Support for creationism; causes for Katrina; a multi-faith God

In Tuesday’s RNS report Kevin Eckstrom and Adelle M. Banks look at a recent Pew poll that shows great support for creationism among Americans. According to the poll, almost two-thirds of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. Which views should be taught in schools, and who should decide? Deborah Caldwell, senior editor […]

In Tuesday’s RNS report Kevin Eckstrom and Adelle M. Banks look at a recent Pew poll that shows great support for creationism among Americans. According to the poll, almost two-thirds of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. Which views should be taught in schools, and who should decide?

Deborah Caldwell, senior editor of Beliefnet, looks at the different reasons being offered for Hurricane Katrina’s destruction: Was it a typical late-summer tropical storm caused by wind, water and heat? Mother Nature crying out on behalf of the Earth’s pain? An angry God? The answer depends on whom you ask. All along the theological and political spectrum, Katrina has crystallized people’s fears into a now-familiar brew of apocalyptic theories similar to what we saw after Sept. 11 and after the Asian tsunami several months ago.

Speaking of Sept. 11, correspondent G. Jeffrey MacDonald reviews a new documentary that answers a question frequently asked since then: Do all monotheists worship the same God? According to “Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam,” to be aired by Connecticut Public Television on Sept. 11 and then on more than 100 public television stations nationwide in October, the answer is yes. MacDonald writes: Once the esoteric domain of theologians, the subject now strikes cultural observers as a pivotal one for shaping attitudes of ordinary people in an era of international religious tension, fear and war.


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