Thursday’s Religion News Roundup: Charity and grace * Dalai Lama worship * Moses and Spielberg

Some religious leaders respond with charity and grace to DOMA ruling. Chinese authorities tell Tibetan monks they can worship the Dalai Lama. Spielberg may be considering a movie on Moses.

An image of Moses the lawgiver. Courtesy Shutterstock, http://shutr.bz/17khDO1
A drawing of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in stone.

An image of Moses the lawgiver. Courtesy Shutterstock, http://shutr.bz/17khDO1

Kevin Eckstrom (a.k.a., “the boss”) writes that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 26-page decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act reflects the shifting views of most Americans — that same sex marriage should be viewed not through the prism of morality or religion but rather law and fairness.

One interesting fact he adds: The ruling came 10 years to the day that Justice Kennedy issued his first decisive gay-rights decision in Lawrence v. Texas.


David Gibson outlines four different approaches religious conservatives might take in the wake of the ruling. And Jonathan Merritt shares reactions from Christian leaders at different ends of the spectrum.

I am struck by the charity and grace with which some Christian leaders from Russell Moore to Ed Stetzer have reacted to the decision. It seems the abrasive, Falwell-esque culture warrior school of punditry has given way to something far more nuanced.

Nate Silver has the scoop on same-sex marriage availability across the world. He says the U.S. now leads, with about 30 percent of Americans living in states that allow same-sex marriage; Europe comes next, with about 23 percent of Europeans living in countries where gay marriage is legal.

One commentator bemoaned the tepid response of gay-rights orgs to Tuesday’s SCOTUS ruling striking down part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act:

“While I am a staunch advocate of LGBTQ rights, as a Black lesbian, I find it disheartening as I compare and contrast yesterday and today’s response from LGBTQ organizations,” wrote Pamela Lightsey.

No surprise, there were lots of street celebrations in San Francisco.

Our man in Rome, Alessandro Speciale, writes about Pope Francis appointing a papal commission to examine the Vatican Bank.

Thomas Reese at National Catholic Reporter doesn’t have big expectations for the team made up of clerics and academics including Mary Ann Glendon, former ambassador to the Holy See.

“To me, it looks like the traditional Vatican approach to dealing with a PR problem: Appoint a committee,” he wrote.

Francis also signaled he will sign off on the reform process of the Legion of Christ religious order, which was disgraced by revelations its founder was a pedophile.


In a policy reversal, Chinese government officials have told monks in some Tibetan areas that they are now free to ‘worship’ the Dalai Lama as a ‘religious leader.’ The new experimental policy is designed to separate politics from religion.

The New York City Council voted to create an outside watchdog and make it easier to bring racial profiling claims against the nation’s largest police force. The vote is intended to be a check on the NYPD’s extensive surveillance of Muslims.

Meanwhile, The New York Times is reporting that four C.I.A. officers were embedded with the New York Police Department in the decade after Sept. 11, 2001.

A dozen victims have filed lawsuits alleging six Arizona priests who worked in the Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., between 1942 and 1977 had sexually abused them.

Some of the 400 surviving members of Kindertransport convened in a Jewish school in London for a reunion last Sunday. The Kindertransport evacuated 10,000 children from Nazi territory to the safety of England in the eve of World War II.

Bobby (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”) McFerrin has a new album called “spirityouall,” that includes his adaptations of traditional African-American spirituals and devotional songs he composed.


Bible movies are hot. Viacom is teaming up with Paramount Pictures for a $125 million epic, Noah, starring Russell Crowe. And Time Warner is developing a film about Moses, with Steven Spielberg mentioned as the possible director.

When those movies premiere, you can be sure RNS will have the scoop. Another good reason to sign up for the daily Roundup well in advance.

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