever made about terrorist groups is when she posted a tweet about how ISIS should be defeated. Some are accusing that post to be fake and just a cover to her “true identity”. Many supporters are now using and spreading the hashtag: “#IMARCHWITHLINDA” to show their solidarity with her and that they support her. Additionally, former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tweeted yesterday and thanked Sarsour for her efforts with the march.
The article about Linda Sarsour does not include anything about her own religious community, but it is assumed that her own community is in full support of her actions. People of other communities, however, are not. This brings up the issue of stereotypes attached to certain religious faiths, and how some people make assumptions about people’s intentions just because of their religion.
Loss of Religious Authority
According to a recent news article by Fox News, North Dakota is considering lifting an old law that doesn’t allow people to shop on Sundays until the afternoon. (www.foxnews.com, Jan. 23) This is an old blue law that is a part of old religious traditions. (www.foxnews.com, Jan. 23) 16 other states as well as North Dakota still have laws like this in effect even to this day. (www.foxnews.com, Jan. 23) These laws restrict certain activities on Sundays that might interfere with people going to church. (www.foxnews.com, Jan. 23) Back then, these laws were considered very helpful in that regard. However, today many don’t consider them helpful anymore. Some even find them to be a burden. North Dakota wanting to end one of these old laws demonstrates the changing tide of religious influence in society. For a few hundred years churches and religious organizations set the standards for how people used to live their lives. (McGuire, Pg. 115) They were supposed to go to church faithfully and practiced what the church told them to practice. (McGuire, Pg. 115) Religious institutions were very influential in society back then, especially since governments often backed them by creating certain laws. (McGuire, Pg. 115) However in modern times, the tide has now gone in the opposite direction. (McGuire, Pg. 117) People are starting to break away from organized religion and religious tradition now more than ever. (McGuire, Pg. 117) Therefore, the events in North Dakota maybe symbolizing this weakening of religious influence in today’s society.
Father and Son Accused of Rape and Kidnapping Use the Bible as their Only Defense
A father and son, accused of rape and kidnapping, insist to defend themselves in court and to use only the bible, as they declare it the only law book that matters. The father, with the help of his son, allegedly held his stepdaughter captive in their basement from 2012-2015, repeatedly raping her and feeding her only rotten dinner scraps. The teenage girl was shackled to a support beam, but eventually escaped and was able to run for help.
The accused father and son were repeatedly advised to be represented by a lawyer, but made it clear that they had more faith in God than they do in the law. The son has said that the Bible is the only book that matters, and that “There’s a great deal of strategy in Scripture and I use those strategies in everything I do”. The father and son claim that the book is vital to their innocence and will be used in court to prove that as such.
The article also illuminates another example of child abuse where religious beliefs were used as a justification for their actions. A mother in Indiana who beat her son with a hanger argued that her religion was a sensible motive behind her actions.
Events such as this further the divide between official and unofficial religion. When people, like the accused father and son, use their official religion as a justification for horrid acts that go against the preachings of most churches, people often say “I am anything but that”. The shift to unofficial religion continues. In reality, the son and father in this story have let religion occupy all aspects of their lives, leading their religious life to be more cult-like than religious.
The Role Religion Played in Trump’s Inauguration
On Friday Janunary 20th, the United States swore in a new president, and faith played a prominent role in Trump’s Inauguration. Trump’s religiously rich ceremony was notable for a president whose personal faith wasn’t a prominent part of his campaign. Church choirs sang, a half-dozen religious leaders prayed and Trump mentioned God in his inauguration speech. Trump stated, “We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God”. Two prominent religious singing groups performed on Inauguration Day; The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, accompanied by the United States Marine Band and The Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men, Boys and Girls. Trump also invited six faith leaders to take part in Friday’s swearing-in ceremony, surpassing the standard set by the last few presidents. Trump ended his oath of office with “so help me God,” joining a tradition that isn’t mentioned in the Constitution. Trump continued with, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” Although not part of Friday’s main ceremony, there were two religious services that were also part of inauguration weekend. This worried me deeply as in the United States we have separation of church and state. Now, it is not always enforced but to see the man who is running our country have such a religious inauguration in 2017, makes me wonder what the future of this country holds. Our country needed to continue in the direction of religious acceptance that we have been going, not fall back into the “old days” were anyone that thinks differently from you is wrong.
“On Being Strangers in a Strange World”
In David Gushee’s article “On Being Strangers in a Strange World,” he addresses early in the article his opinion of three different types of “American Christians” and their views concerning the President of the United States. He continues to tell of the discourse in Trump’s actions as compared to those of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the community Trump has created. He believes that “community” is not that of God and a Christian community, but one of something else which he does not find comfort in. The point of the article is to highlight the author’s understanding of how he feels about the new president, as a Christian. He ends his article telling the readers he will not be participating and watching the Inauguration, but he will be praying for the success of the president, despite who that is.
I thought this article related to our class discussion and the reading because of the different view points he defines at the beginning as well as his own approach. He highlights the importance of community, both religious and secular, in the success of a nation. His opinion as a Christian American is that Trump will lead us to a less Christian path and one that is not of Jesus. He has questioned both his identity and faith because of the president elect. However, he is finding meaning and peace in knowing that God is greater than Trump and it is in Him whom he must trust.
Increase of “Nones” Due to Politics
In Chapter 2 of Chaves’ book, “American Religion”, he discusses reasons for the accelerating number of people who would reply “none” when asked the question, “what is your religion?”. I found an article from NPR talking about the prayer leaders that Donald Trump has chosen to pray at his inauguration.
Among them, “an African-American megachurch leader from Detroit, a Florida woman known for her lavish lifestyle and preaching on “abundancy,” a rabbi from Los Angeles, and a Hispanic evangelical — as well as Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.” This article got me thinking about how one of the reasons stated for the increase of “nones” is how people in the U.S. have seen the rise in political stands that their religion has taken and associated being part of that faith with those political views. They start to think that they don’t want to be like “them” (Gjelten, 2017). They don’t agree with those views and so more and more people decline to identify themselves with that certain religion.
I can understand this way of thinking as it is also one of the reasons for why I have distanced myself from the Catholic church and hesitate to call myself a Catholic. Religion and politics are becoming increasingly intertwined to the point that being part of a certain religion would mean people will stereotype you or have prejudice against you. Prejudice against Muslims, for example, and the attributions the media give to people who follow Islam. Religion is being used as a form of manipulation and political tool and can make people wary to align themselves with their faith.
Large Christian Majority in 115th Congress
I read an article from the Huffington Post titled “Incoming Congress Has A Bigger Christian Majority Than The American Public”. The article discusses the fact that the 115th Congress, sworn in a few weeks ago, is nearly 91% Christian (and disproportionately white and male). Representation of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews is greater than in the general public, but Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists are underrepresented. Religious “nones”, or people who do not affiliate with any religion, are also underrepresented in Congress. The misrepresentation and overall lack of religious diversity in our new Congress is concerning. Chaves mentions in Chapter 2 of American Religion that the United States is becoming increasingly more religiously diverse and is experiencing a long-term trend away from an overwhelmingly Protestant population. He also mentions that the number of Americans claiming a religion other than Christian or Jewish has doubled in the past 40 years, and the percentage of Americans that are Protestant has dropped by about 12%. The fact that our Congress is does not accurately reflect the United States’ religious diversity is disappointing. It will be interesting to see how this affects our nation’s religious minorities.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/incoming-congress-has-a-bigger-christian-majority-than-the-american-public_us_586beef3e4b0d9a5945cb162?section=us_religion
What Thomas Merton and Muhammad Ali Had in Common
The article What Thomas Merton and Muhammad Ali Had in Common by Lonnie Ali was published January 17th, 2017 by the New York Times. I had never heard of Thomas Merton before I read this article so just in case others are in the same boat as me, Merton was a Catholic monk, writer, social activist, and more. Throughout this article written by Ali’s wife, Lonnie, she speaks of the similarities between Merton and her late husband, commencing with a short paragraph detailing that in 2008, the intersection between Muhammed Ali Boulevard and Fourth Street (in Louisville Kentucky) would now be home to Thomas Merton Square. Lonnie goes on to describe the like-mindedness of these two characters, writing “[b]ut by the 1960s, their voices in support of peace and justice began to merge. Both men had been shaken from their respective sanctuaries of literary and athletic attainment by the harsh realities of a nation deeply divided by war, race and social inequality.” This portion of the article did a great job in showing that people of all backgrounds and walks of life can come together with the same message of peace for our nation. Lonnie also touched on the similarities between what Ali and Morton were fighting for then and what the people in our current-day divided nation are fighting for now, “[a]s America stands divided once again in the aftermath of a polarizing election, we would do well to follow the example of Thomas Merton and Muhammad Ali in their approach to diversity, pluralism and faith. Regardless of our differences, we share a common humanity, something that will always bind us to each other.”