Yesterday was probably the strangest day in religion news in the last 20 years.
First of all, it was the National Day of Prayer. That's a conflicted day anyway because -- long ago -- it functionally became a parade for evangelical religion in Washington, DC. It generally isn't about prayer -- it is mostly about conservative politics.
Because of this, every year, liberal religious groups complain (and nothing happens). And humanist and atheist organizations celebrate an alternative -- The National Day of Reason.
So, the National Day of Prayer starts out being an argument over the relationship between religion and public life -- with evangelicals "in charge" and pretty much everyone else being excluded.
And then there's this year.
The night before the NDP, the president (who many evangelicals liken to King David) has a lawyer admit that he's paid off an adult film star actress with whom he had an illicit affair and cheated on his third wife just after she had a baby.
This is the kind of scenario that would have -- in years past -- gotten a man disciplined or excommunicated from an evangelical congregation.
Some thought that religious leaders might protest the NDP event in the Rose Garden. But no. A couple hundred religious leaders showed up and cheered the president.
After Trump's speech, a couple of reporters shouted questions to him about Stormy Daniels. The religious leaders TURNED ON THE REPORTERS and shouted "SHAME, SHAME" at them!
This was reported by @elizabethjdias. Yes, she works for the NYT. But she went to Wheaton College. So, yeah. It isn't like she's hostile to evangelicalism or anything.
And the bill yesterday expanding the WH Faith Office is a mess. Clinton, Bush & Obama had such offices -- and they've always been careful to stay in the correct lane of church & state issues.
But the Trump bill takes down all the guardrails between lanes by ORDERING the entire government to work on religion issues/religious "liberty" in conjunction with departmental missions and mandates.
ORDERS government agencies to incorporate religious concerns into their work.
That is a freaking huge story that was essentially ignored because . . .
the next thing that happened was that the House Chaplain (why do we continue to have one anyway) rescinded his resignation after Paul Ryan forced him out last month.
As was said this morning on the news, "There's more to this story then we know." But Ryan accepted the rescinded resignation!
So, that was a story about a Catholic chaplain accusing a Catholic Speaker of anti-Catholic bias.
Exhausted yet?
Underneath it all, there's another story -- a scandal is tearing through the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
The president of their largest seminary was found to have encouraged domestic abuse victims to stay married their abusers. Ick.
And, of course, most (not all) of those old-boys running the SBC have refused to comment. THEY'VE REFUSED TO DENOUNCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
Four huge religion stories. One day.
(pls forgive typos, grammar; I do my best, but mistakes do happen!)
(pls forgive typos, grammar; I do my best, but mistakes do happen!)
