Transcripts For WHYY Religion Ethics Newsweekly 20141228 :

Transcripts For WHYY Religion Ethics Newsweekly 20141228

Welcome. Im bob abernethy. Its good to have you with us for a look back at the top stories of 2014. E. J. Dionne is here, a senior at the brookings institution, columnist at washington post, and professor at georgetown university. Kev visible eckstrom editor in chief of religious news service. Kim lawton is managing editor of this program. As preparation for our discussion here is kims survey of the major religion stories of the past year. Across the u. S. , a series of incidents where unarmed africanamericans were killed by White Police Officers prompted a reexamination of inequities in the Law Enforcement system and of ongoing Racial Injustice in other areas of society. Clergy helped lead peaceful protests in many cities while houses of worship hosted town hall meetings. Religious leaders from across the spectrum urged dialogue and new efforts toward racial reconciliation reconciliation. Militants launched a Brutal Campaign to establish what they called a new caliphate or Islamic State in parts of syria and iraq. Isis particularly targeted religious minorities, including christians, members of the ancient uzidi faith, as well as others. Religious leaders and human Rights Groups urged Strong International action to stop what many called a new religious genocide. Undaunted, isis beheaded hostages, including americans on video and used the images as recruiting tools. Mainstream muslim groups strongly condemn the actions of isis, describing them as unislamic and morally repugnant. Many american muslim groups initiated new projects to combat violent extremism. The massive numbers of people displaced by both isis violence and the ongoing Syrian Civil War generated what the United Nations described as the worst refugee crisis since world war ii. Almost 11 million syrians have been displaced since 2011. Nearly half of the prewar population. Many have ended up in neighboring countries whose own economies have been taxed by the influx. Fadebased groups and other humanitarian groups mobilized to provide aid but were severely burdened by the huge scope of needs. Another humanitarian emergency erupted in west africa amid the worst outbreak ever of ebola. Faith groups played a prominent role in responding to the spread of the virus which has caused thousands of deaths. The outbreak prompted new conversations about the ethics of prevention and whether to use experimental drugs. Pope francis continued to make waves throughout the Catholic Church with his message of humility, openness, and reaching out to the poor and vulnerable. He took steps to reform the vatican finances and created a new subsidies commission. He also led a meeting of bishops where controversial issues were openly debated such as welcoming gays, cohabiting couples, and catholics who are divorced and remarried. Though no changes were made to Church Teachings the new tone led to speculation that some may be looming. Francis remains hugely popular, although conservatives and liberals alike were troubled by some of his actions. As samesex marriage became legal in even more u. S. States religious denominations continue to wrestle over how to respond. The Presbyterian Church usa allowed pastors to perform gay marriages in states where its legal. But in the United Methodist church there were highprofile church trials of ministers who performed such ceremonyies. There was even growing debate among evangel ankles when to accept samesex marriage. Religious groups were sharply divided over a Supreme Court ruling in the socalled hobby lobby case. 54 the justices said despite a requirement in the Affordable Care act, some forprofit corporations cannot be forced to provide contraception coverage which their owners say violates their religious belief. Cases on the issue involving religious nonprofits continue to wind their way through the courts. American religious groups were also decided amid heightened violence between israels and palestinians. Jews and many christians supported israel in this summers war against hamas in gaza. Other christians and muslims condemned what they called the disproportionate number of civilian deaths and property destruction. People of all faiths prayed for a lasting peace even at tensions among religious sites in jerusalem continued to rise. The plight of undocumented immigrants was a significant concern for religious groups especially as tens of thousands of unaccompanied Migrant Children flooded into the u. S. Largely from central america. Faith groups helped care for them and lobbied for policy changes. Finally, 2014 was the year of the bible on the big screen. From noah and moses to the son of god, the bible was epic at the box office bringing in tens of millions of dollars. Even if their interpretations of scripture didnt always sit well with the faithful. Kim, thank you for that. That was terrific. Thank you. Lets begin with race. The aftermath of the killings of young, unarmed blacks in ferguson, missouri, and new york and elsewhere, set off not only protests but a demand for a National Conversation about race. A new one. E. J. , hows that going . Well, i think weve been having the conversation for a very long time. And up to now i think whats disturbing is we usually have the same conversation over and over again. You have the sense this time and i think kims excellent piece captured some of this, this time there may have been a kind of breakthrough. Not opt in the Africanamerican Community which is obviously very upset with what is happening to young africanamerican men. But in large parts of other communities, including the white community, theres a realization that there is a real problem here. I think in particular the choking incident in new york really bothered a lot of people where there seemed no possible justification in that case. And so i like to think there may be some hope here. I also think theres hope on another front which is over the last couple of years theres been real dialogue between left and right on our sentencing laws and on how we are putting away again especially minority men, into prison for a very long time for very minor charges, particularly drug charges. I think you may actually see some action on that this year precisely because its not simply the kind of ideological issue we always seem to yell at each other about. Where are the churches in all this . Theyve been very involved. They have been sponsoring some of these conversations. Theyve been really involved in a lot of the protests and making statements. Even conservative evangelical groups which havent been at the forefront of Race Relations have been out there on this one have been talking about the need for reconciliation. Some people may differ over policy changes that may need to happen. But the fact that you have so many religious groups out there but also leading the conversations is something that is different as well. I think whats interesting is that you have a lot of white churches talking about what is ostensibly may be seen as a black problem, white churches calling their predominantly white flocks to account for, how did we get into this mess . What is there about the system that we have helped build that is so punishing to black people or to black men in particular . So theres a lot of soul searching in white churches. But especially like kim said evangelical and conservative white churches. I think you saw it in the demonstrations. After Michael Brown but especially after the michael the art garner case in staten island. The demonstrations you had in cities around the country were very multiracial. In some cities that are predominantly white, most of the demonstrators were white. I think that suggested there is at least some call to conscience here of the whole country and not simply the Africanamerican Community which has been trying to get through on this issue for a long time. Let me turn your attention to the middle east and especially to the savagery of isis and all the consequences of that. I think this has been one of the Biggest Challenges for the world, but certainly even for faith groups this year. For muslims in the u. S. And around the world to have to differentiate themselves to say, this is not our brand of islam. And we did see groups trying to stand and up do that in a more unified way in a vocal way than maybe they have in the past. And its been a real challenge for some of the faith groups in the middle east. Certainly christians and the ancient group uzidis and others have really faced the brunt of this. And people as i said in my story are calling this genocide. Its that serious a situation. And the numbers are just astonishing. Just awful about the number of people who have been killed or been displaced from their homes. What did you say . You were just back in the middle east, what did you say . In syria right now, almost half of the prewar population has been displaced. Either inside syria or to the neighboring countries. So you have these situations. I was just in turkey and meeting with refugees there. Story after story after story of people fleeing homes destroyed businesses destroyed being threatened to death convert to islam or get out, in the case of those who left iraq. Incredible stories of persecution going on on the basis of faith. Its not just a challenge for muslims as kim said. Although it is. But i think its also a challenge for other fates. Because right now theyre being confronted with this really savage view of islam. People have to decide is this what islam is . Is this what i think islam is . I was in indonesia earlier this year, which is the largest Muslim Country in the world. And the muslims there look at isis and they say, we dont understand this. We dont recognize this as islam. So its not just for muslims to confront this challenge but for other faiths to really look at this and challenge whether or not this is what they think islam really is. I think a couple of things that have come out of this. One is the plight of christians in the middle east has been dire for a long time. But i think the isis threat, because it was so awful, has really lifted up that issue. And i think that we are going to be facing this more clearly than perhaps we have been in the past. But it poses a very complicated Foreign Policy problem to the United States. I mean, the United States has been against assads regime in syria rightly so. Isis is the enemy of assad. And we find ourselves in this very odd situation where were not allied with assad but were allied against his enemy. And i think you will see something of an escalation of the american effort to push back isis. I dont think were going to send a lot of troops there president obama does not want to do that. But this is going to be a real challenge for him, for our armed forces, for the next year. Let me turn your collective attention to all reporters favorite catholic, pope francis. Not just reporters either. Hows he doing . As you probably know i am very fond of pope francis. I think he has shaken up not only the Catholic Church but i think the worlds perception of religion. One of the things that strikes me is how he has reached more secular people. I think more secular people are paying attention to him partly because of his very open attitude the idea that he doesnt sort of dismiss theological differences. He is a christian and a catholic. But he has also put heavy emphasis on how people of goodwill across religious lines ought to cooperate on making the world better. And hes opened up a really new kind of debate in the Catholic Church that you really havent seen since the Second Vatican Council and pope john xxiii. The closest thing to really open debate among bishops that youve seen in a long time. That makes some bishops uncomfortable. I think one of them said this looks a little protestant to him. But maybe it does look a little protestant, put it actually looks a lot like the Second Vatican Council. These are issues that have been there for a long time. He seems to think servicing is the debate is better, and i agree, servicing the debate is better for the church than pretending it doesnt exist. But there were well, it was interesting for a lot of people to see that debate and to see top Church Leaders openly disagreeing on for example one of the big hotbutton issues was whether catholics who are divorced and then remarried may take communion in the church. And currently they may not. And this is one area that indeed may change, which would be very interesting. Thats for the future. But the fact that it was debated so openly was very interesting for a lot of catholics and noncatholics alike. I think it troubled some catholic conservatives who are wondering exactly where is this church going . You saw more of that concern even though pope francis remains so popular. But among some conservative catholics, theyre not sure they like what hes doing. Its interesting on that front, that you can emphasize a god of judgment and you can emphasize a god of mercy, and i think a god of mercy is so central to pope francis faith that it affects almost everything. Change at all in the formal doctrine of the church but the emphasis on a got of mercy has an effect across the board. Good point. Kevin, theres a huge change going on, isnt there, about gay marriage in this country. Yes, we saw hints of it at the vatican when they were discussing issues of the family and what place gay catholics will have or not have in the church. Bua here at home the number of states that allow gay marriage doubled in 2014, from 17 to 35. It was all by court orders. And i think its fair to say that soon probably will be legal in all 50 states. The Supreme Courts probably going to need to decide that. The momentum of change is staggering. The speed of it. Whats really interesting are the conversations that churches are having around this issue. Now what you have is couples who are civilly married but they may not be married in their church. And they come to church or to synagogue or even to mosque. How are they received . What happens to them . And youve got churches trying to walk this fine line between the civil marriage, the license, and then the religious marriage. And so some churches in the example we saw all sorts of pastors brought up on charges of people, that they are not allowed to do in the church yet. Theres p lot of change going on there but i think the speed of the chpge is really really remarkable. And the change in Public Opinion is breathtaking in a very short time. We have an election this year. Ten years ago, 2004, gay marriage was a central issue. It was im sure it was discussed in some places but it was hardly central to this election. I think that reflects the fact that an awful lot of people have changed their view on this issue, including very conservative people who may have particular views on w ats sinful and whats not. But the fact that so many people phave gay friends gay neighbors, gay relatives has really come to the surface in this debate. I think its a very different country on this issue than it was a decade ago. That is putting new pressure on some of the groups, specifically im thinking of evangelicals and conservative homosexuality is a sin do not want to accept gay marriage, dont want to see society as accepting gay marriage. As society does accept that where does that leave them, what do they do . Is there room for them to hang on to their bq iefs . And so its opened up some interesting legal questions. But also i think some interesting moral discussion. We are seeing more evangelicals raising questions. Should we accept gay marriage am in some way . Can we do that . If ut think homosexuality is a sin . You did see movement on this issue. You saw change perhaps in tone among, for example souahern baptists. And many of them, some very prominent leaders this year sort of stepped away from the pray away the gay therapies to get gay people not to be gay. Many of them have stepped away from that. And thats really interesting. But what happens then to the people who are gay and lesbian, if theyre in those kind churches . I think youre pointing to something that may be developing time, there may be less and lesj opposition to gay marriage as performed by the state. And it will come back to a religious liberty queaurjjy where curves to reject homosexuality, think its a sin, say okay, we can live with this as a civil matter but we want to preserve our rights not to mar y, not to use our facilities. I think you may see a shift in debate in that direction. And there was saat interesting church state stuff. Hobby lobby, my favorite just the name, saying it. r t hahp hc thats right you hike saying that. Well, again this has been an issue thats raised interesting church state questions. Ever since the obama Administrations Health Care act had provisions for contraceptive services there are some faithbased groups, mainly who think some of those services are tantamount to abortion. In the case of catholics theyre againqe jut services. To what extent must they provide them for their employees or provide a way for employees to have access to them . The Supreme Court said some businesses who are run by deeply religious people closely held businesses can have religious rights. There are religious rights in those businesses to make those deciarjj whats interesting is there are some faithbased groups, an order of nuns, some religious universities, that are still fighting in the courts to see where theyre going to land. I think what we saw, not only at the Supreme Court, but across the federal court system, was a string of rulings that really sided on the church side of the church state debate. ahere are a lot of challenges from eighth yist groups cha lenging in god we trust on currency, they lost. The

© 2025 Vimarsana