September (Web-only) 2004

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Weblog returns
From Thursday to Sunday, full-time religion reporters from newspapers and other mainstream media outlets gathered in Washington D.C. for their annual conference. You might have thought, then, that perhaps religion news articles would have slackened a bit over the weekend. Wrong! If anything, the last few days have been busier than ever with religion news. Not huge religion news, necessarily, but just a lot of it.

Kerry cranks up the God talk
That didn't take long. The Kerry camp officially brought on Clinton White House press secretary Mike McCurry—who has been taken Amy Sullivan's seat as the most prominent voice on Democrats and religion—and now the Democratic candidate can't stop talking about faith.

Thursday's speech to the National Baptist Convention was one of the most religious speeches Kerry has ever given. He spoke of "Amazing Grace" (saying it was his father's favorite hymn) and John Newton's decision to "give his life to God." He said that the importance of Brown v. Board of Education was that it was when the nation "finally acknowledged God's truth that we are each made in His image and likeness—that separate but equal is not just unequal—but immoral." And, as many papers pointed out, he said that Bush is one of the bad guys in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. "For four years, George W. Bush may have talked about compassion, but he's walked right by. He's seen people in need, but he's crossed over to the other side of the street." There were loads of other biblical citations as well: "The Bible tells us that we must sometimes see through a glass darkly. But on every issue, from Iraq to health care, from jobs to education to America's role in the world, the choice is clear." Here's one of the most ...