Under God

By Michelle Boorstein

A highly influential group of conservative Christian leaders are releasing a document today that they have been working on for more than a year, an attempt to unify disparate religious conservatives. Even as political conservatives in the United States are fractured and the Republican Party in a period of soul-searching, you can see some religious conservatives attempting to coalesce, such as Pope Benedict's recent outreach to conservative Anglicans.

The document, called "The Manhattan Declaration," is embargoed until noon (when we'll have it for you) but it calls for Christians to regroup around opposition to abortion (and other "life" issues) and to recognition of same-sex marriage. The document calls for 'religious liberty' but people connected with the document say that is a reference to courts and civil authorities who are allowing gay marriage and abortion availability to advance and expand.

By Elizabeth Tenety

The queen is abdicating her throne.

The little Baptist girl from Mississippi who became one of the most influential people in America will announce today that her talk show will come to an end in 2011, after 25 years on the air.

With millions of viewers worldwide, an XM radio station and a glossy magazine bearing her name, Oprah did so much more than incite audience hysteria over car giveaways. In her years on air, she became a spiritual leader to women around the world. Don't believe that Oprah is a religious figure? Check out the charges her fiercest critics hurl at her: leading her viewers to damnation, creating her own cult and deceiving Christians about Jesus' divinity. One widely circulated YouTube video that denounces Oprah's "trance"-inducing "church" has more than 9 million views. In other words, she's accused of blasphemy. Who knew daytime TV was so existential?

Starting today, Under God is expanding to include more Post-produced religion content, starting with God in Government -- religion news updates from Post religion reporters Michelle Boorstein and William Wan, who will pay particular attention to religion's impact on politics, policy and government in Washington.

We're also going to be adding posts by Elizabeth Tenety, the producer of Divine Impulses and a former blogger for Faithbook. Liz will be keeping us informed about religion's impact on popular culture, especially celebrity, in her Pop Theology posts.

We'll keep you updated on the wide range of religion-related coverage by Post staffers here in Washington and around the world. And we plan to add new blog features as we go.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to post topical discussion starters, inviting you to comment on Today's Topics.

We hope the more comprehensive Under God will become your one-stop destination for all religion-related news and views produced by The Washington Post. Please let us know if you have suggestions for topics, stories or other areas of coverage: boorsteinm@washpost.com or wanw@washpost.com.

David Waters
editor, On Faith

By Michelle Boorstein

Another salvo in the battle in mainline Christianity over sexuality and scripture.

Some of you may be following the litigation and infighting in many mainline denominations - Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian, among them - over the rights of same-gender couples. As advocates for sexual minorities have pushed harder for equality, conservatives have pushed back with a powerful narrative that intertwines sex, race and power. It says that Christianity in the West is dying, in part because of new ways of interpreting Scripture that allow equal rights for gays and lesbians, and that the new frontiers of Christian power are Africa and Asia.

By David Waters

The 60-page pastoral lecture letter on marriage issued this week by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops defends the sanctity of marriage as a "divine call" while it condemns "fundamental challenges to marriage" such as same-sex unions, contraception, cohabitation and pre-marital sex, and to a lesser degree, divorce.

"The document is meant to strengthen Christian marriage, to prepare people who are going to be married before they enter that bond to appreciate what the commitment is, and also to open a discussion in our culture as to what the differences are today and to try to reach some common ground," said Archbishop Edwin O'Brien told the Baltimore Sun.

The document, "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan," doesn't seem to leave much room for common ground. The bishops define marriage as "a permanent, faithful, fruitful partnership between one man and one woman" that has two purposes: "the good of the spouses" and "the procreation and education of children."

Post media columnist Howard Kurtz writes about a recently dismissed Washington Times editor, who has filed an EEOC complaint against the paper, "saying he was 'coerced' into attending a Unification Church religious ceremony that culminated in a mass wedding conducted by the church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Read the story.

Washignton Sketch columnist Dana Milbank observes how a group of conservative Christian pastors, "determined to test the bounds of a new law punishing anti-gay hate crimes, assembled outside the Justice Department on Monday to denounce the sin of homosexuality and see whether they would be charged with lawbreaking . . . They're prayers were not answered."

Read the column.

Today in the Post, staff writer Wil Haygood profiles Bishop Harry Jackson of Washington, the controversial Pentecostal pastor, "one of the more vociferous leaders in the anti-gay-marriage movement across the country."

Excerpt: "This is how Bishop Harry Jackson spent his summer vacation: He hustled back and forth across the District rallying his faithful flock who oppose gay marriage. He leaned into microphones over at the Board of Elections and Ethics, quoting biblical verse, decrying those who would trumpet marriage between man and man, woman and woman."

Read the full story.

By William Wan

Three former military chaplains have announced support for a repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gays in the military. The retired chaplains -- from Army, Navy and Air Force -- say they spoke with several fellow chaplains and veterans, including several returning from Iraq and Afghanistan before crafting their statement.

Their statement, released by VoteVets, lays out their argument for the repeal: It would help recruiting and retention; there are already "tens of thousands of known gay service members currently working and fighting alongside their straight peers; and there is no demonstrable negative impact on unit morale, cohesion or combat readiness."

The statement also includes a Q&A that covers a wide range of topics from the effect on group showers to roommate situations and civil unions/benefits.

By Michelle Boorstein

In Baltimore this week, where the nation's Catholic bishops are holding their annual meeting, there are two narratives (at least) about the bishops' influence in the recently-passed House health-care bill fight.

One holds that the church is on the rise, as evidenced by the House bill winding up passing with the Stupak Amendment, which bars coverage of abortion care in health care plans that are part of government programs. This amendment was the reason the bishops were able to support the bill.

But as the health care fight moves to the Senate, there is another side arguing that the bishops don't have nearly the clout to drive the debate, as evidenced by Catholic Republicans in the House who did NOT vote for the measure. In the Senate, there aren't nearly so many conservative Democrats who are allied with the Church on the importance of limiting abortion in any final health care measure.

By David Waters

Theologians began predicting the end of the world long before Hollywood did, so it's not surprising that "2012," the latest disaster blockbuster, contains more than a few religious images and references. But does Roland Emmerich's box-office hit also qualify as a theological disaster? Several faith-based reviewers are raising interesting questions about the movie's religious implications.

A review by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was disappointed by the film's "theological glibness . . . despite a plethora of religious imagery and references to faith and prayer." ,"What's genuinely disturbing about this disaster movie to end all disaster movies -- even taken as a popcorn flick engineered solely to entertain -- is the almost sadistic way (direct) Emmerich and his computer-generated special-effects wizards kill off billions of people."

A review on Focus on the Family's pluggedin.com is equally troubled by circus-style attentiveness to carnage, but appreciative of numerous Christian references: two characters singing the old Christian hymn "Will the Circle be Unbroken," another character reciting the opening of the 23rd Psalm, and several faith-based nods to the prospect of life beyond this world. This reviewer also liked the emphasis on family bonds, and "the characters' willingness to sacrifice themselves to save others."