Peter Steinfels on how the US Catholic bishops have drafted their new election-year statement. “The bishops have tried to give the 2008 document a distinctly more authoritative and doctrinal flavor.”

The New York Times Magazine takes an in-depth look at evangelical politics. “There are many related ways to characterize the split: a push to better this world as well as save eternal souls; a focus on the spiritual growth that follows conversion rather than the yes-or-no moment of salvation; a renewed attention to Jesus’ teachings about social justice as well as about personal or sexual morality.”

Monday, October 29, 2007

ROOM CHANGE: this week we’ll be in the Bushnell Seminar Room (S101) at 12:30pm. We’ll be holding a religion and politics news roundup, so bring any articles, ideas, etc to share … we’ll likely be discussing the Times Magazine cover story on “The Evangelical Crackup,” and Peter Steinfels’ column on the drafting of the Catholic Bishops’ election year statement.

Monday, October 22, 2007

On tap for this week: more Voices & Votes II wrap-up, and a look ahead at the party primaries. As always, we’ll be meeting over lunch in the the JED Room at 12:30.

At the Values Voters Summit, the religious right splits between Romney & Huckabee.

More on Mitt Romney and the Christian right. “As Mitt Romney has had to grapple with suspicions about his Mormon religion during his presidential run, he has tried in various ways to signal his kinship with evangelical Christians.”