Here’s a scary thought: Who wants to dress up as an evangelical for Halloween?
Except, exactly what would that look like?
Would it involve wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat? Does the term still have any religious and/or theological meaning left?
Those questions came to mind as I perused some of the week’s big religion stories — both news reports and major analytical takes. Here are five such headlines that caught my attention:
(1) Why ‘evangelical’ is becoming another word for Republican: “Instead of theological affinity for Jesus Christ, millions of Americans are being drawn to the evangelical label because of its association with the G.O.P.,” Ryan Burge, a frequent contributor to ReligionUnplugged.com, writes in an opinion piece for the New York Times.
(2) In a post-Donald Trump world, these pastors are ditching the evangelical label for something new: “They looked to each other to ask, What could it look like to organize as ‘post-evangelicals?’” religion writer Sarah Pulliam Bailey reports for the Washington Post. “They had at least one thing in common: They were all on some journey of deconstruction, the process of reexamining their long-held beliefs, and they wanted to participate in reconstruction and the building up of something new.”
(3) The evangelical divide: “Political and social issues are splintering American Christians. Can the Church find unity?” asks part one of a three-part series by World magazine senior reporter Sophia Lee.
(4) The evangelical church is breaking apart: “As a person of the Christian faith who has spent most of my adult life attending evangelical churches, I wanted to understand the splintering of churches, communities, and relationships,” contributing writer Peter Wehner explains in The Atlantic. “I reached out to dozens of pastors, theologians, academics, and historians, as well as a seminary president and people involved in campus ministry. All voiced concern.”
(5) ‘The Liberty Way’: How Liberty University discourages and dismisses students’ reports of sexual assaults: “The school founded by evangelist Jerry Falwell ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish accusers for breaking its moral code,” former students allege in this in-depth investigative report by ProPublica’s Hannah Dreyfus. '"An official who says he was fired for raising concerns calls it a ‘conspiracy of silence.’”
Liberty is, as the report notes, “one of the largest private evangelical institutions in the world.” Along with the ProPublica story, I recommend Terry Mattingly’s analysis of the report for GetReligion.
For more on Liberty and a whistleblower lawsuit filed its former spokesman, Scott Lamb, see coverage by the Post’s Bailey and Susan Svrluga, Politico’s Michael Stratford and Brandon Ambrosino, The Associated Press’ Sarah Rankin, Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana and the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
(1) A 100-year-old priest was nudged from his parish. He has no plan to retire: As Catholic news goes, I probably should have started with today’s Vatican meeting between President Joe Biden and Pope Francis. (Check out the latest from ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi.)
And there was some excellent advance coverage, including this insightful story by Washington Post national political reporter Matt Viser.
But really, New York Times national correspondent Rick Rojas’ superbly written front-page profile of the Rev. Luis Urriza in Beaumont, Texas, can’t be beat.
(2) Prayer for kidnappers deeply rooted in mission group’s faith: Last week’s Plug-in highlighted coverage of a gang’s kidnapping of an Anabaptist mission group in Haiti.
This week, Associated Press religion writer Peter Smith explains why “when kidnappers in Haiti abducted 12 adult missionaries and five of their children, including an infant, it wasn’t surprising that those sharing that Christian tradition would draw on these values as they joined around-the-clock prayer vigils.”
In a busy week, Smith also wrote about the third anniversary of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack and the Orthodox Church’s Ecumenical Patriarch visiting the U.S. and meeting with President Joe Biden.
CONTINUE READING: “Boo! Just In Time For Halloween, Frightening Headlines About Evangelicals,” by Bobby Ross, Jr., for Religion Unplugged.