News T
By the staff of The Lutheran, ELCA News Service and Religion News Service
Bin Laden’s death rated top religion news story
he death of Osama bin Laden and the reactions it produced among people of faith was rated the No. 1 religion news story of 2011 by the nation’s leading religion journalists. The Religion Newswriters Asso-
ciation polls its members annually to compile a list of the top 10 religion stories of the year. About 90 religion beat specialists took the poll this year.
The al-Qaida leader’s death topped the ranks because of the national discussion it sparked among people of faith on issues of forgive- ness, peace, justice and retribution. The No. 2 story was a series of controversial congressional hear- ings focused on American Muslims. Hearings were held in the House of Representatives on the alleged radi- calization of U.S. Muslims, and in the Senate on hate crimes reported against U.S. Muslims.
Although the association usu-
ally names a “Religion Newsmaker of the Year,” it didn’t do so this year because of a virtual three-way tie among failed doomsday evangelist Harold Camping, Pope Benedict XVI and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Rounding out the 10 religion news stories are: 3. Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Mo., is charged with failure to report the suspected
Swept away
Greek Orthodox and Armenian clergy began hitting each other with the brooms they were using in a Dec. 28 cleaning ritual at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, after an argu- ment ensued over who was sweeping on whose turf. The site, the traditional
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birthplace of Jesus, is apportioned among Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations. Police officers from the Palestinian Authority broke up the brawl, which left no major injuries.
abuse of a child, becoming the first active bishop in the country to face criminal prosecution in such a case. 4. The Roman Catholic Church introduces a new translation of the Roman Missal throughout the English-speaking world, making the first significant change to a lit- urgy since 1973. 5. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) allows a local option on the ordination of partnered gay people.
6. Pope John Paul II is beatified in May. 7. California evangelist Harold Camping attracts attention with his predictions that the world would end in May and again in October. 8. A book by Michigan mega- church pastor Rob Bell, Love Wins, presents a much less harsh picture of hell than is traditional and stirs discussion in evangelical circles. 9. The Personhood Initiative, designed to outlaw abortion by declaring a fetus a person, fails on Election Day in Mississippi. Advo- cates plan to try in other states. 10. Bible translations make news, with celebrations of the 400th anni- versary of the King James Version; criticism about gender usage in the newest New International Version; and completion of the Common English Bible.
Pioneer in church policy dies Edward May, 92, an ELCA pastor and first director of the Office for World Community, died Dec. 13. As director during the 1970s and 1980s, May was responsible for rela- tions with the U.N. and advocating for human rights, economic justice and political freedom globally on behalf of the former Lutheran World Ministries and the ELCA’s prede- cessors—the American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in America and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (the Lutheran Office for World Community now works on behalf of the ELCA and the Lutheran World Federation). Dur- ing his 11-year tenure, May focused his efforts on advancing the cause of Namibia’s independence. He was instrumental in raising awareness of and creating church policies against the apartheid governments of Zim- babwe, Namibia and South Africa. (See page 47.)
Christianity tilts to Africa According to a Pew Research Cen- ter report, there are now 2.18 billion Christians in the world: 37 percent in North and South America, 24 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, 26 percent in Europe and 13 percent in the Asia-Pacific region. That’s quite a difference from 1910, when two- thirds of global Christians lived in Europe. Christianity is the largest religion, with 32 percent of the world as adherents, followed by Islam, with 23 percent.
Lowe’s causes row
After receiving dozens of complaint letters, Lowe’s Home Improvement pulled its advertising from the TLC show All-American Muslim, which prompted thousands of responses against its decision. A major critic of the show is the Florida Family Association, which said the program
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