(RNS) Religion reporters chose the 2008 elections and the controversy surrounding President-elect Barack Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as the top story of the year.
Democrats’ outreach to faith communities, and the selection of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, were chosen as the No. 2 and No. 3 top religion stories by members of the Religion Newswriters Association.
Obama was also named as the RNA’s top Religion Newsmaker of 2008.
The Top 10 list, in order, included:
1. Wright’s controversial sermons lead to the withdrawal of Obama as a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Meanwhile, GOP nominee John McCain rejects the endorsements of outspoken evangelists John Hagee and Rod Parsley.
2. Democrats increase outreach efforts to woo faith-based voters and pay more attention to evangelicals at the Democratic National Convention. Obama and McCain take part in a faith-based forum moderated by California megachurch pastor Rick Warren.
3. Sarah Palin’s GOP vice presidential nomination renews some evangelical interest in the Republican ticket but also causes a dilemma for some religious conservatives who oppose women’s leadership roles.
4. The California Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage in May is overturned in November when voters approve a constitutional amendment. Gay marriage is defeated in Arizona and Florida polls as well.
5. Pope Benedict XVI brings a message of hope during his first U.S. visit, during which he meets with victims of clergy misconduct.
6. Conservative Episcopalians ask Anglican Communion officials to permit a new Anglican Church in North America that would permit unhappy conservatives to operate under the authority of a North American bishop.
7. Terrorism, believed to be motivated at least partly by religious fervor, results in the deaths of almost 200 people in Mumbai, India, in a three-day siege that attacked a Jewish center and resulted in the death of an American rabbi and his wife. Meanwhile, attacks on Christians continued in the eastern Indian state of Orissa and elsewhere.
8. China cracks down on Buddhists hoping for Tibetan independence in a prelude to a peaceful Olympics.
9. The crumbling economy and a related drop in contributions prompts many faith-based organizations to cut back on expenses, even as there is an increased need for social services.
10. Violence continues in Iraq, with Sunnis and Shiites attacking each other and Christians also being targeted. Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Rahho is kidnapped and murdered in Mosul.
The list was determined through a poll conducted among RNA members from Monday through Wednesday. About 38 percent of the nearly 300 active members of the organization participated.
By Adelle M. Banks
Copyright 2008 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted December 12, 2008 at 7:07 pm
#3 seemed partially mythical to me, as I don’t know or remember anyone in the religious conservative camp being critical of Gov. Palin’s possible role as VP, though I’m sure that the MSM would have liked to make a big deal out of it.
posted December 12, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I don’t remember that either Tom. But I thought as part of #3 they might have mentioned the nomination of someone patently unqualified to be just a few old heartbeats away from the presidency.
The female angle may have been important to several people these reporters talk to but just didn’t make the mainstream news. Remember these are religion reporters, whatever that means, doing the voting.
posted December 12, 2008 at 8:50 pm
“Wright’s controversial sermons lead to the withdrawal of Obama as a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago”
One of the few times I thought criticism of Obama was justified.
posted December 12, 2008 at 10:29 pm
If they were voting now they’d likely include Bush’s statement that the Bible probably isn’t literally true and evolution may be true
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Brody_Evangelicals_surprised_by_Bushs_Bible_1211.html
which is apparently driving some evangelicals nuts. What they need to take from this is that it’s easy to fake their talk and it’s easy to fool them so they need to vote based on the candidates’ whole records, not what they say about an issue or two and not on whether they seem to share the same religion. This is important people.
posted December 13, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Unfortunately nnmns, many people decide what they want to believe or who they want to believe in and then try to make it justifiable. My own mother told me the other day that she blames Obama for the financial mess. I can tell you that no matter how much ones tries to keep rationality on the forefront, there is sometimes not a damn thing you can say to people.