 |
|
|
|
June 28th, 2011
03:16 PM ET
Pope sends first tweet, launching new Vatican siteBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN (CNN) - Twitter has welcomed a new user - one who already has more than one billion followers. Pope Benedict XVI used Twitter to announce the launch of a new Vatican website, timed to coincide with Wednesday's 60th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. The website, News.va, showed a photo of the pope with what appeared to be an iPad. 
June 28th, 2011
12:10 PM ET
Dutch ban on Jewish, Muslim butchering passes hurdleFrom Eileen Hsieh, CNN Dutch lawmakers Tuesday approved an animal-rights measure that would ban Jewish and Muslim methods of ritual slaughter, the Parliament press office said. It must now go to the Senate for a vote, which will likely happen in September, press officer Leon Van Schie told CNN. The Dutch Party for the Animals proposed closing a loophole in the Dutch law that allows Jews and Muslims to kill animals that have not been anesthetized first. "The Party for the Animals believes that freedom of religion must end where animal suffering begins," leader Marianne Thieme wrote on her blog before the measure went to a vote Tuesday. 
June 28th, 2011
12:00 PM ET
Mormon scholar: 'Book of Mormon' like a fun-house mirror(CNN)–Prof. Richard Bushman shares his insight in CNN's "In the Arena" off-set interview on how the award-winning Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon, is not the best insight to Mormon beliefs. He teaches courses on Mormonism in its broad social and cultural context and on the history of religion in America. Bushman has taken an active part in explaining Mormonism to a broad public and in negotiating the tensions between Mormonism and modern culture. An emeritus professor at Columbia University, he received his Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from Harvard. Among his books is the biography, “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.” He also serves as one of three general editors of the Joseph Smith Papers. Prof. Bushman, the character of Elder Price, an American Mormon missionary in modern-day Uganda, questions his faith, but regains it while performing the song, “I Believe.” He sings, “I believe that God has a plan for all of us. / I believe that plan involves me getting my own planet.” Is that lyric based in Mormon belief? I have been living in California and Utah for the past year while the musical "The Book of Mormon” has been packing the house on Broadway. I have not seen the show, but I have read endless reviews, listened to parts of the score, and talked with Mormon friends who have seen it. Based on what I have heard, and the lyrics of Elder Price’s song, the musical gets a lot of laughs, but it is not meant to explain Mormon beliefs. Read more about Bushman's views on the 'The Book of Mormon' Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman in New Jersey last week shortly after announcing his presidential candidacy.
June 28th, 2011
01:00 AM ET
My Take: For Huntsman, a little faith could go a long way
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN One of the more intriguing questions posed by Mitt Romney's presidential run is whether a Mormon can win the Oval Office. Now that former Utah governor John Huntsman Jr. (also a Mormon) has announced his candidacy, a new question emerges: What sort of Mormon might be elected president? As any visitor to Disney World’s “Hall of Presidents” can tell you, Americans prefer their presidents white, male, and Protestant. Only two presidents have overcome these desiderata (John Kennedy and Barack Obama), and they have run against their religion (in the case of Kennedy) and their race (in the case of Obama), reassuring the American people that they weren’t really all that Catholic or all that black — that they were Americans first, and members of their religious or racial communities second. 
June 27th, 2011
06:09 PM ET
Michele Bachmann, evangelical feminist?By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) - If Hillary Clinton, the woman who came closest to becoming a major party presidential nominee, is a feminist icon, could something similar be said of Michele Bachmann, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Monday? Bachmann is seldom described in those terms; the conservative Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party darling might cringe at the feminist label. But some religion and politics experts say that she exemplifies an evangelical feminism that is producing more female leaders in Christian nonprofits, businesses, and education and politics, even as more traditional gender roles prevail in evangelical homes and churches. “It’s not that evangelical feminism is entirely new,” says R. Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. “But this lack of fear going into top positions of power is new and astonishing and exciting for this segment of the population.” 
June 27th, 2011
03:04 PM ET
Your Take: Comments on faith-based opposition to the national anthemYesterday's post about a Mennonite pastor’s faith-based reasons for not singing the "Star Spangled-Banner" drew more than 4,000 comments. Mark Schloneger, a Mennonite pastor and an alum of Goshen College - which recently decided to forego the singing of the national anthem at sporting events - described how his religion's teachings on separation of church and state lead to the decision to skip the anthem. Some readers agreed with the author's view and defended the Mennonite faith:
June 27th, 2011
02:41 PM ET
Faces of Faith: Explaining MormonismIn Sunday's Faces of Faith segment on CNN, Anchor T.J. Holmes interviews Anthea Butler, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, on various aspects of Mormonism. Faces of Faith airs most Sundays during the 8 a.m. hour. 
June 26th, 2011
01:00 AM ET
My Faith: Why I don't sing the 'Star Spangled Banner'
By Mark Schloneger, Special to CNN I choose to belong to a strange tribe. Goshen College, my alma mater, made national news this month when its board of directors decided that the “Star Spangled Banner” would not be played before athletic events. As could be expected, the decision was met with confusion and contempt. Wasn’t this just another example of our traditional values being trampled by the unrelenting march of political correctness? What sort of ingrates object to our nation’s anthem, anyway? Fluffy-headed campus philosophers? Lazy latte-sipping liberals? The decision not to play the national anthem reversed last year’s decision to play it for the first time in Goshen College’s 116-year history. That, too, caught the media’s attention.
June 25th, 2011
04:00 AM ET
Sacred Spaces: Inside a Hindu templeEditor's note: Sacred Spaces is an occasional series on the Belief Blog. In this installment, CNN Senior Photojournalist Anthony Umrani takes us inside Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, a Hindu worship space near Washington, DC. By Anthony Umrani, CNN Lanham, Maryland (CNN) - On a cool spring evening just outside Washington, a steady stream of worshipers arrive at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple for prayers. People are dressed in a mixture of colorful Indian attire and customary Western clothing. In this residential Maryland neighborhood about 12 miles from downtown, the temple stands out with a striking white exterior adorned with statues depicting Hindu gods. In India, a temple is typically dedicated to one particular god, but the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple has many gods to accommodate the diversity of Indian people in the area. "We have a wide variety of congregation and each one of them says, 'I want this god' or 'I want that god,' " said S. Krishnamurthy, one of the founder/trustees of the temple.
June 24th, 2011
02:36 PM ET
Untold stories of rape during the HolocaustBy Jessica Ravitz, CNN (CNN) - The soldiers came for her at night. They took the girl to a barrack and forced her to watch a woman get raped. The drunken men then set loose a dog to rip off the raped woman's breasts. Blood was everywhere. The woman passed out. The young witness was next. Five soldiers held her down and took turns raping and sodomizing her. They spilled alcohol on her. They laughed. They said they'd kill her. She didn't yet have breasts for the dog to attack. Read more on the untold stories of the Holocaust |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.
Editor's Note: Mark Schloneger is pastor of Springdale Mennonite Church in Waynesboro, Virginia.