Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary tomorrow begins a conference on "What is the Evangelical Mission in the Public Square," featuring a variety of evangelical luminaries. The conference is honoring a longtime professor at the school, David F. Wells, who is retiring. I conducted a brief Q&A with Wells which was published in yesterday's Boston Globe magazine:

Is it different being an evangelical in Massachusetts than somewhere in the Bible Belt?
It undoubtedly is. Here you make a choice whether you want to be an evangelical believer. You have to be serious about it. In the South, it might be more following convention and habit or a family pattern.

You’re not impressed by the high percentage of Americans who say they’re born again.
The more important thing is the loss of Christian substance. In the long run, people who act inconsistently with what they proclaim are far more damaging to the Christian faith than the attacks that atheists launch.

What do you mean?
Many of those who claim to be born again don’t live very differently than those who don’t make that claim. Biblical faith really should be producing moral authenticity and integrity -- you should see it in honesty, courage in articulating enduring moral principles, and the sacrificial giving to good causes.

You’re on the board of an organization that builds Christian orphanages in Africa. Why that cause?
I’m an African. I was born in Zimbabwe. I’ve had an extraordinarily blessed life, and I thought at least I could give back a little to the land of my birth.

There’s been a lot of talk about whether younger evangelicals are more open to the Democratic Party than their elders.
I believe that older alliances between the Republican Party and various segments of the evangelical world are a lot weaker now. And I do think that what you have, especially amongst younger people, is a yearning for what is real and authentic and a deep distaste for what is hypocritical, and they find an awful lot of conventional political life to be phony and fabricated and manipulative.

What evangelical trends will you be watching in the future?
I’m encouraged by the younger generation. They know how empty our postmodern culture has become, and they’re not looking for Christian faith that’s an echo of that. They are quite tough-minded, and I find a lot that’s hopeful about this generation.

(Photo, by Webb Chappelle for the Boston Globe, shows David Wells at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary on Sept. 24, 2009.)

Rob Bell is one of the hottest names in contemporary evangelical life. He is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but is better known for his books, and especially, for his road show, which combines preaching with performance art, and is much-talked among folks trying to discern what’s next for American evangelicalism. He is currently touring in conjunction with a book, “Drops Like Stars: A Few Thoughts on Creativity and Suffering,’’ and last weekend he appeared at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston. I caught up with Bell by telephone in Ottawa to ask him about what he’s up to.

Q: What does it mean to you to be an evangelical?
A: I take issue with the word to a certain degree, so I make a distinction between a capital ‘E’ and a small ‘e.’ I was in the Caribbean in 2004, watching the election returns with a group of friends, and when Fox News, in a state of delirious joy, announced that evangelicals had helped sway the election, I realized, this word has really been hijacked. I find the word troubling, because it has come in America to mean politically to the right, almost, at times, anti-intellectual. For many, the word has nothing to do with a spiritual context.

Q: OK, how would you describe what it is that you believe?
A: I embrace the term evangelical, if by that we mean a belief that we together can actually work for change in the world, caring for the environment, extending to the poor generosity and kindness, a hopeful outlook. That's a beautiful sort of thing.

Q: Is religion a part of that?
A: At the heart of the Christian story is resurrection, the belief that this word is good, and that, as a follower of Jesus, a belief that God hasn’t abandoned the world, but is actively at work in the world. Even in the midst of what can look like despair and destruction there is a new creation present.

Q: You’re sometimes described as an evangelical rock star, and portrayed as a kind of evangelical celebrity. What do you make of that?
A: It's a little unnerving, to say the least. Celebrity seems totally at odds with authentic community and honest, real sorts of relationships.

Q: But you come out of the rock world?
A: I was in a band. Some friends and I had a band. We were convinced we were the next great saviors of rock music.

Q: Do you preach, or perform?
A: I came up through your standard go-to-seminary path, served as an apprentice pastor, did weddings and funerals and hospital visits, but I always veered toward creating things. I was always setting stuff on fire, building things, bringing in piles of dirt. And I started to realize that there’s a dimension to the sermon in which it’s a kind of performance art. Over the years, I’ve realized that I have as much in common with the performance artist, the standup comedian, the screenwriter, as I do with the theologian. I’m in an odd world where I make things and share them with people.

Q: Presumably your events have a different goal than those of a stand-up comedian?
A: At the heart of the historic Christian story has been an insistence that every individual matters. So I think, for a lot of people, just hearing you matters. There are great causes of our day, and we can each take a small role and do something about that.

Q: But what is the purpose of your tours?
A: One is that, when you work really hard to create something, a book or a film or a sermon, it’s just pure joy to share it with people. Tonight I’m in Ottawa, and I’ll go up and for two hours take people on a journey through the content of the book. It’s the joy of the communal gathering, taking these ideas and turning them loose. At the most basic level, it’s just great fun.

Q: What is this tour about?
A: Give me the right music and lighting and setting, and you can do almost anything. What’s far more interesting is when people are presented with ideas and begin to reshape the way you see the world. This tour, I’m walking people through suffering and creativity. How many people, if you ask them to talk about defining moments in their lives, mention really hard things? People rarely say, ‘Well, I went on vacation…’ These moments in our lives that are the most traumatic, that we would do anything to avoid, end up in retrospect being the moments that shape us. My goal is to create an experience that opens people up. There is no altar call. No one comes down and checks a box.

Q: Why do you perform in entertainment venues?
A: I'm most comfortable in clubs and theaters. That's where I feel most at home. And I don’t believe the church is a building – it’s a group of people who have gathered around the resurrection. I don’t even buy the idea that a pile of bricks somewhere is a church. There may be more church going on at the punk rock club anyway. And people will say things like that – ‘We were at a crap dive, and I had a strange feeling that I was experiencing the divine.’’

Q: How did you get interested in suffering?
A: As a pastor, you get invited into the most poignant moments of people’s lives. Whether it's a wedding or a funeral or a hospital visit, you get invited into the center of the event, whether or not you know the people. So I repeatedly found myself literally in the front row of the most visceral, traumatic sorts of moments in people’s lives. And then, just doing lectures at a creativity forum and a writing festival, and talking about how art comes to be, there was a connection between these two halves of my life – all these connections between suffering and art-making.

Q: What have you learned from thinking about suffering?
A: For a lot of people, dominant questions center around, ‘Why is this happening? Why me? Why now?’ Unfortunately, the religious voice often enters into the discussion at an inappropriate time – ‘God just planned this.’ Really? Your God planned this, not mine. Maybe there's great wisdom in holding our tongue. The religious voice starts talking when it should probably be quiet. And there is a human response to suffering that often involves anger and hurt. That's totally normal and OK. My dad’s dad died when my dad was 8, and the culture in which he lived said, ‘We will not grieve, because that would be questioning God.’ People have all of this stuff in there, brewing and bubbling, and yet oftentimes people are handed this framework that doesn’t allow them to be human.

Q: Do people now just come up to you to talk about their own pain?
A: Yes, it opens up all sorts of things for people. In our church, we have all sorts of people who are really good at this. Generally, I am not the answer to people's problems. What people need are a community of friends, trusted people they can work this through with. I'll often just say, “Do you have people you can wrestle through this with? And, if you don't, can we hook you up with people? Whatever you're struggling with, we would love to introduce you to somebody, because there's somebody who's been through this.’’

Q: I’m struck by the fact that I don’t hear a lot of explicitly religious language, or mentions of Jesus, from you.
A: I think we have enough religious people who are going around trying to convert people. My guard is up when somebody is trying to convert me to their thing. Are you talking to me because you actually are interested in this subject, because you care about me as a human, or am I one more possible conversion that will make you feel good about your religiosity? I don’t have any embarrassment about my religion, and it’s not that I'm too cool, but I would hope that the Jesus message would come through, hopefully through a full humanity. If you have something to say, whether you're religious or not, if it is truly Christian and Jesus-centered, then it will help and be interesting and compelling to people, regardless of their world view. But I’m not just interested in talking to Christians. I'm interested in what does it mean to be fully human.

Q: Do you think of Boston as different from other parts of the country, because there are fewer evangelicals?
A: People have said, when you go out East, get ready! But, honestly, the Boston audiences are as expressive and enthusiastic as any, and strikingly so. They're even louder, literally just actually louder, every time we've been to Boston. I don’t alter what I'm saying in any city. And in the Bible Belt, a lot of people in the Bible Belt have very conservative fundamentalist voices in their head, so they're listening to me, and I 'm realizing at the same time they have all these other religious voices in their head commenting on what I'm saying, whereas in cultures that are less churched, there is much more freedom to listen and engage. So if anything the resonance is stronger in the cities.

(Photo, by Jim Frost, shows Rob Bell on tour.)

Harvard Divinity Professor Harvey Cox, fresh off his cow-grazing expedition in Harvard Yard, flew out to Minnesota to speak yesterday at a breakfast for religion writers gathered here for the 60th annual convention of the Religion Newswriters Association. Cox has been a professor at Harvard since 1965, and is now retired, but he's still teaching and still writing, and now promoting a new book called, ambitiously, "The Future of Faith.'' Cox has been at this a long time, and has a lot of interesting observations after a career thinking about the state of religion in the world, but among his central arguments is this: "I do not think fundamentalisms are going to last much longer.'' Cox argues that fundamentalist movements -- and he cautions against describing any serious expression of religion as fundamentalist -- are doomed both by the flow of history, and by what he describes as an inevitable internal fractiousness that erodes any fundamentalist movement's vitality. He cited as evidence what he called "the decreasing effectiveness of the religious right in America'' as well as what he sees as "growing opposition" in the Muslim world to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. "They've been blowing up buildings and tearing down statues, but where is the food? Where are the jobs?'' he said.

Cox also points out a dramatic shift underway in Christianity, because a majority of the world's Christians now live outside of Christianity's historic territory of the Middle East, Europe and North America. "We can no longer think of Christianity as a Western religion,'' he said. "That has not just a demographic, but a theological dimension, mainly because they are living among the poor, and constantly dealing with the fact that their faith is only one option among many.''

Cox advised reporters to keep an eye on two trends in the future: the changing nature of evangelicalism in the U.S., and the growth of Christianity in China. He also noted that there are tensions in the way religion is seen by theologians and bishops -- who tend to view faith as a set of beliefs -- and the way religion is often seen by laypeople -- who often view faith as a series of experiences. He connected this to the spectacular growth of Pentecostalism, which, he said, emphasizes the experiential.

Finally, on the home front, Cox rejected the notion of a godless Harvard. He noted that there are adherents of 51 different religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School, said the university "can't add enough courses" about religion to keep up with demand, and said, "on any given weekend, more Harvard students are worshiping today than at any time since 1636." But he also noted that, although he had balked at grazing a cow named "Pride" in Harvard Yard because pride is one of the seven deadly sins, a friend had joked, "I thought, at Harvard, pride was not a sin.''

(Photo, by Erik Jacobs for the Boston Globe, shows Harvard professor Harvey Cox in Harvard Yard on August 27, 2009.)

At a panel on immigration and faith at the Religion Newswriters Association convention Thursday, Luis Lugo, the director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, made a few interesting observations:

• Immigration is leading to an increase in the number of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims in the United States, but a large majority of new immigrants are Christian. This stands in contrast to the situation in Europe, where a much higher percentage of immigrants are non-Christian.
• Although Protestants outnumber Catholics in the United States, new immigrants are overwhelmingly Catholic, and as a result, "immigration is tilting the balance within American Christianity in favor of Catholicism." Also, Lugo said, "We're very close to becoming a minority Protestant country.''
• Many of the new immigrants are from Latin America, Africa and Asia. "What we are seeing is not the de-Christianization of America, but the de-Europeanization of American Christianity,'' he said. One effect of this, he said, is a rise in Pentecostal and charismatic worship styles in US churches, because those more expressive forms of worship are often preferred by immigrants from the Global South.
• Nearly a quarter of all Catholics in the United States are foreign born -- the highest percentage among any of the nation's largest faith groups. "To know what the country will be like in three decades, look at the Catholic Church,'' he said.
• The Muslim population in the United States is more diverse, in terms of national origin, than the Muslim population in any other country on earth. No more than 8 percent of American Muslims is from any one country. This, again, contrasts with the situation in Europe, where, for example, many German Muslims are from Turkey, many Spanish Muslims are from Morocco, and many French Muslims are from Algeria.

Two members of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, speaking from opposite ends of the theological spectrum, today suggested that they have pretty limited expectations for the panel.

Speaking at the annual convention of the Religion Newswriters Association, Frank S. Page, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said, "I do not think anything of substance will come out of it. The policy recommendations will be relatively innocuous -- nothing of great substance.'' Page is probably the most conservative member of the panel -- he described himself as the "resident fundamentalist,'' but he said he has access to the White House, expects to have a chance to talk directly with the president, is honored to be on the council, and said that "I think his heart is right with regard to some issues.''

The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, who is the president-elect of the National Council of Churches, didn't seem to have particularly high expectations for specific policy outcomes as a result of the diverse panel either, but she praised the effort at inclusiveness and listening. Interestingly, she opined that mainline Protestant leaders have less access to the Obama White House than do evangelical leaders, or even Catholics and Jews, but she suggested that that probably has more to do with the political skills and interests of the leaders, rather than any strategic effort by the White House.

USA Today's Cathy Grossman has a bit more on the discussion here.

Some items on my reading list this Wednesday:

The Red Sox and Yom Kippur: The final Red Sox-Yankees game of the regular season has been moved to accommodate Yom Kippur. The conflict (caused when ESPN sought to have the game moved from the afternoon to the evening of Sunday Aug. 27) was discussed in Tablet magazine; the Associated Press explains the move back to the original time period.

Kennedy and that Mormon temple: The Belmont Citizen-Herald has a story examining local reaction to a tribute to Senator Kennedy by Senator Orrin Hatch, in which Hatch suggested that Kennedy somehow helped the Mormons get permission to put a spire with a statue of the angel Moroni atop their temple in Belmont. Trouble is, the decision was made by the courts, so the Hatch comments raised the question of whether Kennedy interfered with the judiciary, for which there appears to be no evidence. Additional comment at Religion Clause and from Dan Kennedy.

Bible translations: Zondervan yesterday announced that a new translation is in the works for the New International Version of the Bible, which the publisher claims is the world's most popular translation. Ted Olsen at Christianity Today says some decisions about recent revisions are now considered "mistakes." And Eric Gorski of the Associated Press explains the controversy over gender terms in the text.

I'm compiling here statements from religious leaders about the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Check back for updates -- I'll add the statements as they come in.

From Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston:

Today we mourn the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and we extend our heartfelt prayers and sincere condolences to his wife Victoria and their children, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran and Caroline. Senator Kennedy was blessed with a dedicated and loving family who stood by his side, particularly during the past year as he faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.

We join with his colleagues in Congress and the people of Massachusetts in reflecting on his life and his commitment to public service. For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served.

We pray for the repose of his soul and that his family finds comfort and consolation in this difficult time.

From Barry Shrage, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies:

Like so many people, I mourn the loss of Ted Kennedy. Ted and his brothers were heroes to me, giants in the fight to make a better world of equality, justice and caring.

I’ve never forgotten the first time I met Ted Kennedy. I was 40 years old and brand new to Boston and Ted Kennedy appeared at a CJP event. Steve Grossman introduced us and we spoke. Actually Ted Kennedy spoke - I was speechless. I was speechless because Ted Kennedy was the living embodiment of my best dreams for America and for the world. He was a great leader all by himself but also a symbol of something that powerfully changed my life and the aspirations of my generation.

These changes started with JFK. I never met John F. Kennedy though his picture was on my desk from the day he was murdered in 1963 until I graduated from social work school in 1970. I handed out campaign fliers on the Grand Concourse and Fordham Road in the Bronx when he ran for President. I was 13 and it was 1960. His election taught me something about ideas and the possibility of change.

I did meet Robert Kennedy. During the middle of the Cuban missile crisis, he came to speak at a Democratic Party fundraiser at the Concourse Plaza Hotel where I was working at the time. I was 15 and scared out of my mind.

Robert kept the dream alive. When he ran for the US Senate from New York in 1965, I chaired Students for Kennedy at City College, and I worked for him again when he ran for President in 1968…..a last hope for peace and justice at a time when I was obsessed with both. His assassination, like his brother’s, was shattering.

By the time I met Ted Kennedy, most of my political energy was focused on our Jewish community and its hopes and dreams, for Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry, for a strong Israel, and for justice for the poor and forgotten of our community and of the broader community within which we live.

And whenever the Jewish community needed help, Ted Kennedy was always there. Ted Kennedy was a tireless advocate for Soviet Jewry and went to the Soviet Union to meet with refuseniks on many occasions. Ted Kennedy advocated for their freedom and he advocated for Israel. Through war and peace he always listened. He was always there. He never refused a meeting and he always stood up for Israel.

Ted Kennedy despised anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred bigotry and racism. Ted Kennedy was our own Massachusetts hero and a symbol of the determination of Americans and Jews everywhere for justice and righteousness.

If his brothers were the symbol of the dream that drove and continues to drive my generation, Ted represented the hard work required, day in and day out to turn those dreams into reality. Boston, Massachusetts, our people, the Jews of Greater Boston and all the oppressed of the earth will all miss him.

Our condolences are extended to his entire family.

From the Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA):

I am saddened by the news of Senator Edward Kennedy’s passing and express my condolences to the Kennedy family. Our country has lost a great leader who tirelessly defended the basic rights of all Americans and stood on the side of those people who were most vulnerable. He devoted his decades-long career in the U.S. Senate to advancing the causes of economic justice, immigration reform, and universal health care. His dedication to making government more just and compassionate has been an inspiration to Americans of many faith traditions. Senator Kennedy had a gift for reaching out to religious people and lifting up our shared commitment to equality and the betterment of humanity. We can honor Senator Kennedy by carrying forward his legacy of working on behalf of those who are marginalized in this country. We must – and we will – continue advocating for the living wage, immigration reform, and health care for all. By giving our resources and commitment to the causes of fairness and equality, we move toward realizing the American dream to which Kennedy dedicated his years of public service.

From the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston:

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) is deeply saddened by the passing of Senator Edward Moore Kennedy. A model of dedication to the Commonwealth and the nation as a whole, Senator Kennedy embodied the values that our community stands for - social and economic justice, and the fair treatment for all Americans, including its most vulnerable citizens. His ability to create unlikely alliances allowed for a legacy of significant accomplishments in the Senate that have improved the lives of countless Americans. Senator Kennedy was also a true and loyal friend to the State of Israel and provided unwavering support to her in her quest for peace over the years. His leadership in these areas and more will be sorely missed.

Nancy K. Kaufman, Executive Director, said, "Ted Kennedy, who was my Senator from the time I could vote, exhibited his commitment to core Jewish values. Senator Kennedy has worked tirelessly with us on major issues such as health care reform, care for the poor, disabled, and elderly, advocacy for former Soviet Jewry, and support for Israel." Ms. Kaufman stated, "We will all miss his passion and his commitment to democratic issues and values, and we must continue his legacy of advocacy for social justice. May his memory be for a blessing always."

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Kennedy family and all the individuals who were touched by the work and compassion of Senator Kennedy.

From the Anti-Defamation League's New England region:

The Anti-Defamation League New England mourns the death of long time friend Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) following his long and courageous battle with brain cancer.

We mourn the passing of the Senator, a great American, a master legislator and a passionate champion of our nation’s democratic values and fundamental commitment to equality and fair treatment to all.

Senator Kennedy’s leadership on immigration reform was instrumental. Upon the 50th anniversary of his brother, President John F. Kennedy’s essay, "A Nation of Immigrants," ADL reissued the book. Senator Kennedy wrote in the introduction, "The urgent issue before us is about the future of America. It is about our pride for our immigrant past and our pride for our immigrant future."

Esta Epstein, Regional Board Chair and Derrek Shulman, Regional Director praised the work, legacy and the path that Senator Kennedy brought to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the world. "We will continue to champion his values and work as we move forward."

From Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, a progressive evangelical organization:

In the aftermath of the 2004 Presidential elections, the Democrats were roundly accused of losing the "moral values voters" in America, and of being the party of "secularists" who were hostile to faith and religion. The very first Democrat to call me and ask to talk about that accusation and how to change the moral debate in America was Ted Kennedy. He invited me to his home, where he, and his wife Vicki, engaged me in a long and very thoughtful conversation, into the night, about the relationship between faith, morality, and politics. Their own deep Catholic faith was evident and their articulation of it very impressive. Our discussion was not partisan at all--it was not about how to win religion back for the Democrats. Rather, we focused on the great moral issues facing the nation, and how we as people of faith needed to respond to them.

On the occasion of his death, I pray that God may now move us as a nation to address the greatest commitment of Senator Kennedy's life--the need for a comprehensive reform of the health care system in America--as a deeply moral issue and one that calls forth the very best that is within us. May we honor the life and death of Senator Edward Kennedy by laying aside the rancor, lies, fear, and even hate that has come to dominate the health care debate in America this summer; and regain our moral compass by recovering the moral core of this debate: that too many Americans are hurting and suffering in a broken and highly inequitable health care system; and that it is our moral obligation to repair and reform it--Now.

From Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good:

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Senator Edward Kennedy. Senator Kennedy, a man of deep and abiding Catholic faith, dedicated his life to noble public service. In pursuing the common good and advocating for human dignity around the globe, Senator Kennedy’s 46 year career was a reflection of the core values of the Catholic Social Tradition. He championed the cause of justice for the poor, the immigrant, and the most vulnerable and throughout his career demonstrated the value of civility, compassion, and compromise on matters of critical public concern. May Senator Kennedy’s deep faith and commitment to the common good serve as a model for us all.

From Catholic Democrats:

Catholic Democrats mourns the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), one of the most important Catholic political leaders in our country's history. The third longest serving member of the Senate, Kennedy's life exemplified a commitment to public service. His irreplaceable brand of leadership in Congress and to the nation led to the passage of unprecedented landmark legislation that covered a broad range of social justice issues which reflected both Catholic Social Teaching and his deep personal faith. He touched the lives of hundreds of millions of people, providing for their fundamental human needs, opening doors of opportunity, and helping create a more just society.

"Senator Kennedy's Catholicism was at the core of his identity," said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats. "The common thread that runs through everything he accomplished was his belief in building things for the benefit of others, particularly those most in need. I believe this is the essence of being a good Catholic, and I think it's right at the heart of Senator Kennedy's entire legacy."

"The 'Lion of the Senate', Senator Kennedy brought the passion of his beliefs to, in his own words, "all those whose cares have been our concern" while at the same time reconciling differences between his colleagues from both sides of the aisle. He was both a fighter and a healer. He fought for universal health care, "the cause of my lifetime" he said, until the very end of his life. Both Republican and Democratic leaders will greatly miss his leadership in making universal health care a reality," said Whelan, a pediatric specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Senator Kennedy's passing is an immeasurable loss to our country and the world. He inspired liberals and earned the respect of conservatives. He was the conscience of our nation, particularly on the necessity of providing health care to all and on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "His remarkable life's journey - one of overcoming insurmountable challenges through faith - provides inspiration for all of us in our own personal journeys and in serving the common good."

"We offer our most heartfelt prayers to the Senator's family in this time of sadness. There will never be another Ted Kennedy," said Whelan.

(Photo of Cardinal O'Malley taken in Cuba by AFP/Getty Images on August 18, 2009. Photo of Barry Shrage courtesy of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Photo of Rev. Morales courtesy of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Photo of Nancy Kaufman taken in Boston by Janet Knott of the Globe staff on August 19, 1999. Photo of Jim Wallis taken in Boston by Wiqan Ang for the Boston Globe on February 11, 2008.)

Monday morning several hundred people gathered under a white tent on a muddy 6.5 acre construction site in Dorchester where, if all goes according to plan, in early 2011 a large new community center will open with a large array of recreational and educational facilities.

I was interested because the Boston Kroc Corps Community Center is being sponsored by the Salvation Army, a small Protestant denomination that has devoted itself to providing a large array of social services to some of the most down-and-out residents of America's cities. The charitable work has won the Army lots of fans, but none more generous than the late Joan Kroc, the wife of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who left the denomination $1.5 billion.

Part of that money is being used to build 30 community centers around the country, and the one in Boston, which is on Dudley Street hard by the Uphams Corner commuter rail station, is the only one in New England. The 90,000 square-foot project has a staggering $115.5 million budget, of which $85.5 million came from Mrs. Kroc. The budget includes a $45 million endowment, the income from which will be used to partially finance the center's operations.

At the groundbreaking, lots of dignitaries spoke about all the programs that the center will offer -- including education (ESL and vocational training), social services (food pantry, heat assistance), health (a fitness center, pool, and counseling), and performing arts (facilities for theater and music) -- but I was interested in the religious element, so I called up Major William H. Bode, the Salvation Army's divisional commander. Here's a rough transcript of our conversation:

Q: What role will religion play in this project?
A: We already have a corps, which is a congregation, in Roxbury, about a mile away, and when the new center is built, that congregation will move into the Kroc Center and have worship there on Sunday. Anybody who wants to can worship there. All Salvation Army buildings have worship components to them.

Q: But anyone can use the center?
A: They do not have to be members. I always say to people, if everybody we served, or everybody who came to our programs, came to church and became a member, we we would be the largest church in every city in the U.S. But there is no such requirement.

Q: So why do you do this?
A: In the Bible, when there were people in need who were blind, Jesus healed them. He didn't ask them whether they believed or not. He healed them. When we feed people, or whatever we do, we never ask them what their belief is. We're following the example of Christ to help. We believe we have a mandate from God to help people, to give them that cup of water, or food, or provide a safe place for them to come. If they want to ask why do we do these things, we're more than happy to share why, but that's never a criteria for them to be helped or served or part of a program.

Q: What about the staff?
A: We have 65 to 70 people who work at our headquarters, and I can't tell you what their beliefs are, but the majority are not members of the Army.

Q: A lot of people don't even know that the Salvation Army is a Protestant denomination.
A: We are a denomination of our own. We do have our beliefs, and they align themselves in most ways like Methodists or Nazarenes or a lot of other people. We also have some unique things, like uniforms and other stuff. But the bottom line is the Lord wants us to love people, and we show that love by helping them, whether at a fire, a disaster, a child who needs a safe place, or senior citizens -- they are all welcome to come take advantage of any of our programs.

Q: What is the size of the Salvation Army in Massachusetts?
A: We have about 40 centers of operation -- buildings where we provide service as well as have worship. We're one of the biggest social service agencies in the state. And we have about 3,500 members.

(Photos, by Joanne Rathe/Globe staff, show the groundbreaking celebration for the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Boston on July 27, 2009. Photo at top shows Catalina Gooding and Sylvia Vales singing at the event; photo at bottom shows Vladimir Mesidor praying at the event.)

I was wondering how long I could hold out before blogging about Michael Jackson, and now I know the answer: six days.

In those days since the King of Pop died, I've now seen so many items about his faith that my head is starting to spin. He was a Jehovah's Witness. A Muslim. He accepted Jesus before he died. The Vatican loved him, but was that right? There's even a Jewish angle of sorts. Not to mention the unending discussion of what it means to call him an icon, or an idol. Some folks have suggested that his funeral will shed some light on his final faith practices, but I'm not holding out much hope for that.

Here is a brief Michael Jackson religion roundup. Make of it what you will:

• Jackson was raised a Jehovah's Witness, and there have been a variety of unconfirmed reports that at some point he was disfellowshipped by the Witnesses. Back in 2000, Jackson penned an essay for Beliefnet about his relationship to the Sabbath, and in it he discussed doorbelling to preach for the Witnesses:
  

  "Sundays were my day for 'Pioneering,' the term used for the missionary work that Jehovah's Witnesses do. We would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door to door or making the rounds of a shopping mall, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I continued my pioneering work for years and years after my career had been launched."

  
  
• Jackson's brother Jermaine is a Muslim, and there were some reports during Michael's life that he, too, converted to Islam. The Times of London rounds up the evidence in an item headlined, "Was Michael Jackson Muslim?"; there was also a roundup on Global Voices. Imam Zaid Shakir blogged about Jackson's conversion to Islam, and then retracted his blog item, concluding, "There have been many reports throughout the media concerning Michael becoming Muslim. Allah knows best as to their veracity.'' Perhaps my favorite development on the role of Islam in the Michael Jackson story, though, was this correction that ran Saturday in The New York Times, revising a comment that Jermaine Jackson made at the hospital where Michael Jackson died:
  

  "The article...misstated part of a comment that Mr. Jackson’s brother Jermaine offered for Mr. Jackson after speaking with reporters. He said, “May Allah be with you always,” not “May our love be with you always.”

• Not to be outdone, Christianity Today tackles the question, "Was Michael Jackson a Christian?" The evangelical magazine explores, and then essentially debunks, suggestions that Jackson accepted Jesus just before his death. "Initial rumors that the King of Pop had accepted Christ may have been false,'' the magazine concludes.

• The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, meanwhile, offers a story on Michael Jackson's "Jewish Ties,'' which turn out to be quite complex -- he said some offensive things, he was friends with a rabbi, he flirted with kabbalah (who didn't?) and it's possible that at least two of his children are technically Jewish because Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who has been thought to be the biological mother of the children, is Jewish. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a onetime friend of Jackson, wrote a generous appraisal for Beliefnet; Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the head of the Reform movement, offers a far more critical assessment, asking,
  

  "Is it really necessary, however, now that he is dead, for those who speak in the name of the Jewish community to be joining in the adulation and offering excuses for his actions?"

  
  
• Some in the Catholic community are similarly conflicted. L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published a generous appreciation of Jackson's legacy, prompting Tom Heneghan of Reuters to observe: "It’s not every day that the Vatican newspaper suggests that a man accused of pedophilia and said to have converted to Islam might be immortal. But that’s what L’Osservatore Romano did today." Over at American Papist, Thomas Peters is not amused, calling the Vatican paper's assessment "fawning'' and suggesting that it could never have appeared in a parish newsletter:
  

  "Jackson, it should be noted, from all outside accounts, lived a tortured existence and the circumstances of his death should prompt an outpouring of fervent prayers for his soul, not these gushing, Hollywood-esque bon mots about how his "myth" will survive "serious and shameful" accusations. All the artistic success in the world, we must realize, is a basket of straw if your personal life was a spiritual, human wreck. I really dig Michael Jackson's music, but as a Catholic, I don't have to buy into the myth that great art makes a great man. Michael Jackson's best chance to "never die" is the mercy of Christ, not his best-selling record."

  
  

"Jackson was a man of multiple identities, which helped account for his enormous worldwide popularity. It seems clear that he was deeply traumatized by his rough show business childhood, and that things happened to him to arrest his development. Just as a stem cell can grow into any organ, Michael's eternal boyishness made him a chameleon. Increasingly androgynous, he expressed both male and female. A boy and yet a father, he was both child and adult. In part because of his vitiligo, he interrogated his blackness and became, like some other powerful and wealthy African-Americans of his generation, racially ambiguous. Toward the end of his life he bridged his family's Jehovah's Witness brand of Christianity with a profound interest in Islam. He was all things to all people in part precisely because of his Peter Pan syndrome. A child can grow up to become anything, after all."

Andover Newton Theological School (right) this week announced that it is pursuing a possible merger with Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, prompting me to take a look at the variety of ways in which local theological schools are adapting to new economic and educational realities. Here's an excerpt from the story:

"The decision by Andover Newton follows several innovative arrangements by local theological schools facing financial or enrollment pressures.

In Cambridge, Episcopal Divinity School is in the midst of a new partnership with Lesley University, in which Lesley is purchasing seven buildings from EDS, the land is being governed cooperatively by the two schools, a joint library is about to be launched, and Lesley is taking over buildings and grounds, custodial services, and dining services for EDS. The two schools expect at some point to discuss academic cooperation.

In Brighton, Boston College has absorbed Weston Jesuit School of Theology, which had been located in Cambridge, and Boston College is also providing facilities assistance to St. John's Seminary, which is on land the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston recently sold to the university. In Newton, Andover Newton is already sharing maintenance staffs and some academic programming with Hebrew College, which is now having conversations with other potential partner institutions.

On the North Shore, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical Protestant institution that is by far the largest local theological school, has adapted to the new climate by opening additional campuses in North Carolina, Jacksonville, Fla., and Roxbury and sharing faculty and administration among the campuses.

'When you have a fixed amount of money, are you going to spend it on gutters and downspouts or scholarships and scholars?' asked Nick Carter, president of Andover Newton. 'Folks are looking at the challenge of overhead versus the delivery of mission.'"

(Photo, by Wendy Maeda of the Globe staff, shows a building at Andover Newton on May 27, 2009.)

Central Congregational Church, a 161-year-old church in Middleborough was damaged in a four-alarm fire yesterday. From the story in today's Globe:

"Hundreds of residents who had gathered early for the town's Memorial Day parade, which was canceled, watched from Town Hall across the street as the fire raged. Veterans of past wars in crisp uniforms mingled with children clutching flags in the silent gathering.

'I just can't believe it,' whispered Ronald Matthews, a Vietnam War veteran who served as a Marine sergeant and wore military dress and rows of gleaming medals. Like so many others, Matthews planned to ride in yesterday's parade.

'My daughter was married in that church,' Matthews said, as his wife, Joyce, held his arm.

Fire officials continued to investigate the cause of the blaze late yesterday afternoon, but they said it did not appear to be suspicious.

...The fire appears to have begun in a back kitchen and traveled up a wall and into the steeple, Benjamino said. Fire officials determined that much of the church's interior was a loss, but firefighters were able to retrieve a large cross from the altar, a candelabra, Bibles, and dozens of paintings, pictures, and other religious items.

Benjamino estimated the cost of the damage in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but he said town building inspectors have determined much of the church 'structurally sound at this time, from the basement to the eaves.'"

(Photos by George Rizer, Globe staff. A full photo gallery of the Middleborough church fire is here.)

The weekend before last, I was feeling discouraged about the news business, so I wound up constructing a journalism double feature, of "State of Play" and "The Soloist,'' to bask in the Hollywoodization of my profession for a bit. Both films provided romantic depictions of reporters -- sure, they had failed personal lives and were difficult employees and, in the case of "State of Play,'' had serious ethical problems -- but they were passionate about telling stories that mattered, and the loving footage of presses rolling and newspapers being tossed onto lawns made me nostalgic for an era that actually hasn't ended, but is obviously in serious trouble.

But this is the religion blog, so I'm here to discuss a religion angle in "The Soloist.'' Perhaps it's not shocking to report that Hollywood does not seem to have the same affection for evangelical Protestants as it has for endangered journalists, at least not as depicted in "The Soloist,'' which left me wondering if there is any kind of anti-defamation league for evangelicals in America. I suppose that my work as a religion reporter means I spend so much time with people of all faiths that I find it hard to connect with the knee-jerk hostility some provoke, but I was actually sort of amazed by the gratuitously negative depiction of a Bible-thumping Los Angeles Philharmonic cellist (!) in the film, especially once I learned that, even though the film depicts actual events, the evangelical musician is a fictitious character cooked up in the imagination of the filmmakers. The cellist, named Graham Claydon (played by Tom Hollander) is brought in by the film's hero, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), to help a homeless and mentally ill Juilliard dropout, Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), resume playing the cello. The film's press materials say that Claydon's character "was inspired by several real-life musicians,'' but Los Angeles Philharmonic spokeswoman Sophie Jefferies told me, "As far as I understand it the Tom Hollander character is entirely fictional," and Lopez told me, "The character in the movie is fictional. I'm not sure whether it was a creation of the director or the screenwriter."

Hollander talks about his character's faith in the studio's press materials, saying, "He’s one of the people who tries to make Nathaniel better without any success. He’s also a very committed Christian, so he hopes that, through him, God can save Nathaniel and bring transformation into his life." The issue, from my point of view, is that Claydon's Christianity is so preachy and tone-deaf it's almost comical; he is shown in settings and with expressions that seem so silly as to be satire.

I was wondering if I was the only one who was struck by this, so I poked around a bit, and it appears that others have noticed too:

Robert W. Butler, writing in the Kansas City Star, took on the issue directly, devoting a column to the subject and calling Hollander's character an "unfair cliche." An excerpt:

"Susannah Grant’s screenplay presents Claydon as something of a religious fanatic. This fact dawns on us when we see Claydon outside what we assume to be his home, and it has on one wall a huge mural of Jesus done in an airbrushed style usually reserved for motorcycle gas tanks.

Then, backstage before the recital, Claydon insists on praying aloud with Ayers, and that act completely freaks out the mentally ill man. So much so that Ayers cannot face the audience and flees the building.

Here’s what gnaws at me. If Graham Claydon were a real person and the incident occurred as depicted, I’d be OK with it. But Claydon is a fictional character. There’s no such guy at the L.A. Philharmonic.

Moreover, despite his good intentions, Claydon comes off as a heavy. He’s not a true villain, but he is so wrapped up in his own beliefs and convictions that he has no qualms about forcing them on another person, even someone whose fragile mental state might make the effort inappropriate.

I’m guessing that Grant and director Joe Wright needed to invent a plausible reason for Ayers to wig out, thus providing the film with a big dramatic moment.

But why did that reason have to be a pushy Christian? And would a simple shared prayer really be enough to push someone like Ayers over the edge?

In the same way that Hollywood simplifies things for the ignorant among us by providing villains that fall into easily digested categories — Mexican drug lords, Arab terrorists — Tinseltown invariably misunderstands and misrepresents religion.

Yeah, there are plenty of boorish, pushy, objectionable religious fanatics out there.

But “The Soloist” is disingenuous when it suggests that the principal cellist of a major symphony orchestra would be one of them.

Orchestras are filled with highly educated, opinionated people who aren’t about to tolerate religious harangues from their fellow players. Graham Claydon, no matter how intense his faith, would never have achieved this sort of success were he bent on shoving his beliefs down other people’s throats.

So not only does the character feel phony, his appearance is an unfortunate aberration in a film that otherwise gets most things right and works hard to remain true and honest to its characters and situation."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' film review is somewhat more generous, declaring, "The script's treatment of religion is somewhat ambivalent. A voice-over of Ayers earnestly reciting the Our Father as he and crowds of fellow street-dwellers bed down on the sidewalk is moving. But the portrayal of the pious musician Lopez contacts to prepare Ayers for a performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, suggests that his poor judgments arise from his evangelical-style Christian faith."

Writing in the LA Times, critic Kenneth Turan says the characterization is of a piece with other problems in the film: "Director Wright seems to relish overdoing whatever he can, not surprising for those who remember how he treated the Bennet family in his "Pride & Prejudice." So a cellist who tries to help Ayers can't be just a good person, he has to be clumsily religious."

This is a relatively minor element of the film -- the Globe's Ty Burr gave "The Soloist" three stars -- but striking to me in an era when all kinds of faith groups are increasingly attentive to how they are portrayed in popular culture. Interestingly, I see no notes of concern in the reviews over at the evangelical Christianity Today or at Crosswalk.com, which headlines a review of the film "a Pitch Perfect Portrayal of Grace." So maybe it's a non-issue, or one that is overshadowed by the fundamental decency, and admirably honest complexity, of the film's primary relationship, between Lopez and Ayers. If you saw the film, let me know what you thought.

(Photo above, courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures, shows Jamie Foxx and Tom Hollander in "The Soloist.")

On Thursday night "Nightline" is taking a look at what it says is a growing phenomenon in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: exorcisms of children accused of witchcraft by evangelical pastors. The special edition report, airing at 11:35 p.m., is by ABC News anchor (and Newton native) Dan Harris. Harris says he witnessed "under the banner of Jesus, an epidemic of child abuse." He says that children denounced as witches are sometimes beaten, starved, or killed.

Here's a disturbing preview:

On Thursday night I had the honor of moderating the Boston Jewish Film Festival's annual "Works in Progress" event -- an evening that gives supporters of the festival a chance to see portions of an unfinished film and talk with the filmmakers about the creative process. The film this year, "Leap of Faith,'' is a documentary centering on an unusual subject -- Christians who convert to Orthodox Judaism. The filmmakers, Stephen Friedman and Tony Benjamin, are both Orthodox Jews, and career admen, who are married to converts, and they spent the last four years interviewing several dozen would-be-converts before deciding to focus their film on the journeys of four individuals who are considering Orthodox Judaism.

Although for many of us, the most familiar conversion stories are associated with marriage, Friedman and Benjamin chose to focus on people whose interest in Judaism was driven by some kind of spiritual quest that was largely independent of a romantic relationship. Some of the folks they talked with were moving from evangelical Protestantism to Orthodox Judaism -- an unusual journey, to be sure. During the Q&A, the filmmakers largely rejected the psychological explanations for conversion -- the suggestion that people who choose orthodox faiths are seeking to fill some kind of need for structure or rules in their life -- and instead said they came away believing that the would-be converts were animated by a sincere search for some kind of truth. As a religion reporter, I found the subject fascinating -- although faith-changing is the story of American religion these days, I'm always intrigued by people who choose to take on high-demand faiths, like evangelicalism or Islam or Mormonism, and conversion to Orthodox Judaism by non-Jews is not a phenomenon I've encountered at all previously.

The 90-minute film is supposed to be completed soon, and then will likely make the round of festivals as the filmmakers seek to find a way to broadcast it more widely. Stay tuned.

(Photos courtesy of Humble Films.)

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life last week reported a finding that at first blush is stunning: the more often one attends religious services, the more likely one is to say that the use of torture against suspected terrorists is at least sometimes justified. And white evangelical Protestants are the most likely subgroup to offer at least some support for torture, while those who are not affiliated with a religious denomination are the least likely.

Here's the graphic from Pew:

The finding has occasioned, not surprisingly, quite a bit of discussion. Andrew Sullivan, in a post headlined "Jesus Wept,'' calls the result "terribly depressing,'' and writes:

"So Christian devotion correlates with approval for absolute evil in America. And people wonder why atheism is gaining in this country.''

Over at Christianity Today, David Neff blogged:

"The immediate impression is that religion — especially religion characterized by active commitment — makes people bloodthirsty. Or something like that. What can we say about this picture? First, the survey is probably accurate. Other studies have shown similar results...Second, there is (as there always is) a gap between leadership beliefs and grassroots attitudes...The key leaders of most evangelical denominations and parachurch organizations have gone on the record against the use of torture."

Neff, who is editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today Media Group, goes on to argue that evangelicals should be against torture always, despite the "Does it work?" debate:

"Utilitarian ethics tends to weigh the magnitude of a potential good against its costs (the greatest good for the greatest number). But evangelicals have been eager to reject utilitarian ethics when addressing other issues — embryonic stem-cell research and population-control programs, for example. Even if embryonic stem-cell research turned out to be the best way to cure Parkinson’s disease, most evangelicals would oppose it, just as we would oppose abortion even if it were shown to reduce, say, food insecurity. By the same token, even if torture produced reliable information about terrorist activity, we should reject it. We are people of principle. Our principles were historically at the root of human rights action and the development of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions, and any number of other moral crusades that put principle above utilitarianism. Our principles should now motivate us to lead the world in rejecting torture of any human being, for any reason."

At Spiritual Politics, Mark Silk observes:

"The real point here is that moral issues are tied into a whole array of ethical and political values and commitments. Explaining a particular position on a particular issue at a particular time according to religious identity or commitment is a complicated undertaking. One thing should, however, be clear. In this regard there are few if any slippery moral slopes. The oft-cited claim by the pro-life community that support for abortion rights leads individuals and communities inevitably into moral squalor cannot be sustained--certainly not when it comes to opposition to torture. The most anti-torture element in American society--the Nones--is also the most pro-choice."

Of course, the other element that I don't see discussed anywhere is simply partisanship. Evangelicals, and frequent churchgoers, are more likely to vote Republican; it was a Republican presidential administration, of George W. Bush, that allowed interrogation practices many have now concluded constituted torture; and the debate over torture today is, in some ways, a proxy for a debate over the conduct of the Bush administration. It seems to me it might be difficult in survey research to disentangle attitudes toward torture from attitudes toward the Bush Administration's legacy in general, and response to terrorism in particular.

Americans are changing their religious affiliations at unprecedented rates, but Catholics are much more likely to cite concerns about their religion as a reason for leaving than are Protestants, who more often cite changing life circumstances.

The churn within American religion -- about half of American adults have changed their faith affiliation at some point -- was one of the key findings of a major study released last year by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life; today, the Pew Forum is releasing a new study that attempts to explore the reasons why Americans change denominations or religions, or, increasingly, drop out of institutional religion altogether.

Among the most striking findings are that most people who change their religious affiliation leave the denomination in which they were raised by age 24, and many change religious affiliation more than once. And the study found that the growing population of unaffiliated Americans are more disenchanted with institutionalized religion than with the idea of God.

But the differences between Catholics and Protestants are also significant, suggesting that Catholics who become alienated from their church often leave, whereas Protestants have the option of simply switching denominations.

"Protestants show a lot of interdenominational mobility, in part because there are a lot of Protestant groups,'' said John C. Green, a political science professor at the University of Akron. "Among Catholics, there is much less scope for mobility within the denomination, and a larger number ended up leaving.''

The study finds that about half of former Catholics cite religious and moral beliefs as the reason they left the Catholic church. About four in 10 former Protestants who became unaffiliated offer a similar explanation, but among Protestants who simply switch denominations, the main reasons are concerns about particular religious institutions, and life cycle changes such as marriage.

Pew last year released the eyepopping estimate that one in ten Americans is now a former Catholic -- about half of the former Catholics are now Protestants, and about half are now unaffiliated. But the new study suggests that the sexual abuse crisis played at most a minor role in the decision of Catholics to leave -- only two percent of former Catholics who are now unaffiliated volunteered the abuse scandal as the main reason they are no longer Catholic; when prompted by an interviewer, 27 percent said concern about the abuse scandal was a factor in their departure. Former Catholics who are now unaffiliated often said they left because of disagreements with the Catholic church over homosexuality, abortion, birth control, or gender; former Catholics who are now evangelical often say they stopped believing Catholic teachings and are concerned with the Catholic church's teachings about the Bible, while former Catholics who are now mainline Protestants most often say they changed because of marrying a non-Catholic or because they didn't like their priest.

"The sex abuse crisis is nowhere near being among the most important factors explaining why people have left the church,'' said Mark M. Gray, director of the Catholic Poll at Georgetown's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. Gray noted that many Catholics who became Protestants cited not one of the culture war issues, but teachings about the Bible.

"Clearly, there's a need to try to connect with youth, because a big portion of the people you're losing are teenagers and in their early 20s, and there's a need to reach out to them in terms of spiritual needs not being met,'' Gray said.

Susan Spilecki, a 41-year-old English teacher from Brighton who was a lifelong and active Catholic until entering the Episcopal church last year, didn't even mention the sexual abuse crisis when describing her transition.

"For my first 20 years, it wouldn't even have occurred to me, no matter how bad it was, that I could change -- being Catholic was just what you were,'' she said. But then, she said, she encountered other Christians in college, she had growing concerns about the church's teachings on contraception, homosexuality, and the ordination of women, she grew tired of explaining why she remained in the Catholic church, and her parish, in Boston's Symphony neighborhood, was closed by the archdiocese. Finally, she decided she wanted to study theology, and concluded that, "as a female, and therefore unordainable, Roman Catholic, who also disagreed with a lot of teachings,'' it was time for a change.

In the Episcopal churches where she worships -- the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston and All Saints Parish in Brookline, "I've met more disenfranchised Catholics, and Unitarians who discovered Jesus, then cradle Episcopalians."

Despite the departures of Catholics from the faith, the overall Catholic population in the U.S. has remained stable because of immigration.

"Long-term, what this means is that the face of the Catholic Church is going to change dramatically over time,'' Green said. "There is likely to be continued erosion by Catholics of European background, and the church is going to be increasingly populated by Hispanics and Asians who are immigrating to the US.''

Among Protestants denomination switching is quite common, and is often triggered by marriage or by a family's move from one community to another.

"A lot of the switching is intra-Protestant switching, and I think at this point that's not even switching -- hardly anyone knows the difference between a Lutheran and an Episcopalian, or even a Methodist and a Baptist,'' said Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University. "Lutherans hardly know anything about Luther, and Methodists hardly know anything about Wesley, and they don't care. We live in a postdenominational time.''

Kyle Thureen, a 26-year-old software engineer from Burlington, was raised in a Lutheran church in Minnesota and now attends the evangelical Grace Chapel in Lexington.

"The name on the front of the church is less important than what does the church believe, and how do they live that out,'' Thureen said. "The bottom line is, I would describe myself as a Christian.''

And Susan Stewart, a 44-year-old church worker in Arlington, had been affiliated throughout her life with American Baptist Churches congregations, but then joined a United Methodist church because it had better programming for children. Her husband was raised in the Catholic church.

"We looked around at a bunch of places, and Calvary United Methodist is within walking distance of our house, it was a neighborhood congregation, and there were a reasonable number of children when we started going there,'' she said. "Neither one of us had any experience with a United Methodist congregation, but originally the denomination did not particularly matter to us. In some ways, we were starting fresh together.''

The study also explores the growing ranks of the unaffiliated -- about 16 percent of American adults, according to Pew. The study finds many of the unaffiliated cite objections to religious people or religious institutions as the reason for leaving organized religion; few cited unbelief. And about one third of the unaffiliated say they are still open to finding the right religion.

"In American Christianity, you see a lot of talk about how vibrant it is, and how people are moving in, but there's also a huge open back door that they must be leaving out of,'' said D. Michael Lindsay, an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University. "It's not so much that science disproves religion, so people abandon their faith, it's more like a gradual drifting away, and a number of unaffiliated folks end up coming back and getting involved.''

In addition to the Globe graphics above, here is a cool flash graphic from Pew.

Photographer Joe Johnson has shot a series of strikingly stark and textured images of empty megachurches, now on display at Gallery Kayafas in Boston. Cate McQuaid, reviewing the exhibit in yesterday's Globe, sees in the images a critique of the congregations, writing:

"Johnson visited Southern and Midwestern places of worship that welcome at least 2,000 parishioners. He went when they were mostly empty. His stunning and provocative images of the mammoth churches lay bare the cogs and gears that create their spectacle-driven services. With all the sets, smoke machines, light effects, and huge plasma screens, the churchgoing experience has ironically turned, in places like this, into something resembling a heavy-metal concert or a Las Vegas stage show, complete with stadium seating.

Look at "Stage Set. Munster, IN," used for a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross. It's a stone prison, with iron bars in the window and door, luridly splashed with blood-red paint. Orange cables, a worker's lamp, and a smoke machine surround it.

In "Screens. Louisville, KY," a giant, menacing, inverted black dome housing several plasma screens hangs godlike over the tiny seats below; Johnson shot the image from high in the upper tiers.

He captured "Bolt. Fort Wayne, IN" from below; a video camera stands in for a heroic or saintly figure gazing upward as lightning flies across the ceiling.

Churchly theatricality goes back at least as far as the creation of gothic cathedrals; Johnson captures the latest high-tech iteration. But he presents it nakedly, with electrical cords and control panels, in a way that calls out the ministers and their stage managers for manufacturing spectacles designed to trigger ecstatic responses in their congregants, rather than making quiet spaces for prayerful contemplation."

UPDATE: Arlette Kayafas, the director of the Kayafas Gallery, e-mails:

"I feel that it is my responsibility, as the owner of a gallery, to my artists, clients and community to select and exhibit work of the highest quality that engages the viewer, creates a reaction so that when one leaves the gallery he/she continues to think of the experience whether in agreement or not. Art, like religion, is a personal choice -- a mirror of whom each of us is. Contemporary art by definition reflects the pulse of society. I'm so pleased that by reading your blog and viewing several of Joe's images on line, people are sharing their opinions. Art, I believe, communicates without words. The viewer gives the definition, the words to the experience. The varying definitions bring about the dialog and with the dialog a better understanding of our differences and then change."

Kayafas also sent along a statement by the artist, Joe Johnson, explaining his project:

"Mega Churches have inspired thousands of Christian worshippers to gather within vast post-modern architectural spaces across the nation. Megalithic in size, these corporate structures, converted Hilton hotels, and restored theaters are transformed into halls of prayer each Sunday through performative rituals and multimedia spectacles.

Most definitions require that a minimum of 2000 worshippers must attend the weekend service for the building to attain the "Mega Church" status. Specifically I am photographing the empty interior architecture and sanctuary spaces where worship is performed. I use the descriptive power of photography to construct a personal vocabulary with which I can communicate what interests me about a subject. I tend to gravitate to subjects that have some inherent tension and mystery. With the Mega Church project, an interesting point of tension lies in a secular treatment of contemporary religious practice within Mega Churches.

This body of work attempts to reveal the mechanics of creating faith by capturing the wires, computers, light bulbs, and cords that are used to construct mysteries on stage for the faithful. The rawness of the abandoned mega-space and the eerie familiarity of its commercial fixtures question the intention and business of faith in the 21st century."

(All photos by Joe Johnson, courtesy of Gallery Kayafas.)

Finally, a reason to start blogging again.

Like much of the planet, I've watched the video of Susan Boyle's "Britain's Got Talent" performance several times, in my case while wallowing in despair over the plight of the news business. I knew she was a churchgoing Catholic -- her primary performance experience appears to be from the pews of the parish in her Scottish village -- but that seemed a bit of a thin peg for me. Over the last few days, however, the religion blogosphere has begun to reflect about why this instant cyberfable, of a frumpy church lady who belts out a surprisingly sound rendition of a schmaltzy but heart-tugging musical theater classic ("I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables), has captured the imagination of so many. More than 20 million have viewed a video of her performance on YouTube, and the appetite for more is unabated -- Google reports that "Susan Boyle" is the fastest-rising search term in the Boston area and is the second fastest-rising search term in the world. I admit, I’m a bit of an easy cry, but even after watching over and over again, something about the combination of the performance and performer, the reaction of the audience and the judges, the song itself, and, it must be said, the expert but manipulative editing of the video, brings tears to my eyes.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who is the associate editor of America magazine, finds an affirmation of a basic element of his faith in the response to Boyle's performance, writing under the headline "Susan Boyle and the Love of God":

"The way we see Susan Boyle is very nearly the way God sees us: worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful. The world generally looks askance at people like Susan Boyle, if it sees them at all. Without classic good looks, without work, without a spouse, living in a small town, people like Susan Boyle may not seem particularly 'important.' But God sees the real person, and understands the value of each individual's gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, matron or movie star, lucky or unlucky in life. God knows us. And loves us. 'Everybody is somebody' said Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan at his installation Mass in New York City yesterday. That's another reason why the judges smile and the audience explodes in applause. Because they recognized a basic truth planted deep within them by God: Susan Boyle is somebody. Everybody is somebody."

Over at Christianity Today's new women's blog, cleverly titled Her.meneutics, Sarah Pulliam poses the question, "Why Do We Love Susan Boyle?" and reviews some commentary from around the blogosphere.

And the Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, blogs:

"Susan Boyle has reminded us of something we’ve forgotten for too long. Hypnotised by Madison Avenue and Hollywood and the culture of youth, we’ve forgotten that the things they offer to us as 'the norm' are ideals, and mostly fake ones. In embracing those fake ideals (how much money was spent last year in cosmetic surgeries and teeth-whitening?) we’ve forgotten that beyond all of those superficialities, we each have within us something of much greater value than perky breasts and unlined skin: the divine spark, the God-kiss, that lives in each and every one of us - no exceptions."

For any of you who haven't seen it yet, or just want to watch again, here's the video:

What are your thoughts about what the response to Boyle's performance says about our culture?

(Photo by Andrew Milligan/AP)

Religious day schools are facing increased demand for scholarship assistance as the parents of their students lose jobs. I have a story in today's paper. An excerpt:

"Religious day schools in Greater Boston, some of which had been enjoying strong growth in recent years, are reporting increased requests for financial aid from families hurt by the recession and concerns about potential drops in enrollment.

The area's Jewish community last week became the first to act collectively, announcing $2 million from a national foundation to provide emergency scholarship aid to families whose children attend one of the area's 14 Jewish day schools or many Jewish summer camps and preschools.

The major source of financial aid for Catholic school students, the Catholic Schools Foundation, says its fund-raising is down by 15 percent, while requests for emergency aid from families in which a parent has lost a job or had work hours cut are spiking.

The situation facing religious schools is similar to that facing nonreligious private schools and colleges, all of which are far more expensive than the public alternatives.

'Every school and camp are reporting significant increases in the numbers of students and campers and preschool families needing scholarships,' said Barry Shrage, the president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. 'We have hit a massive recession that looks like it's going to hit all segments of the community, from the poorest, who are already on scholarship, to the people in the middle class and upper-middle class, who never needed help before but now are fully unemployed.'"

(Photo, by Aram Boghosian for the Globe, shows Orna Siegel, the director of admissions at Gann Academy, a Jewish high school in Waltham, looking over files in her office on 3/20/09.)

I suppose it goes without saying that there’s quite a bit of theater in many religious services. The clothing, the singing, the physicality of so much prayer – it’s no wonder that worship often finds its way onto the stage.

Last weekend, on a trip to New York, I had a chance to see two very different depictions of evangelicalism on stage, in productions written six decades apart, both with a quasi-journalistic underpinning and a heavy overlay of caricature.

The flawed-but-boisterous revival of "Guys and Dolls" now running on Broadway offers the musical depiction, familiar to theater-lovers, of a gifted gambler who falls in love with the upright, and uptight, leader of an urban Protestant mission clearly modeled on the Salvation Army. Based on a short story by the sometime newsman Damon Runyon, the show features what must be one of the greatest stagings of a prayer meeting ever – the scene in which a gambler named Nicely Nicely Johnson offers a testimonial of faith in the form of a sung dream about a conversion experience (“Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,'' in photos above and at right). Although it’s not clear whether his testimony is sincere, and although the moralizing Save-a-Soul Mission is depicted as prudish, earnest, and condemnatory, the play ends with the apparent conversion of its hero, Sky Masterson, who joins the mission after falling hard for, and marrying, its leader, Sarah Brown.

Off-Broadway, I managed to catch the final performance of “This Beautiful City,’’ (in photos at left and below) a finely woven and highly entertaining exploration of the transformation of Colorado Springs into the evangelical capital of the United States. This production is so-called documentary theater – a now-familiar genre (think of "The Laramie Project," or the oeuvre of Anna Deavere Smith) in which the creators go out and interview people about a subject, and then actors portray those interview subjects, speaking or singing their actual words, on stage (in this production, there are some composite characters, which I suppose could be seen as artistic license, or as a storytelling cheat, depending on your perspective). “This Beautiful City,” which has an uncertain future but clearly deserves to be produced and discussed beyond New York, is more often funny than moving, but manages to provide a fascinating window into several evangelical congregations, as well as some of the skeptics who surround them (including a pamphleteer of sorts who refers to Colorado Springs as Middle Earth and the evangelical section of town as Mordor). Of course, the show is helped by the fact that one of the congregations it focuses on is New Life Church, and, while the theater company, The Civilians, was gathering its material in the fall of 2006, the congregation’s pastor, National Association of Evangelicals President Ted Haggard, resigned after acknowledging that he had been paying a male prostitute for sex and methamphetamines. (Haggard and his wife came to the show last week; no word on what he made of it, but the show’s writers did say that the Denver regional theater has passed on an opportunity to produce it.)

The parallels between the plays are obviously limited, but each does, to a degree, explore the collision between evangelicalism and a broader culture that greets it with suspicion. I'm viewing these with my religion-reporter hat on; there are other ways to think about these performances, but for those of you with an interest in how religion is portrayed in popular culture, these would be worth checking out.

(Photo at top, by Carol Rosegg, shows Tituss Burgess as Nicely-Nicely Johnson performing "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" in "Guys and Dolls"; photo at right, also by Carol Rosegg, shows Mary Testa as General Cartwright in the same number. Photo at left, by Craig Schwartz, shows Brad Heberlee in "This Beautiful City"; photo at bottom, also by Craig Schwartz, shows Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brandon Miller, Alison Weller, Brad Heberlee, Stephen Plunkett and Emily Ackerman in that production.)

Scott Helman and Dina Rudick of the Globe staff have put together a lovely video about Lent. Have a look:

A professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass., has been named the next president of Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. Asbury announced today that its board of trustees has selected Timothy Craig Tennent (left), who is a professor of World Missions and Director of Missions Programs at Gordon-Conwell.

Tennent, 49, is a Gordon-Conwell alumnus (M.Div. 1984) who has been on the faculty since 1998; he is a United Methodist minister who has done research on Islam and Hinduism, and he is an adjunct professor at Luther W. New Jr. Theological College in India. In the announcement from Asbury today, he said:

“I am alarmed by the growing trend away from serious theological reflection and do not believe that the church will be adequately prepared to face the challenges of pluralism and post-modernism without a more robust theological preparation. I am also passionate about the emergence of the Majority World Church. I believe that the Western church continues to have an important role in global missions, in partnership with the increasingly vibrant Majority World Church.”

UPDATE: Gordon-Conwell President Dennis P. Hollinger e-mails that school's community:

"With joy for him and sadness for us, I am writing to let you know that today Dr. Tim Tennent is being introduced as the new president of Asbury Theological Seminary. Given Tim’s deep commitment to world missions, his theological depth, leadership skills and ties to the United Methodist denomination, I’m sure that we can all rejoice in Asbury’s great gain. Tim will serve this community well. At the same time we certainly recognize the void he will leave here at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. With God’s providence we can, however, be assured that the Lord will provide for our needs...Tim and Julie have a genuine love for GCTS, and it is not easy for them to think of leaving this community. Let us send them off to this new mission in serving the Church with grace, support and our prayers."

(Photo courtesy of Asbury Theological Seminary Office of Communications.)

Rick Warren's invocation at this morning's inauguration was inclusive at first, and explicitly Christian in the end, with the English version of the Jewish Sh'ma at the start and, perhaps in an allusion to the controversy over his selection, a call to reconciliation, saying, "when we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us." He recited the name of Jesus in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish, as well as in English.

Here's a transcript, followed by the video:

Let us pray.

Almighty God -- our Father. Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.’ And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King, and a great cloud of witnesses, are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice-President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom, and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes -- even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation, and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations and all people will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president, and his wife Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life -- Yeshua, Isa, Jesús, Jesus -- who taught us to pray:

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen.

Also, the Globe's Matthew Gilbert is reporting that HBO will air Bishop Gene Robinson's invocation, delivered Sunday at a pre-inaugural event but not included in the original telecast.

UPDATE: Some local reaction to Warren's invocation.

Rabbi Howard A. Berman, of Boston Jewish Spirit, e-mailed the following note to his congregation:

With the joy and excitement of the Inauguration moment now over, we can be grateful that the spirit of unity and inclusion that our new President stands for, seems to have touched even the heart of Pastor Warren. Despite our worst fears, his invocation was, in fact, remarkably appropriate, and as broad and embracing as it could have possibly been, given his evangelical beliefs. He referred to "Scripture", rather than using the more specific term, "Bible", and quoted the words of the Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" as well as the opening phrase of the Koran, "O God who is merciful and compassionate..." He called for respect for all people, in the midst of disagreements. And most significantly, instead of concluding with the traditional phrase, "We ask this in Jesus' name...", he instead said "I ask this in the name of Jesus", which was personal and fitting, without excluding or disenfranchising those who do not pray in that manner. His further attempt at pluralism, in also using the Hebrew and Arabic versions of Jesus (Yeshua and Issa) certainly reflects his fundamental Christian belief that Jesus is Lord and Savior of all people - including Jews and Muslims... but could also have simply been intended to express a broader view of his own faith. The fact remains that much of Rick Warren's preaching and positions are restrictive and exclusionary, and will continue to be demeaning and offensive to GLBT people, women, and many others - including many other Christians. However, in this instance, his clear attempts at reconciliation can offer us hope that in this new era, some of the divisions in American life will indeed be healed, with greater efforts at dialogue and sensitivity on all sides of the religious and political spectrum.

And Dave Schmelzer, the senior pastor at Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Greater Boston, sent me this observation:

The prayer seemed fair enough to me. He clearly was trying to ground it in the Shema, which links Jews, Christians and Muslims. The substance of his prayer seemed non-controversial and I'd presume most Americans of good will wouldn't be offended, presuming there's a God, if God answered those prayers. And then his decision to close the prayer "in Jesus' name" and with the Lord's Prayer...granted, there has been controversy about whether that's an appropriately inclusive thing to do in a pluralistic nation. But given that he is an evangelical pastor, it struck me that he did his best to be thoughtful even in that, with his translation of Jesus' name into multiple languages--not least "Isa," Jesus' name in the Qur'an. So, my take, could anyone have wanted him to do better than that?

Lots of ink is being spilled over Rick Warren these days, including my story about him in today's Globe. Now comes Cambridge illustrator Louisa Bertman (full disclosure: she's my second cousin!) who has begun a series of portraits inspired by Facebook's quirky news feeds, and sends along this image of the country's new most favorite/least favorite evangelical, who tomorrow will give the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration:

It’s that time of year again – list time. Actually, it’s way past list time. The Religion Newswriters Association issued their list of the top ten religion stories of the year weeks ago – of course, as a result, they missed the Madoff scandal, the Rick Warren/invocation controversy, and the Gaza assault. Revealer issued lists of the year's best religion writing and the year's best religion books and movies. Altmuslim offered a list of the top ten good news stories of the year. And Religion Dispatches has a list of the top ten year-end religion news lists, including those from Time, Christianity Today, and the Onion.

For this first new year of this new blog, I’m going to offer ten reflections about religion news and the year gone by, with a few anticipatory remarks thrown in as well. This is just a sampling; feel free to suggest other topics in the comments field.

1. The year that is ending was marked, in particular, by the multiple battles for the hearts and minds of religious Americans in the presidential campaign. There was often less there than met the eye – evangelicals continued to vote in large numbers for the Republican Party, despite vigorous efforts to lure them away by Democrats, and Jews continued to vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party, despite an unending whispering campaign on the Internet attempting to associate Obama with Islam and critics of Israel. Mitt Romney’s much-anticipated speech on faith and public life was probably not a turning point in American political thinking. Social issues played only a minor role in a campaign dominated first by Iraq and then by the economy. And, to the extent that religion was part of the political story, it was almost always as something to criticize or mock – the preaching of Wright, Hagee and Pfleger, the beliefs and practices of Palin and Romney, the middle name of Obama, the politics of Warren.

2. As the new year begins, it appears that the biggest story for all religions is likely to be the economy, which will increase demand on religious organizations for solace and assistance at the same time that it depletes their endowments and threatens their fundraising.

3. In the Catholic Church, the biggest news of 2008 was the successful visit to the United States of Pope Benedict XVI, who benefitted enormously from low expectations and won high marks for his decision to meet in Washington with five Bostonians who had been sexually abused by priests. That meeting was put together by Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, who passed (without celebration) five eventful years as archbishop of Boston, seemingly settling into his role after surviving multiple controversies, moving the church’s longtime headquarters from Brighton to Braintree, completing a reshaping of his administrative team, improving the archdiocese’s grim financial picture and rescuing St. John’s Seminary from the brink of death. But O’Malley still faces enormous challenges; the diocese still spends more each year than it raises; five closed parishes remain occupied (for more than four years now!) by protesters; and the diocese’s accounts for clergy pensions and benefits are seriously underfunded. And the church remains, particularly in Massachusetts, at odds with the political culture, particularly over abortion and gay rights. So in 2009, I'll be watching how O’Malley handles the vigils and the pension funds; what he does to address the increasing priest shortage, most likely by asking more priests to oversee multiple parishes like the circuit riders of old; and how he manages critiquing a presidential administration supported by the vast majority of his parishioners. For the pope, a highlight of 2009 is expected to be a May visit to Israel, but that trip could be postponed or cancelled if the violence there continues.

4. Mainline Protestant denominations continued to be roiled by debates over homosexuality, and continued to grapple with declining participation and aging congregations. The split in the global Anglican Communion since the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire began to formalize in 2008, as conservatives announced that they were establishing a separate North American province that would compete with the existing Episcopal Church in the U.S. and Canada. African American Protestant churches reflected on the state of black liberation theology after the incendiary preaching by Jeremiah Wright (a pastor in the mainline United Church of Christ) called attention to the risks of rhetoric in the age of Youtube.

5. The evangelical Protestant world was in the spotlight throughout the election, as the Democratic Party attempted, with little measurable success, to break the strong relationship between evangelicalism and Republicanism. But evangelical politics are clearly in flux – polls show younger evangelicals interested in a broader array of issues than their elders. And the tension was on display in awkward ways; the National Association of Evangelicals ousted a longtime long official, Rich Cizik, whose open attitude toward global warming and gay relationships caused some on the right to question his orthodoxy. And the flap over Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation reminded both evangelicals and Democrats that engagement between the two will be fraught with complexity.

6. For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2008 brought an end to the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose candidacy went further than that of any of the Mormons who have previously sought the nation’s highest office, but also called attention to a deep streak of anti-Mormonism in American culture, particularly among evangelical Protestants. The year also saw Mormons in the midst of a controversy over Proposition 8, the measure that would overturn same-sex marriage in California. Mormons, acting at their church’s urging, gave millions to the campaign, and the church was targeted by protesters after the measure passed. Locally, Mormons continued their institutional growth in eastern Massachusetts; eight years after building a huge temple on Belmont Hill, the LDS church this year broke ground for a new stake center in East Cambridge and announced plans to build a new chapel (being contested by neighbors) in Brookline.

7. For Jews, much of the year’s biggest news was concentrated at the end of the year, as multiple Jewish foundations and individuals lost millions of dollars in the alleged Ponzi scheme overseen by one of the community’s own; an investor named Bernard L. Madoff. And the Israeli assault on Gaza, in response to Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, brought renewed attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to significant concern about Israel’s conduct by a variety of governments and groups. There was also the immigration raid on the kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, which has intensified a growing discussion about what relationship, if any, there should be between ethics and kashrut. Locally, the Combined Jewish Philanthropies offered a new plan for the Jewish community, which, as it turns out, called for intensified defense of Israel; the Jewish community locally also decided to close its community center on the South Shore. In 2009, watch for a potential consolidation of Jewish nonprofits as the economy and the Madoff scandal take their toll, and also keep an eye on how the Jewish community manages interfaith relations given the increasing criticism of Israel from other faith groups.

8. For Muslims, the year brought ongoing tension over the place of Islam in the West, as American Muslims continued to make incremental political gains, but were largely ignored by an Obama campaign wary of associating with an unpopular group. The use of terror by some Muslims – most recently the attacks in Mumbai – continues to pose a challenge to those who proclaim that Islam is a religion of peace. The Middle East crisis also looms large for American Muslims, who are attempting to persuade American policymakers to criticize Israel’s actions in Gaza. Many Muslims seized as a sign of hope Colin Powell’s denunciation, on Meet the Press, of the idea that there is something wrong with being a Muslim. And in Boston, 2008 brought the soft opening of the much-debated and long-delayed new Islamic Cultural Center in Roxbury, which is expected to fully open in 2009.

9. There were several notable deaths in the world of religion in 2008. Cardinal Avery Dulles, the scion of a famous, and Protestant, American family, who came to Catholicism by the banks of the Charles River, and who became the only American theologian ever named a cardinal by Rome, died in December at 90. Gordon Hinckley, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, revered by Mormons as prophet, seer and revelator, and a descendant of the last governor of Plymouth Colony, died in January at 97. Russian Orthodox patriarch Alexy II died in December at 79; Warith Deen Mohammed, the African-American Muslim leader, died in September at 74.

10. The business of religion journalism, like the rest of the journalism business, is, to put it mildly, in flux. The amount of space and resources committed to religion journalism by the mainstream media continued to dwindle in 2008, and several veteran religion writers around the country were laid off or bought out.

At the Globe, the powers-that-be retired the paper’s longtime religion column, Spiritual Life, as part of a budget-cutting effort, and launched this blog, Articles of Faith, in an effort to better engage with that segment of our growing on-line audience that is interested in religion. The blog has grown rapidly – thanks to Sarah Palin, the abortion issue, and a variety of other controversies, we had nearly 200,000 page views in November. I am grateful to all of you (well, most of you) who visited, bookmarked the site, subscribed to the RSS feed, and took the time to post comments or send notes as I experiment with this forum, trying to figure out what features and what types of posts are most useful, how best to balance the kinds of hot-button items that generate clicks with posts about news and culture that can be traffic-deadening, and also how best to balance blogging with reporting and writing stories.

This will almost certainly be my last blog post of the year; I’ve just arrived in California for a vacation, and, if the news and my own temperament allow me to tear myself away from the keyboard, Articles of Faith will be on hiatus for a bit. But please feel free to post your own thoughts about trends in the world of religion as comments on this blog, or shoot me an e-mail with suggestions for religion stories you think the Globe should pursue in 2009.

And, to one and all, Happy New Year.

(Photo, by Lai Seng Sin/AP, shows a New Year's celebration today in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.)

Rick Warren (right), the evangelical preacher chosen by Barack Obama to deliver the inaugural invocation, has posted a three-part video to his church's website responding to the furor that has erupted over his selection.

In the video, Warren criticizes the media, and, in particular, bloggers, for fueling the controversy. And he says the criticism of him in the wake of his selection has been characterized by "a lot of hate speech" and by "Christophobia -- people who are afraid of any Christian.''

"Our nation is being destroyed by the demonization of differences,'' he says. "The fact that an evangelical pastor believes in keeping the historic definition of marriage -- that’s not news. The fact that the gay community would disagree with me -- that’s not news either. The real story is that a couple of different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation.''

Noting that he has been accused of comparing homosexuality to incest and pedophilia (based on an interview he gave to Beliefnet), he says in the video, "I believe no such thing.'' He reiterated his opposition to same sex marriage, but said he is in agreement with "the view of the vast majority of the world and the vast majority of religions.''

"Free speech has to be free speech for everybody,'' he says. "Some people feel today if you disagree with them that’s hate speech...I’m neither afraid of gays, nor do I hate gays. In fact, I love them, but I do disagree with some of their beliefs, and I have that constitutional right.''

Warren notes that he is also being criticized from the right for agreeing to speak at the inauguration of a Democrat who supports gay rights and abortion rights.

"I'm doing this because I love America and it’s a historic opportunity and it’s an honor to be a part of any inauguration of any president,'' he says. And, describing his relationship with Obama, he says, "We’re friends and we admire each other even though we disagree on some things.''

Warren's three-part video address is on the website of his Saddleback Church. Here is the most pertinent:

A few other developments on the invocation imbroglio, suggesting the desire from some folks on left and right to lower the temperature:

•A Saddleback spokesman, Larry Ross, tells me that a controversial Q&A on the church's web site, which suggested that gays were welcome to worship but not as members at Saddleback "has not been permanently removed as alleged in some media reports, but rather is being repurposed for clarity.'' Ross said the church will post the following audio from Saddleback Associate Pastor Tom Holladay answering the question, “What Does the Bible Say About homosexuality – is it a sin?”

•Singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, who talked with Warren Saturday night when both spoke at a convention of Muslims, wrote an open letter in the Huffington Post, explaining why she, as a lesbian, was giving Warren a chance -- she even acknowledged that, "he invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids." An excerpt from Etheridge:

"Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world's attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don't hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world. Maybe if they get to know us, they won't fear us. I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us."

• Blogger Andrew Sullivan, a gay Catholic and longtime advocate for same-sex marriage, compared Warren's views favorably with those of Pope Benedict XVI, writing, "At least Warren appears open to dialogue, rather than recoiling in fear and loathing. In that he is somewhat more Christian than this Pope." Sullivan had initially been hostile to the Warren selection, but declared more recently:

"I sense an understandable but, the more I think about it, misjudged response on the part of my fellow gays and lesbians. In our hurt, we may be pushing away from a real opportunity to engage and win hearts and minds...If I cannot pray with Rick Warren, I realize, then I am not worthy of being called a Christian. And if I cannot engage him, then I am not worthy of being called a writer. And if we cannot work with Obama to bridge these divides, none of us will be worthy of the great moral cause that this civil rights movement truly is."

• And, from the right, Kelly Clark, who blogs locally as The Lady in the Pew, takes on her fellow abortion opponents who have suggested that Warren shouldn't speak at the inauguration because Obama supports abortion rights:

"I think—actually, I know because I looked the word up in the dictionary—that the invocation is a prayer. Duh. And, as a pro-life, pro-family Roman Catholic lady, I find nothing at all wrong with a pro-life, pro-family pastor praying at the inauguration of, whether you like it or not, our next president, God willing. Go for it, Pastor Warren! Now more than ever, this country needs prayer. And that includes president-elect Obama...and me and you, too."

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Warren, clearly concerned about his image (not only did he release these new videos but on Saturday night he also proclaimed his love for gays, as well as straights, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Democrats and Republicans, while speaking to a convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council) visited a thrift shop that benefits AIDS treatment in West Hollywood yesterday, where he put his arm around a gay man and gave him a signed copy of one of his books.

Merry Christmas!

(UPDATE: Over at Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam has an interview with Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) who praises Warren, and says, "The news is mostly all about nothing. It's a few people on the far left who feel that Obama should not have any evangelicals or Christians involved in the inauguration. Millions of Christians voted for Obama, and they have every reason to be at the table. This is his inauguration, and Obama has every right to do that. Those that are making noise have forgotten that it's not their inauguration. It's Obama's inauguration.")

(UPDATE: CNN's The Situation Room has an interview with Pat Robertson today. Robertson also praises Warren, and says, "All he's been asked to do is give an invocation. He isn't asked to endorse Obama. He's going to stand up there on the steps of the Capitol and he's going to say, God, please bless this country. And he will do that very well.")

(Photo of Rick Warren by Hector Mata/AP.)

I must admit that I was already experiencing some Rick Warren fatigue over the weekend (too much blog reading while snowbound...), but I perked right up when I heard this, which sounds like the start of a joke: Rick Warren met Melissa Etheridge at a convention of Muslims Saturday. It's hard to know where even to begin with this, except to observe that this must be one of those only-in-America moments, where an evangelical preacher who opposes gay marriage and abortion, and who is being vilified by gay rights advocates for the language he used to express his opinions, is invited not only to give the invocation at the inauguration of a president who supports abortion rights and gay rights (although, it must be noted, not gay marriage) but is also invited to speak at a convention of Muslim leaders (who don't support gay marriage either, but who also have never been high on the list of people evangelicals most often praise) where he meets a rock star, of whom he turns out to be an autograph-seeking fan, who is a lesbian (and, apparently, intrigued by Sufism) whose marriage to a woman may be invalidated by the ballot measure the evangelical supported, and the two of them talk.

It's not exactly clear what happened, but Warren later declared, "Let me just get this over very quickly. I love Muslims. And for the media's purpose, I happen to love gays and straights." And Etheridge's wife blogged, "hath hell frozenth over? rick warren was humble and kind. honey and i are to go to his church sometime soon. and honey invited him to our house for an afternoon, to be with our family.''

Maybe this was Obama's point in the first place.

(Photos, by Hector Mata/AP, show Warren and Etheridge at the Muslim Public Affairs Council convention in Long Beach on 12/20/08.)

Barack Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration has stirred up quite a bit of concern, particularly from folks on the left unhappy that a preacher who opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights is being given such an honor by a Democratic president.

It strikes me that there’s some irony to the firestorm that has erupted over his selection, since Warren has made a point of attempting to distinguish himself from an earlier generation of partisan evangelicals – Falwell and Robertson come to mind – by repeatedly outlining a broader set of policy concerns for Christians and by focusing his own efforts on AIDS, poverty and the environment. But he has also been unambiguous in his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, and that has fueled widespread criticism from what is sometimes called the religious left.

I’ve met Warren a number of times – we chatted a bit when he spoke at the Kennedy School at Harvard a few years back and when he spoke to a convention of religion reporters in San Antonio last year, and this past spring I interviewed Warren and attended a lunch with him at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., an evangelical college where Warren was the commencement speaker (his niece was in the graduating class).

Obviously, Warren has his supporters as well as his critics. This morning I talked with one of them, Gordon College president Jud Carlberg, about the controversy. Here’s what he had to say.

Q: What do you make of the choice of Rick Warren?

A: To have President-elect Obama choose a man of breadth and character, which Rick Warren is, and a man who represents kind of a broad evangelical perspective, is a wonderful signal to Christians of all varieties that President-elect Obama wants to work with a wide range of people to make this a better country.

Q: What about the criticism from abortion rights supporters and gay marriage advocates?

A: His positions on abortion and gay rights are clear, but what I appreciate is that he has positions on a whole range of issues that are of concern to Americans, and his spirit and attitude is one of motivating churches, and people within churches, to speak to a whole range of issues, and not to allow just one or two to be the flagships. It’s important that we as Christians take the full-orbed teachings of Christ and put them into practice, and while many of us would be concerned about abortion and gay marriage and so on, those are issues that should not be the only concerns for Christians.

Q: What has his impact been on the evangelical political agenda?

A: Rick has opened up a lot of minds and hearts to seeing a broader Gospel, and also has reawakened the evangelical movement to responsibilities beyond our own country, especially in Africa. His work is an example of taking the Gospel to new outreach to needy people, people that are poor and impoverished, and trying to address the AIDS problem.

Q: Is he the next Billy Graham?

A: Billy Graham was out of a mold that’s been broken. I think Billy Graham, for his time, could be compared to Rick Warren for this time, but there are a lot of differences between the two men, and they’re shaped by the environment and the culture in which they ministered. One of the commonalities is they both have the same kind of spirit, an irenic spirit, reaching out to people they disagree with, and saying let's work together on the issues we can work together on.

Q: It’s never clear to me whether Rick Warren is an evangelical leader or just a successful author.

A: It’s an interesting question. I think he’s a leader by example and by his communication skills, and by his spirit, by his attitude. He’s concerned about things all of us ought to be concerned about, and he’s an inspiration without being preachy.

Q: What’s the point of the invocation anyway?

A: The purpose of an invocation is to invoke the blessing of God upon the president and upon the leadership and up on the nation. It’s a delicate thing, because you can’t be sectarian in a public event like that.

Warren himself issued a statement on the flap yesterday, saying:

"I commend President-elect Obama for his courage to willingly take enormous heat from his base by inviting someone like me, with whom he doesn’t agree on every issue, to offer the Invocation at his historic Inaugural ceremony. Hopefully individuals passionately expressing opinions from the left and the right will recognize that both of us have shown a commitment to model civility in America. The Bible admonishes us to pray for our leaders. I am honored by this opportunity to pray God’s blessing on the office of the President and its current and future inhabitant, asking the Lord to provide wisdom to America’s leaders during this critical time in our nation’s history."

And Obama addressed the controversy as well, telling reporters:

“I think it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something I have been consistent on and something I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency. What I've also said is that it is important for America to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues. And I would note that a couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren's church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion. Nevertheless, I had an opportunity to speak, and that dialogue, I think, is a part of what my campaign's been all about, that we're never going to agree on every single issue. What we have to do is create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable, and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

UPDATE: In addition to the criticism of Obama from the left, there is criticism of Warren from the right. Human Life International, an organization that opposes abortion rights, e-mails a statement from its president, the Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, asking Warren to reconsider his participation, and saying, "We are concerned that his high-profile and explicitly Christian prayerful invocation at President-elect Obama’s inauguration may be perceived as an endorsement, even a blessing, of what will likely be the most anti-life administration in the history of this country.”

(Photo, by Nick LaVeccia/Gordon College, shows Rick Warren, standing at left, receiving an honorary degree from Gordon College President Jud Carlberg, standing at lectern.)

President-elect Barack Obama (right) has tapped Rick Warren (left), the most prominent evangelical preacher of the post-Billy Graham generation, to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. The decision was announced today by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Warren pastors the Saddleback Church, a megachurch in Orange County, California, but he is best know as the author of the best-selling "Purpose Driven Life" and its many spinoffs. And Warren has been a forceful advocate for reordering evangelical priorities -- he does not support abortion or same-sex marriage, but his public priority has been combatting AIDS in Africa, and he has criticized the politicization of evangelical Protestantism.

Warren has hosted Obama several times; in 2006, he invited Obama to speak at his church on World AIDS Day (an invitation that drew some criticism of Warren from the right); in August of this year Obama and the GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain, were interviewed on live television by Warren in an election forum; and earlier this month, on World AIDS Day, Obama offered taped remarks praising President Bush's work on AIDS, which was being recognized by Warren at Saddleback.

The choice is winning praise by anti-abortion groups that have been concerned about the Obama administration. The Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody blogs, "Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues. This move is also classic Obama because it is a signal to religious conservatives that he’s willing to bring in both sides to the faith discussion in this country. Obama has never shied away from that."

But advocates for abortion rights and same-sex marriage are furious. People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert called the choice "a grave disappointment,'' citing Warren's opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion, and writing, "Rick Warren gets plenty of attention through his books and media appearances. He doesn't need or deserve this position of honor. There is no shortage of religious leaders who reflect the values on which President-elect Obama campaigned and who are working to advance the common good.'' And blogger Andrew Sullivan, under the headline "Ugh" wrote: "Shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now. He won't be as bad as the Clintons (who, among leading Democrats, could?), but pandering to Christianists at his inauguration is a depressing omen."

(Photo taken at Saddeback Aug. 16 by Mark Avery/Reuters.)

Grace Chapel, a nondenominational evangelical congregation that was founded by four families in a private home in the 1950s, today has all the elements that characterize contemporary evangelical megachurches, starting with the traffic jam out front and the overflow parking in several satellite lots served by shuttle buses. (Among the service opportunities listed in the bulletin is this gem: “Looking for a place to serve, and love the outdoors? Consider serving through the parking ministry.”) Inside, the church building is a beehive of activity – there is a coffee shop (with Fair Trade coffee, of course), a huge “kidstown” that serves 800 youngsters each weekend, a hall where people with crying kids can watch the service on video, classrooms, a gymnasium, halls for middle school, high school, and young adult ministries, and a sanctuary that seats 1,200. There are several other buildings that house offices and adult education programs. There are greeters and ushers and counselors everywhere; during the service, everyone is encouraged to meet someone new.

The 65-minute worship service is about half music, led today by a 30-member choir and a 20-piece orchestra, complete with a conductor and a music director. There is lots of video, and today the whole room was decorated with poinsettias and wreaths and trees with twinkling lights.

Much of that is now de rigueur in evangelical congregations, but I did see one thing today that I have never seen before, despite years of visiting congregations: liturgical painting. Through much of the service, an artist named Lori Dupre was up on the stage, standing on a white drop cloth in front of a black canvas, painting an image of a human hand outstretched toward a dove (above). The image was designed to coordinate with pastor Bryan Wilkerson’s sermon. I talked with Dupre after the service; she calls her work “live worship painting” and said she had first seen it done at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California. Dupre said it took her some time to muster the courage to paint in front of the congregation; now she does it a few times a year. (Dupre’s husband, Peter, is the pastor of worship and the arts at Grace, and he said the congregation also uses a fair amount of drama and poetry and music during services – today there was also a dramatic reading of a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which served as the starting point for Wilkerson’s sermon.)

I chatted with Wilkerson for a bit after the service; he said the four weekend services range from the traditional to the contemporary, and that the building was expanded three years ago with an eye toward creating a place where people might stay, hang out, and talk with one another. The congregation has about 100 small groups that meet in homes, has a mothers' group for new moms, and a new recovery program for people struggling with all kinds of addictions (the church calls them “hurts, habits and hang-ups”). Wilkerson said the congregation has about 2,400 registered members, but noted that at evangelical churches membership tends to be lower than attendance (unlike, say, Catholic churches, where the lists of members are significantly higher than the actual weekend attendance). He said that at least one-third of the congregation is made up of people who were born Catholic; another 40 percent or so have a Protestant background, and the balance are a mix of former Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and the unchurched. The congregation has an annual budget of about $7 million, $1.5 million of which is given away, and about 50 employees.

Wilkerson said one challenge facing the congregation is that it is running out of space. He said Grace has planted a second congregation, GracePoint Community Church in Andover, but that the new trend among large evangelical churches is establishing satellite campuses, and that Grace is now contemplating whether to move in that direction.

He said the congregation’s other challenge is more local, and that is overcoming what he says are inaccurate images of evangelicals, particularly here in New England. “The hard thing is the stereotypes people have of us – that we’re narrow-minded, no-fun Republicans,’’ he said. “We work hard at being creative, intelligent, welcoming and multi-ethnic.’’ Wilkerson estimated that the congregation is about 20 percent non-white (simultaneous translation of the service is available in Korean and Portuguese), and said there is a large representation of both political parties in the congregation – he said he tends to shy away from political preaching and political activism because “I don’t want anybody to confuse the message of Christ with a political issue’’ (he said he doesn't even know whether the congregation is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals). He said Grace is trying to be more active in the community, and noted that it has a thriving English for Speakers of Other Languages program.

Wilkerson, like other pastors, is also bracing for a tough 2009 because of the economy; he said he is already seeing job losses in his congregation, and that the church is planning to start a job networking group after the holidays.

I asked him about the theological rigor of the congregation, since one of the raps about this kind of church is that it can sometimes seem like a community center, with high production values and preaching that is affirming and comforting but not challenging. He said that the preaching at Grace is very Christian in content, and said the congregation seeks a “high commitment’’ from its members, including not only attendance at worship, but also enrollment in a course, membership in a small group, and service to the community.

Wilkerson volunteered that he is sometimes asked how contemporary evangelical churches differ from Unitarian Universalist congregations. This was not, to me, an obvious question, or even a comparison I had ever thought about, given how theologically and politically different UUs and evangelicals tend to be. But as I thought about it, I saw the similarities – a low bar to entry (you can believe anything or nothing and be welcomed through the door), a strong emphasis on community, and an absence of much liturgical ritual or iconography. Wilkerson said the difference is that, although both UUism and evangelicalism welcome anyone, the evangelical congregations seek to transform participants into Christian believers. In other words, he said, in either an evangelical or a UU congregation, “you can come as you are,’’ but in an evangelical congregation “you don’t stay that way.’’

Richard Cizik, one of the more prominent evangelical voices in the country, has resigned under pressure as the vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals after saying that his views on same-sex marriage were shifting.

Cizik got into trouble over a remark he made in an interview with Terry Gross of the public radio show "Fresh Air.'' In response to a question about same-sex marriage, he said "I'm shifting, I have to admit. In other words, I would willingly say that I believe in civil unions. I don't officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don't think."

Christianity Today's Sarah Pulliam reports today's news:

Richard Cizik resigned Wednesday night as vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) during a week of growing uproar over his comments that he is shifting his views on same-sex unions.

"Although he has subsequently expressed regret, apologized, and affirmed our values, there is a loss of trust in his credibility as a spokesperson among leaders and constituencies," Leith Anderson, president of the NAE wrote to board members today. Cizik did not return calls for comment.

Last year, more than two dozen evangelical leaders sought to oust Cizik, who has been vice president for 28 years, because of his "relentless campaign" on global warming.

"For better or for worse, Rich became a great, polarizing figure," said Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship. "He was gradually, over a period of time, separating himself from the mainstream of evangelical belief and conviction. So I'm not surprised. I'm sorry for him, but I'm not disappointed for the evangelical movement."

Pulliam also has the transcript of her interview with NAE president Leith Anderson here. A key quote from Anderson: "The NAE's position on gay marriage is not shifting. And we are not advocates for civil unions, although many evangelicals recognize the reality that civil unions have become law in many states. But we're not advocating for them."

UPDATE: Harry Knox, the director of Religion and Faith Program for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which is a gay rights organization, on Friday issued a statement on Cizik's resignation. An excerpt:

“Perhaps most disturbing about the NAE’s decision is that it makes no room for its leaders to grow in their belief. If the NAE won’t allow one of its most renowned and celebrated members to wrestle with Scripture and grow in relationship to God then it is doing nothing more than making an idol of tradition and sacrificing their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender neighbors before it. When Rev. Cizik spoke publically about his shifting position on lesbian and gay relationships he was speaking as a man of God. He let other Evangelical Christians know that the word of God is larger than our preconceptions and prejudices.”

KEY WEST _ At the final session of the Faith Angle conference today, two prominent survey researchers, John C. Green and Anna Greenberg, examined a variety of polling data about the relationship between religious affiliation and voting behavior in this year's presidential election.

The chart above shows the bottom line, and reinforces patterns that have been in place for at least the last two decades -- Democrats are favored by minority ethnic and religious groups, as well as by less observant white Christians, while Republicans are favored by more observant white Christians. The chart was generated by Green (left), who is a political science professor at the University of Akron, and also a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which is the sponsor of the conference.

Green suggested that the basic structure of "faith-based politics" did not change much since the 2004 campaign -- despite unprecedented efforts by the Obama campaign to move religious voters, and a lot of erroneous predictions by pundits -- but that it was enough to elect Obama. "It was not very different than we’ve seen in the past, but different enough to have a different result,'' he said. He said the Democrats made their biggest gains among minority religious groups (particularly Hispanic Protestants) and failed to make significant gains among white Christians (although there was some movement to the Democrats among evangelicals who go to church less than weekly, and among young evangelicals).

The minimal change demonstrates, Green said, "that these basic differences are deeply embedded.''

"Religious groups are strongly partisan these days, and deeply embedded into the party coalitions,'' Green said -- meaning that groups like black Protestants and Jews are important parts of the Democratic coalition, while white evangelicals play a similar role for the Republican Party. "In the short run, there is only a limited capacity for religious groups to move.''

Among Catholics, Green said, the data shows increasing polarization, with weekly communicants shifting more to the right, and less frequent Massgoers shifting further to the left.

Greenberg (right), is a Democratic pollster and senior vice president at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. She had several interesting findings -- among them, that Barack Obama was clearly underperforming (compared to previous Democratic candidates) among Jewish voters through much of the campaign, but that he wound up with about 78 percent of the Jewish vote -- which is typical for a Democratic presidential candidate. Greenberg, who said "I was actually pretty shocked" at how well Obama did among Jews, said it was not clear how Obama succeeded in moving Jews back to the Democratic column, but speculated that it was the combined effect of concern among Jewish voters about Sarah Palin's social conservatism, and what Greenberg described as the reassuring effect on Jewish votes of Obama's performance during the debates. Green agreed, saying, "Many Jews are Democrats, and once they became reassured that some of these problems were not serious, they went back to their partisanship...Once the Jewish community became reassured that Obama was going to be all right -- not that he was going to be excellent -- that was enough.''

Perhaps Greenberg's most interesting finding, though, has to do with young evangelicals -- a population of increasing interest to scholars and journalists because of the perception that they may exhibit different political behaviors than their elders. Greenberg said that research shows that young evangelicals in fact are more liberal than older evangelicals on multiple issues -- including gay marriage (below), global warming, and the Iraq War -- but are not moving on abortion -- young evangelicals are just as strongly opposed to abortion as are older evangelicals.

Green said that, although white evangelicals are still strongly Republican, there is clearly change taking place among younger evangelicals. "Generational change happens all the time on a steady basis, but there are points of time when it has a big effect, and evangelicals are going through one of those times, on religious terms, social terms, and political terms.''

The latest development in the discussion of the role of religion in the passage of California's Proposition 8, the measure that would overturn same-sex marriage in that state, is a comic musical video, made by advocates of gay marriage, that imagines Jesus (played by actor Jack Black) singing in support of gay rights. Obviously, this video comes from one side in a highly contested debate over what Christianity has to say about homosexuality. The video features not only Jack Black, but also Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, Rashida Jones.

AP Entertainment writer Jake Coyle reports, "The video was posted Wednesday on FunnyOrDie.com, the video site co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay...The video was conceived and written by Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer of "Hairspray" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut." McKay, who had previously collaborated with Shaiman on the song-and-dance routine Ferrell, Black and Reilly did at the Oscars earlier this year, sent him an e-mail floating the idea of a video."

And over at ArtsBeat (The New York Times's arts blog), Dave Itzkoff has a Q&A with Shaiman about what Itzkoff calls a "comedic song-and-dance diatribe." Itzkoff also reports that "In just one day of online existence, the Funny Or Die video 'Prop 8­ — The Musical” has received more than 1.2 million hits'.''

Here's the video:

There's been a lot of other news on the faith-and-8 front. Some highlights:

In tomorrow's issue of Catholic San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer (left) defends the churches, including Catholics and Mormons, that supported Proposition 8, writing,

"Why was it done? Some voices in the wider community declare that there could be only one motive: hatred, prejudice and bigotry against gays, along with a determination to discriminate against them and deny them their civil rights. That is not so. The churches that worked in favor of Proposition 8 did so because of their belief that the traditional understanding and definition of marriage is in need of defense and support, and not in need of being re-designed or re-configured. Some of our opponents respond with this question: Even if these churches saw the California State Supreme Court decision in May as damaging to the institution of marriage as they understood and valued it, shouldn’t they have kept quiet and stayed on the sidelines? Some would say that, in light of the separation of church and state, churches should remain silent about any political matter. However, religious leaders in America have the constitutional right to speak out on issues of public policy. Catholic bishops, specifically, also have a responsibility to teach the faith, and our beliefs about marriage and family are part of this faith. Indeed, to insist that citizens be silent about their religious beliefs when they are participating in the public square is to go against the constant American political tradition. Such a gag order would have silenced many abolitionists in the nineteenth century and many civil rights advocates in the twentieth."

And the Public Policy Institute of California yesterday released new poll results finding that "Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state, drew its strongest support from evangelical Christians and Republicans.''

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the evangelical seminary headquartered in South Hamilton (above), today announced budget cutbacks in response to the impact of the economic downturn. Here is the news release:

"Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary will reduce staff and close its full service BookCentre as part of major initiatives to address a $1 million budget deficit.

Speaking to the seminary community November 24, President & Professor of Christian Ethics Dr. Dennis P. Hollinger told faculty and staff: 'The economic downturn sweeping across our world has significantly affected our organization, as it has most academic institutions. Since July 1, our endowment funds have lost more than 20 percent in value. This means that the amount we can distribute from the endowment for operating expenses is substantially lower.'

'This fall, enrollment was 7 percent lower than last year, producing an additional revenue shortfall. As a result, we now face a deficit of approximately $1 million in the $20 million FY 08-09 budget.'

Among a number of actions to cut operating expenses, the seminary is reducing staff positions by 15 through attrition, retirement and layoffs. Operating budgets will be cut by more than $400,000, and matching contributions to the employee pension fund will be suspended for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. The seminary will also reduce the number of continuing education events offered during 2009.

The BookCentre will close its full service operation in mid-January. It will continue to offer academic texts for the convenience of students.

In explaining the necessity of these actions, Dr. Hollinger noted that the major cuts, based upon a revised revenue forecast, will align limited resources toward the seminary’s core areas of ministry.

'Our seminal mission,' he said, 'is to provide an exceptional academic education, and a spiritual environment that will prepare our students for ministry through the world. With that mission as our highest priority, the Leadership Team, in consultation with other campus leaders, has taken steps to address the immediate financial challenge, ensure an excellent education for our students, and provide the capacity for innovative actions that will strengthen us for future growth.'"

Gordon-Conwell has 2,100 students, from multiple denominations, spread over four campuses -- in addition to the South Hamilton headquarters, the school has a Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston, and campuses in Charlotte, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla.

(Photos courtesy of Gordon-Conwell.)

California is facing a measure that would restrict gay rights amidst a national debate over how the nation's legal framework should view homosexuality. The conservative religious community throws its muscle behind the proposition. And the gay community protests. Sound familiar?

That was the scenario not only this year, when California voters approved Proposition 8, which would overturn same-sex marriage, but also in 1978, when California voters rejected Proposition 6, which would have barred gay and lesbians from working in the schools.

The 1978 battle is at the heart of the new biopic, "Milk," which opens tomorrow, and which seems likely to intensify the focus on the tension between conservative religious congregations and gay rights advocates. The film is about the political career of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist who was assassinated shortly after being elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors.

I saw the film at a screening last night, and the parallels drawn between 1978 and 2008 are unmistakable. In depicting the debate over Proposition 6, the so-called Briggs Initiative, the film focuses on the role of Anita Bryant in rallying conservative Protestant churches to support the measure.

Although the film has actors recreating most roles, it uses archival news footage of Bryant, as well as reports by Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite and others, to document the campaign. Bryant, who was affiliated with a conservative Southern Baptist congregation, is clearly situated in a religious context, and the film suggests that the debate over gay rights in the 1970s helped spur the political activism of the religious right. The film also places Milk's assassin, Dan White, in a deeply Catholic subculture -- a key scene in the film occurs at the christening of White's child, where Milk and White discuss gay rights, and White's wife suggests the topic is inappropriate in a church.

The dynamics on display in 1978 are, of course, echoed in the current debate over the role of the Mormon church, as well as Catholic, evangelical, African-American and Hispanic congregations, in supporting Proposition 8. In the three decades since the period depicted in the film, homosexuality has roiled many American denominations, with ceaseless battles over whether to ordain gays, whether to bless gay unions, and whether to support same-sex marriage. In response to the religious right, a religious left has emerged that is supportive of gay rights, so the debate now takes place not only between the religious and the nonreligious, but also within the world of religion. But the film offers a provocative look at one of the early acts in this still unfolding drama.

(Photo, by Phil Bray/Focus Features, shows Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in "Milk.")

Theologically inclined bloggers are having a field day with the president-elect. Over at Newsweek, Lisa Miller takes a brief look at ongoing chatter among the Rapture-ready about whether Barack Obama is the Antichrist. And at Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam offers a useful roundup of the debate going on about whether Obama is a Christian, fueled by his failure to clearly ascribe divinity to Jesus in an interview four years ago. (This was what he said: "Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.")

(Photo from McCain campaign ad.)

Today is the 90th birthday of evangelist Billy Graham (above right), who is increasingly confined to his mountain retreat in North Carolina. His son, Franklin, told the Associated Press that Graham's health is weak enough that he will not be able to consult with President Obama in the way that he has advised many previous presidents. "My father feels like his time and day for that is over," Franklin Graham said. "But he would certainly like to meet (Obama) and pray with him."

To mark the occasion, Gordon College in Wenham, where Graham was a trustee from 1955 until 1972, published an open letter to Graham quoting some of its faculty and alumni who have seen Graham in action. Some excerpts:

“In 1949, the Billy Graham Crusade came to Boston and began on New Year’s Eve. What did that crusade mean to us who were Gordon students? For those 17 days in January 1950 we talked of little else. We held prayer meetings. We volunteered as personal workers and to sing in the choir. Yes, we still had to go to classes—I don’t remember our professors lightening the load of assignments. But the whole campus was focused on the Billy Graham meetings. The kitchen served our main meal at noon and prepared bag suppers for those going downtown. People were turned away every night so we had to get there early. Going back on the subway, whole cars filled with people singing praises to God—in Boston! . . . The crusade impacted many of us in significant ways. Your messages, straight from the Bible, clearly pointed people to Jesus Christ as the answer to their deepest problems, and they responded by the thousands.” — alumna Pauline Kolodinski Brown ’50.

“I ‘got saved’ at a Billy Graham crusade in October of 1971, in the Anaheim Stadium in Orange County, California. There are a thousand reasons I might have fallen away—my counterculture leanings back then, my mainline-bordering-on-Unitarian upbringing—but my conversion ‘took,’ and all these years later I am still a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful for Billy’s huge heart and his straight-shot approach to evangelism.” —Patty Hanlon, director of publications in the Office of College Communications.

“Several years ago I heard you speak at the Memorial Chapel at Harvard University on What Does the Cross of Christ Mean to You? I was so grateful that you did not compromise the gospel message in any way for the Harvard community, but presented the good news of the cross at Harvard as you have around the world. May God richly bless you during this time of your birthday celebrations.” —Roger J. Green, professor of biblical and theological studies.

If you have recollections about Graham's crusades here in Boston or elsewhere, feel free to share them here.

(Undated photo above, courtesy of Gordon College, shows Graham, at right, with Harold J. Ockenga, the president of Gordon College from 1969-76.)

The student newspaper at Gordon College, an evangelical Christian college in Wenham, Mass., has endorsed Barack Obama for president. The paper, called the Tartan, does not have a web site, but here's the full text of its endorsement:

"Over the past week, as we have collected responses and insights from students and faculty to put together this special Election Edition of the Tartan, we have heard some intriguing and thought-provoking arguments from republicans, democrats, and independents about why they are supporting their candidate of choice. After much serious consideration, the Tartan is pleased to offer its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.

Last spring, when the Tartan endorsed Senator Obama for the Democratic nomination, it was because he “offers the unique opportunity to have a president who inspires the public imagination to envision what is possible and empowers its leaders and citizens to rise to the occasion.” In the months since then, Senator Obama has more than lived up to these words. He has offered strong, even-keeled leadership in the face of economic turmoil; he has remained calm, thoughtful, and articulate when discussing issues of healthcare, energy, and foreign policy; and he has inspired a grassroots movement – both at home and abroad – to support his candidacy. For these reasons and more, we believe that Senator Obama is most fit to lead America through these uncertain times and to begin the process of rebranding and reclaiming good standing in America’s foreign relations.

Furthermore, while we acknowledge Senator McCain’s long history of bi-partisanship, we believe that the manner in which he has managed his campaign has not reflected strong leadership and more importantly, has not demonstrated that he is capable of bringing about the changes necessary to move beyond petty partisan feuding and begin making real progress in Washington. While both candidates had ugly moments in their campaigning, Senator McCain’s advertisements and stump speeches were consistently negative – trying to tear down his opponent, rather than make a case for his own candidacy. This way of campaigning is in line with the Rovian tactics of the last administration – a type of campaigning that America would do well to leave behind moving into the future.

Likewise, we agree with Colin Powell, Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, Christopher Buckley, Kathleen Parker, and many other well-respected conservatives, that Senator McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate was reckless and cynical. It has become very clear over the past few weeks that Governor Palin is grossly unfit for the job she is running for - much less, the job she would resume should something happen to Senator McCain. As recently as last week she was quoted as saying the role of vice-president was to “be in charge of the Senate.” This, in addition to her comments about the role of the vice president being left intentionally vague by the framers of the Constitution, reflect a lack of understanding of basic tenants of the position for which she is running. And in light of the secrecy and abuse of power in the last administration, Governor Palin’s “mix-ups” should be met with much harsher criticism.

The Tartan believes that Senator Obama possesses the necessary leadership skills, policy experience, and critical thinking ability to be an effective commander-in-chief. But more than this, he possesses these traits without a hint of cynicism. He is thoughtful and wise at a time when we need thoughtfulness and wisdom. And for this reason, we believe he is the ideal candidate for the presidency."

Billy Graham turns 90 on Friday, and on the eve of his birthday, the Charlotte Observer's Tim Funk takes a look at how the much-loved evangelist is spending his waning days. An excerpt:

"Like so many others battling old age, the Charlotte-born Graham tires easily, naps often, is sometimes lonely and has great difficulty hearing. In conversation, his responses aren't as quick as they once were. Macular degeneration is slowly stealing his sight, denying him one of the chief pleasures of his life: reading the Bible. A widower for more than a year, he still grieves daily, even hourly, for Ruth, his wife of nearly 64 years and the woman whose picture brightens the rooms in the house she designed and decorated. But for all the loss, those around Graham say his mind remains sharp, his memory strong. And like the young preacher whose calendar was ever-full, the elderly Graham still prefers to focus on the future: on that day he'll see Ruth again in heaven and finally get to gaze on the face of Jesus, who he has served faithfully since his conversion at a Charlotte revival in 1934. 'I've discovered that just because we'll inevitably grow weaker physically as we get older, it doesn't mean we must grow weaker spiritually,' Graham, still the evangelist, said in response to questions e-mailed by the Observer. 'Our eyes ought to be on eternity and heaven – on the things that really matter.'"

(Photo above was taken by UPI in 1973 in St. Paul, Minnesota.)

Five years ago, more or less, a small group of Dorchester residents had the audacity to declare that an oil-stained garage at the corner of Quincy and Baker streets was to be a church. Today, about 50 people gathered in the building to celebrate their ups and downs, and simply their survival.

The story of the Quincy Street Missional Church, and its affiliated thrift shop, Ma Siss's Place, was the subject of a four-part series in the Globe last December. I spent three years with the congregation while reporting that series; since its publication, I've been back for a few visits, and for a funeral, but today was the first time in a while I've had a chance to catch up.

The congregation has had more than its share of challenges -- in the neighborhood, midway between Upham's Corner and Franklin Park, drugs and violence are a problem, and the congregation has struggled with multiple issues over time. But after a hard summer, the fall has brought better attendance at the Saturday afternoon worship (a time originally chosen because some of the members belonged to established churches that met Sunday mornings) and today was an impressive display -- the sanctuary, constructed inside the garage, was packed; there were multiple musical performers accompanied by drums and electronic instruments, and Ma Siss and her neighbors had prepared a huge spread of food, including fried chicken, ribs, and macaroni and cheese. There are now enough volunteers from local evangelical churches that every child who wants one can have a tutor. And a Back Bay congregation, Reunion, is pledging to come weekly for a while to help with the music, backing up the congregation's talented music leader, Nadia Varela, who is now also teaching music at a Boston middle school. The congregation is already thinking about the holidays -- a company has donated coats that the church will give to its neediest members.

Several people got up to talk about the influence of the church in their lives. Cliff, active in the congregation's AA meeting, talked about how he had been sober for two years thanks to the church. Tom Groeneman, the only person who has been ordained by the church, said the congregation had helped him remain sober and connected. Ma Fann, wearing an Obama T-shirt with a white skirt and jacket, served as usher, while Ma Siss, beaming, oversaw the kitchen. Aaron Graham, the founding pastor, and his wife, Amy, sent greetings; they are living in Washington now and just adopted a baby boy, Elijah.

The most moving moment came when a woman known to all as Sister Woodberry got up to speak. She is in her late 80s, and can't walk unassisted -- even with a walker, she struggled to get up to the microphone, and her voice was almost inaudible. But then she launched into an a capella rendition of a well-known gospel song called "99 1/2 won't do'' ("Lord, I'm running trying to make 100 because 99 and a half won't do"). As she sang, her voice rose, she stood upright, and the congregation began to clap. It wasn't entirely clear, as they joined in on the chorus, whether they were thinking about their own longevity, or that of the congregation, or just about the importance of determination and faith as elements of survival, but as Sister Woodberry apologized in advance for how long it would take her to walk back to her seat, she noted that her parents had lived into their 90s, and that she intends to outlast them. And then, she said, "If I don't make it, you can say I tried.''

(Photo, of Ma Siss, by Pat Greenhouse of the Globe staff.)

In the new edition of the New Yorker, Margaret Talbot takes a look at the high pregnancy rates among evangelical teenagers. An excerpt:

"According to Add Health data, evangelical teen-agers are more sexually active than Mormons, mainline Protestants, and Jews. On average, white evangelical Protestants make their 'sexual début' -- to use the festive term of social-science researchers -- shortly after turning sixteen. Among major religious groups, only black Protestants begin having sex earlier."

(Photo at right, by John Tlumacki of the Globe staff, shows Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter, Bristol Palin, and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, at the Republican convention in September.)

From today's Globe:

In Rome recently, a parade of luminaries, starting with Pope Benedict XVI, spent the better part of a week reading the Bible aloud on Italian television. Now, a Christian publisher in the United States has embarked on a different effort at engaging people with the Bible: sending two couples around the country in a 42-foot motor home to compile a handwritten version of the Scriptures by asking 31,173 people to each write a single verse. The tour stopped in Lexington yesterday, where over the course of six hours nearly 200 people gathered in the main lobby of Grace Chapel, a large evangelical congregation, to participate. The event had been promoted on Christian radio, and some came from several hours away for a chance to stand at a light table and, in black ink, print two copies of a single verse. One of the books will be offered to the Smithsonian Institution; the second will be auctioned to benefit the International Bible Society. And a copy of the collection will be published next year. "It's really neat - it caused me to think back before print, what it must have been like to write the Bible," said Stacey Thureen, director of communications at Grace Chapel. Thureen said she copied Numbers 12:7, and the exercise "did cause me to slow down and look at the verse and think about what I was writing." The event was organized by Zondervan, a publishing house that is marking the 30th anniversary of its New International Version Bible, which is the most widely used contemporary English translation.

(Photo by Essdras M Suarez/Globe staff.)

I hadn't caught this, but several alert religion bloggers have noted that, in her guest appearance on Saturday Night Live, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin told actor Alec Baldwin (left) that she prefers his brother, Stephen (right). That's of interest in evangelical circles because Stephen is the born-again Baldwin brother, as AP reporter David Bauder noted in his story.

Over at GetReligion, Daniel Pulliam writes:

"The reference is subtle enough that many people missed it or just failed to mention it. I know while watching the show Sunday morning (after a good night’s sleep) I didn’t pick up on the reference. I wonder whether the SNL writers knew the connection they were making between Palin and the other Baldwin?"

At Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam also makes note of Palin's preference.

Here's the SNL clip:

The latest edition of NAE Insight, the newsletter of the National Association of Evangelicals, has just arrived in the mail, and there's a thoughtful analysis of the two presidential candidates, from the vantage point of an evangelical, by the organization's vice president, Richard Cizik (left). An excerpt:

"Two different sets of philosophy are at stake: Obama is a Christian – no doubt about that – though he’s a thinker who sees the grays in ethical choices ('when life begins is above my pay-grade'). He hints at his values when he talks about tax cuts and health care policies. But he is indirect. McCain is less inclined to see the adiaphorous ethical middle ground between black and white. He opts for clarity of moral opposites ('life begins at conception'). Neither man is an evangelical, though Obama has given faith more thought and reflection. (I’ve seen this up close, being among the 25 leaders who met with him in Chicago during the summer.) Two different definitions of change are at stake: Obama has become the champion of policy changes – a switch from Republican to Democratic policies, on a range of issues from the war to taxes and the economy. McCain has become a champion of systemic changes – promising to shake up Washington and change the system. Two different sets of character are at stake: Obama has attempted to sell himself as a 'healer' personality. McCain has portrayed himself as a 'warrior' who will fight for his values, which are less traditional conservatism and more about his own brand of 'maverickism.' Either way, unless we think theologically, allowing our mindset to be shaped by our biblical principles (e.g., see 'For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility'), our political views and attitudes will be no different from our secular counterparts. Way too many evangelicals who vote (half do not even vote), let political ideology rather than biblical truth determine their vote. And they come across as partisan ideologues."

A poll by St. Anselm College finds Sen. Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, with a narrow lead over Sen. John McCain, who opposes abortion, among Catholic likely voters in New Hampshire. The poll found Obama up 43 percent to 39 percent among Catholics.

Among evangelicals, who make up a much smaller portion of the New Hampshire electorate, the poll found McCain ahead 54 percent to 29 percent.

Overall, the poll, conducted for the college's New Hampshire Institute of Politics, finds Obama ahead of McCain by a 12 point margin:

When asked whom they plan to vote for in the Nov. 4 general election, 49% of respondents said Obama and 37% answered McCain. Another 11% said they are undecided, but among those who have selected a candidate, 88% say they will not change their mind. "The results are significant and show upward movement for Obama, but it is still early in the world of elective politics,” said Michael Dupre, NHIOP senior fellow, who designed the poll. “The trends in this poll give us helpful data, but this race remains volatile and numbers leading up to Election Day will reflect that."

Over at Spiritual Politics, Mark Silk says the results provide evidence for his hypothesis that "evangelicals in the North are significantly more likely to prefer Obama than their co-religionists in Dixie.''

In today's Globe, Shelley Murphy, the paper's longtime chronicler of organized crime, reports that the onetime auto body shop that had functioned as the headquarters for a murderous gambling and loan-sharking gang is now going to be converted into a Pentecostal church:

"The infamous hangout of gun-toting gangsters in the 1970s will be born again - as a Pentecostal church. A preacher who bought the Marshall Street garage earlier this year from former gang leader Howie Winter said he plans to transform the building into the new home of the Somerville Church of God, which will open its doors in January. The planned transformation was greeted yesterday with amusement by several of the gang's former members as they reminisced about the old days. 'Hallelujah!' said John Martorano (right), a 67-year-old hitman-turned-government witness who confessed to killing 20 people - including one victim that he shot to death in the garage in 1974. 'I think it's great. I'm all for religion.'"

Here's something you don't see every day: a Southern Baptist congregation, in Boston, with a pastor from Egypt and worship services in Arabic. The congregation, the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church of Boston, is located in West Roxbury; in the Globe's City Weekly section today, Robert Preer has the story :

"The church is growing, according to its pastor, but he has no illusions of its joining the ranks of the evangelical churches of the American South. 'Is the church growing? Yes. Is it growing like a megachurch? No. We're not within the Bible Belt. We're in New England.'"

(Photo, of the Rev. Khaled B. Ghobrial, by Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff.)

The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal advocacy organization, is causing a bit of a stir with its call for clergy this Sunday to speak out about candidates for public office, in defiance of IRS regulations limiting political speech from the pulpit. (The regulations allow congregations, as tax-exempt organizations, to take positions on issues, but not on specific candidates.) The ADF is hoping that the event, which it has dubbed "Pulpit Freedom Sunday,'' will lead to a test case challenging the regulations. An excerpt from the ADF's argument:

"It is time for the intimidation and threats to end. Churches and pastors have a constitutional right to speak freely and truthfully from the pulpit – even on candidates and voting – without fearing loss of their tax exemption."

In the Christian Science Monitor today, Jane Lampman reports that about 35 clergy around the country are expected to participate:

"I have a First Amendment right to say whatever I want to say, and I've never thought it was appropriate that as a pastor I could not share my political concerns with the congregation," says the Rev. Gus Booth, pastor at Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn. Mr. Booth will endorse Sen. John McCain on Sunday, and has already told his congregation that as Christians, they could not vote for Sen. Barack Obama due to his position on abortion.

But the restrictions have many defenders as well, among them Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance, which has launched a competing campaign to maintain the boundary between pulpits and politics. Gaddy said in a sermon last weekend:

"I cannot stress strongly enough my objections to turning houses of worship into pseudo-precinct nominating conventions. I am as concerned about what such a practice in houses of worship would do to the integrity and credibility of religion as about what it would do to weaken the Constitution.”

(Photo, shot in 1995, by the Detroit Free Press.)

At Morning Star Church in O'Fallon, Missouri, the Rev. Mike Schreiner is accepting mid-sermon text-messaged questions from worshipers. Tim Townsend, the religion writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reports:

"The church's embrace of texting — this was the third week of its experiment — has already improved the dialogue, according to Schreiner, and energized many of Morning Star's younger members. 'I love it,' said 14-year-old Kailey Elfstrum, who had her text all ready to go even before Schreiner's sermon began. 'You get to ask the pastor anything you want while he's talking.' Her friend Maddie Howard, also 14, agreed. 'You don't want to admit your sins to the rest of the church, but this way you can still ask something important,' she said."

(File photo by AFP.)

Is the name of God unpronounceable?

Jews traditionally do not write or pronounce the Tetragrammaton, as the four Hebrew letters (right) that name God are called. Orthodox Jews don't even write out the word God; instead, they write G-d.

But among Christians, there has generally been no such inhibition, and the Hebrew name for God has been freely transliterated as Jehovah or Yahweh.

The Vatican, saying the name of God deserves more reverence, earlier this summer instructed that Catholics stop using the word Yahweh in worship, a step that is expected to affect a number of hymns, according to the Catholic News Service.

And now comes Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine, talking with Protestants about the issue. One of several perspectives reported in the article:

"Protestants should be following their lead, said Carol Bechtel, professor of Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. 'It's always left me baffled and perplexed and embarrassed that we sprinkle our hymns with that name,' she said. 'Whether or not there are Jewish brothers and sisters in earshot, the most obvious reason to avoid using the proper and more personal name of God in the Old Testament is simply respect for God.'"

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, responding to the extraordinary level of interest in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin since she was named the GOP vice-presidential candidate, has pulled together a portrait of the religious landscape of the Last Frontier, and says that Alaskans are "less religious than other Americans." An excerpt:

"GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is a self-described 'Bible-believing Christian,' but statistics from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey show that compared with the nation as a whole, Alaska is home to a higher-than-average number of people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion. More than one-in-four Alaskans (27%) describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular, compared with 16% among the adult population of the continental U.S. In this respect, Alaska closely resembles some other Northwestern states, including Oregon (27% unaffiliated with any particular religion) and Washington (23% unaffiliated)."

The Pew data is interesting in part because, when combined with Palin's very high popularity ratings, it suggests that her evangelicalism and conservative views on social issues were not an obstacle in the eyes of less-religious Alaskans. The survey notes that Alaskans are slightly more supportive of abortion rights than the nation as a whole, and are equally divided over acceptance of homosexuality, just like the nation. Another excerpt:

"Alaskans are somewhat more wary than other Americans of the government's role in protecting morality. More than six-in-ten Alaskans (62%) worry that the government is getting too involved in the issue of morality, while only 33% say that the government should be doing more to protect morality. The general population is more divided on this question (52% worry government is too involved, 40% say government should do more to protect morality)."

I have to say that the phenomenon of holding candidates accountable for the controversial remarks of their pastors is a bit mystifying to me -- in most of the churches and synagogues with which I'm most familiar, criticizing the sermon after a worship service is practically a sporting event, and the idea that worshipers might be held accountable for the opinions of their priest, minister or rabbi seems a bit crazy.

But I suppose it's inevitable that, given the controversies over Obama pastor Jeremiah Wright and McCain endorser John Hagee, there are now a lot of people combing through the past remarks of pastors and other speakers at Sarah Palin's multiple churches, looking for anything that might reflect badly on her.

The first to weigh in was Harper's magazine, which, as I noted earlier, didn't turn up anything particularly surprising in its review of on-line sermons at the Juneau Christian Center and the Church on the Rock, two congregations where Palin has worshiped.

But other news organizations have had more luck. Politico reports that Palin was present at the Wasilla Bible Church two weeks ago when the pastor gave a warm welcome to the organization Jews for Jesus, which is viewed with great hostility by the mainstream Jewish community, and when the Jews for Jesus founder described terrorist attacks on Jews as the "judgment of unbelief."

And Mudflats, a blog about Alaskan politics, offers an item headlined, "Sarah Palin's Preacher Problem,'' which quotes Palin saying three months ago, "our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” The post quotes Ed Kalnins, the senior pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God, where Palin was a member until 2002, saying "I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode. Everyone say 'war mode.' Now you say, wait a minute Ed, he’s like the good shepherd, he’s loving all the time and he’s kind all the time. Oh yes he is — but I also believe that he had a part of his thoughts that knew that he was in a war."

But even as liberals are apoplectic about the Palin pick, evangelicals are clearly energized. The New York Times today reports on McCain's success turning around his relationship with religious conservatives. An excerpt:

To make up for a history of conflict with the Christian conservative wing of his party, Mr. McCain has in some ways gone further than Mr. Bush to reassure the right of his intentions, even at the risk of spooking more moderate voters. “I am now more confident about a John McCain presidency than I am about a George Bush presidency,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “The campaign has courted conservatives aggressively, and it has turned around remarkably in just the last few weeks."

Meantime, in the new issue of the New Yorker, Peter Boyer explores the history of outreach by both parties to religious voters. The piece is dated, even before it hits the stands, because of the Palin pick, but still has some interesting reflections from Karl Rove, Douglas Kmiec, and Deal Hudson.

UPDATE: The JTA, a Jewish news service, reports that Abe Foxman, the head of the ADL, is not concerned about the Jews for Jesus appearance at Palin's church. An excerpt:

“If you could tell me that she approves of this guy, she invited him, I’m not aware of any of that...The fact that she belongs to a church that believes in it, I don’t have a problem.”

(Photo, by AP, shows Palin in Dayton on Friday.)

The evangelical Protestant community, which had been jubilant over the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate, is now rallying to support her after the announcement that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol (shown at right, holding her brother), is five months pregnant. The pregnancy, on the one hand, suggests that Palin's own family has had trouble conforming to the sexual mores espoused by Christian conservatives, but, on the other hand, provides further evidence of their willingness to live out their opposition to abortion.

Christianity Today has catalogued some of the early reaction, including that of James Dobson of Focus on the Family. An excerpt:

"Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord. I've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness and restoration in my own life countless times, as I'm sure the Palins have. The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human."

Lesser known figures are also speaking up, and providing an early window into evangelical reaction. Randy Speck, the superintendent of the Oakland Christian School, writes in his blog:

"Politicians certainly aren’t perfect and neither are their families. I will make the assumption that when the swarm of bees comes around (the media), that it is going to be brutal on this young lady and her family. I pray that the Christian community doesn”t join in…instead, let’s practice Jesus’ teachings of loving people no matter where they find themselves and what has happened. Think about it, this family’s world was drastically changed 72 hours ago when Gov. Palin was announced as VP nominee. Now this news has been confirmed. Come on Christian community, let’s lift Bristol Palin up in prayer; pray for the health of the baby she carries; for the father making the commitment to being a dad and ost of all, let’s all be thankful for our Heavenly Father who loves us no matter what."

And at Right Truth, Debbie blogs:

"If you have ever had a teenage daughter or son, you know that you can do EVERYTHING right, and they are still going to make mistakes. Children make bad decisions, even if they have been raised in a loving home, a Christian home. But parents still love their children, they continue to support those wayward kids. Like any parent, I'm sure Sarah Palin would have chosen a different path for her daughter. But, Sarah Palin is not to be faulted for the decisions her daughter made."

But the announcement is also giving fuel to Palin skeptics. Over at the Atlantic, blogger Andrew Sullivan, an Obama supporter who writes frequently about religion and politics, is calling for the McCain campaign to release Sarah Palin's medical records to confirm that the governor is the biological mother of the Palin family baby. An excerpt:

"Now they've cleared the air on this - and good for them - what harm would it do to release the medical records showing that Sarah Palin delivered Trig on April 18 in Wasilla? This is not hard: there must be an obstetrician, medical records, and data that can easily refute this rumor. It is not out of the ordinary either: candidates routinely issue medical records. So let's have them. And then we can move on."

UPDATE: Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, comments:

"Unfortunately, teenage pregnancy has become all too common in today's society regardless of a family's economic or social status. It is problem that we remain committed to reducing through encouraging young people to practice abstinence. Fortunately, Bristol is following her mother and father's example of choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation. We are committed to praying for Bristol and her husband to be and the entire Palin family as they walk through a very private matter in the eyes of the public."

UPDATE: A bit more detail on Palin's faith life: According to the LA Times, Palin, who was born in Idaho and raised in Alaska, was baptized in the Catholic church. Palin was baptized again, in a Pentecostal church, the Wasilla Assembly of God Church, and was a member there from the time she was a teenager until 2002, according to a statement on the congregation's web site. And now, the Associated Press reports:

"She now sometimes worships at the Juneau Christian Center, which is also part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, said Brad Kesler, business administrator of the denomination's Alaska District. But her home church is The Church on the Rock, an independent congregation, (Wasilla Assembly of God's founding pastor Paul) Riley said. "The church was kind of a foundation for her," said Riley, who said he gave the invocation at Palin's inauguration and had her address students at the church last month. Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself Pentecostal."

Harper's magazine, in the wake of controversies over remarks made by ministers associated with Obama and McCain, has reviewed the sermons of two of Palin's pastors. Their review turns up nothing that strikes me as particularly extraordinary, but includes quotations such as this one, from David Pepper, senior pastor at Church on the Rock:

“God will not be mocked. I don’t care what the ACLU says. God will not be mocked. I don’t care what atheists say. God will not be mocked. I don’t care what’s going on in the nation today with so much horrific rebellion and sin and things that take place. God will not be mocked. Judgment Day is coming. Where do you stand?”

UPDATE: Sarah Palin seemed to be telling Eagle Forum Alaska in 2006 that she supported abstinence-only education. Her response to a candidate questionnaire:

Q: Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

A: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

(Photo, by AP, shows Bristol Palin, holding her brother Trig, in Dayton last Friday.)

Zion Bible College, an Assemblies of God institution that trains Pentecostal ministers, has completed its move from Barrington, R.I. to Haverhill, Mass. Zion has, to the delight of local officials, once again brought life to the property that had been the campus of Bradford College, but has been vacant since that liberal arts school closed in 2000. In Globe North, correspondent Wendy Killeen reports:

About 300 students from around the world have come to be trained as ministers, missionaries, and teachers - living and studying on the campus. "We are ecstatic," said Charles Crabtree, Zion's president. "It was done in just a few months and now looks like a really beautiful, classic New England campus. It's a treasure."

(Photo by Essdras M. Suarez of the Globe staff.)

John McCain's vice-presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is an evangelical Protestant with a strong record of opposition to abortion and an openness to teaching creationism in the public schools.

Palin is the mother of five children, one of whom was born with Down Syndrome. She learned that her son had Down Syndrome when she was four months pregnant, and she told the Associated Press in May that she never considered ending the pregnancy. "We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," she said in the AP interview. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential." Palin also said of her son, whose name is Trig Paxon Van Palin, "I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"

In November of 2006, the Anchorage Daily News described Palin's positions on social issues in a story wrapping up the governor's race:

"A significant part of Palin's base of support lies among social and Christian conservatives. Her positions on social issues emerged slowly during the campaign: on abortion (should be banned for anything other than saving the life of the mother), stem cell research (opposed), physician-assisted suicide (opposed), creationism (should be discussed in schools), state health benefits for same-sex partners (opposed, and supports a constitutional amendment to bar them)."

And in October of 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Palin said the following about creationism at a debate:

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information....Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

Palin identifies herself as a Christian; she headed her high school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Here's a bit more detail on her faith life from the first story in a two-part profile that ran in 2006 in the Anchorage Daily News:

"Palin's parents say they are not political and don't know how she decided to turn her ambition and work ethic toward politics. Her Christian faith, they say, came from her mother, who took her children to area Bible churches as they were growing up (Sarah is the third of four siblings). They say her faith has been steady since high school, when she led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and grew stronger as she sought out believers in her college years. Palin doesn't brandish her religion on the campaign trail, but that doesn't prevent others from doing so. After she was first elected mayor, her predecessor, John Stein, objected that a Valley cable TV program had hailed her as Wasilla's first 'Christian mayor.' In a column for the local newspaper, he named eight previous mayors and added that he, too, was a Christian, despite a name that led some voters to suspect 'I must be a non-Christian, have non-Christian blood or at least have sympathized with a non-Christian sometime in my career.'"

(Photo by Reuters.)

The New York Times takes an interesting look at whether Kisik Lee, the head archery coach for the U.S., goes too far in evangelizing his team. Lee has served as the sponsor in the baptisms of four archers. An excerpt:

"Lee said coaching was more of a challenge for him when members of the team did not share his beliefs. 'I don’t want to have any favorites,' he said. 'I would love to be fair for everyone. But sooner or later, if they can see through me God, that’s what I want to try to do. I’m not God, and I can’t drive them to God, but I can pray for them.'"

(Photo, by Getty, shows U.S. archery coach Kisik Lee at a Beijing news conference on Aug. 6.)

In today's Washington Post, columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. argues that last weekend's Rick Warren-hosted interviews of Barack Obama and John McCain are evidence of a real shift in evangelical politics. He writes:

"Anyone who still doubts that the evangelical Christian world is going through a political revolution was not watching Pastor Rick Warren's presidential forum this weekend. The era of reducing Christianity to a narrow set of ideological commitments is over. Just a few years ago, who would have imagined that Barack Obama and John McCain would hold a discussion of this sort in a church? Who would have thought that the session would be moderated by an evangelical pastor who was emphatic in counting both the Democrat and the Republican as his 'friends'? Who would have predicted that in such a setting, the issues of abortion and gay marriage would not dominate the pastor's queries?"

If anyone had any doubt about the influence of Rick Warren, last night provided a remarkable demonstration of his pull -- Barack Obama and John McCain both agreed to submit, one after the other, to televised questions from the evangelical pastor at his church in Orange County, California.

Warren, of course, is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," which, after selling 25 million copies, is now reportedly the best-selling hardback book ever. Saddleback Church, which Warren founded in 1980 with one family, now has 22,000 people at worship each week. Warren has become ubiquitous -- even in Boston, he has spoken at Harvard and was this year's commencement speaker at Gordon College -- and his words have been printed on Starbucks cups. And he has become the best-known advocate of a new set of public policy priorities for evangelicals in the public square -- yes, he opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, but his public focus has been on AIDS in Africa, and he has devoted considerable energy to training pastors in the developing world.

The Saddleback Civil Forum, as Warren dubbed last night's event, featured Warren interviewing Obama, and then McCain, for an hour each, before an audience of 2,200. The candidates, in their first joint appearance since becoming the likely nominees of the two major political parties, appeared on the stage together for a few seconds, and shook hands.

Warren asked the candidates about marriage, abortion, stem-cell research, and what Christianity means to them. Obama's answer, according to a partial transcript from Warren:

"It means I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through Him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don't walk alone. But what it also means, I think, is a sense of obligation to embrace not just words, but also through deeds and expectations that God has for us. And that means thinking about the least of these - acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God."

And McCain's response:

"It means I am saved and forgiven."

(I just realized this morning that Rick Warren is now apparently running his own news service, so for all the Rick Warren news you need, provided by Rick Warren, about Rick Warren, check out this site. I was trying to think about whether there are any other religious leaders who communicate about their own activities in this way; the only parallels that come to mind are denominational heads, like Pope Benedict XVI or Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who have news departments that chronicle their appearances and utterances.)

There's lots of coverage of the Saddleback event in today's papers; the Globe's story, by Sasha Issenberg, is here.

But there is also some critical comment now emerging about Warren's role in the campaign.

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, who is now a senior fellow at Georgetown's Woodstock Theological Center, sent out an e-mail yesterday wondering what would happen if a Catholic figure attempted such a feat.

"Before the forum takes place, let me say how weird the whole event appears to me as a Catholic priest. First, my understanding is that the forum will take place in the sanctuary of the Saddleback Church. I think that is inappropriate. A church hall would be OK but not the sanctuary which should be reserved for worship service. This is not a question of separation of church and state--I leave that to the constitutional lawyers. This is a question of what is religiously appropriate and inappropriate to do in churches. Catholics appear to have a very different standard than Evangelicals (both white and black). The Vatican is even opposed to holding concerts in churches. Second, imagine for a second that the forum was being sponsored by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and was held in the sanctuary of his cathedral. The outcry would be defining. The public and the media appear more easily to accept political activity by Evangelical clergy than by Catholic clergy. Catholic clergy are held to a higher standard. For example, Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson can run for president, but imagine what would happen if Cardinal George or Cardinal Egan ran for president. Don't get me wrong. I do not want Catholic cardinals or clergy publicly getting involved in partisan politics. I am happy that canon law and tradition restrict political activity by Catholic clergy. I just wonder if there is a double standard here."

And, the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance and a frequent critic of the role of faith in politics today, praised Warren, but said:

"Some of the questions Pastor Warren posed crossed the line and promoted the fiction that the American people are electing a pastor-in-chief, rather than a commander-in-chief. Questions like 'What does it mean to trust in Christ?' create a religious test for public office and should have no place in the political discourse for a secular office. America is the most religiously diverse country in the world, and Christianity is only one of those faith traditions. Millions of voters who tuned in tonight will feel disenfranchised by some of the questions posed in this forum. And both the candidates deserve criticism for engaging in a competition to be 'holier than thou.' The American people want real solutions for real issues. Discussing the personal theology of the candidates does little to elucidate those solutions."

(Photo by Getty.)

Victoria Osteen, the wife of televangelist Joel Osteen, was cleared today by a jury in a civil lawsuit in which she had been accused of assaulting a Continental flight attendant over some spilled liquid on the arm of her first-class seat on a flight to Vail. The Houston Chronicle has exhaustive coverage:

"Thank you, Jesus!" Osteen said as she embraced her defense team, including high-profile lawyer Rusty Hardin, after hearing the verdict. "It feels wonderful," Victoria Osteen said later. "I'm grateful; so grateful."

Joel Osteen is the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, and Victoria Osteen is the co-pastor. The church claims to be the largest in America; its sanctuary is a former basketball arena with 16,000 seats. The Globe's Suzanne Ryan profiled Joel Osteen in 2005; you can read that story here.

(Photo, by the Houston Chronicle via AP, shows, from left, Joel Osteen, Victoria Osteen, and attorney Rusty Hardin.)

New Life Foursquare Church in Weymouth and New Hope Church in Rockland have merged, purchased an out-of-business carpet store, and opened a 500-seat Living Hope Foursquare Church in Hanover. In Globe South, Steve Hatch reports:

"(The Rev. John) Hatcher said the church tries to catch youth 'before they have to be rescued, so we do a lot with sports, a lot with music, a lot with theater - we're trying to fill in the blanks a little bit.' Already, family picnics have been held, and Hatcher said he'll take advantage of the YMCA next door. At the first service, a family sidled into a row of chairs. The adults stood. A boy, about 6, turned to his two younger sisters and urged them to stand. 'Up, up,' he commanded, to no avail. Around them, adults swayed to the music, singing and clapping."

(Photo by Matthew J. Lee of the Globe staff.)

My head is spinning. Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine, has enlisted Chuck Colson, who went to prison as part of a corrupt U.S. administration, to write a reflection upon the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who went to prison for his critique of an oppressive Soviet regime. The result is intriguing -- Colson finds in Solzhenitsyn a soulmate of sorts, and, in particular, finds in Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard commencement address a warning of the sort of social ills that Colson, now a prominent evangelical, also abhors. An excerpt from the Christianity Today piece:

"Thirty years ago this summer, a 59-year-old bearded dissident, whose writings helped expose and eventually bring down Soviet tyranny, stood facing rows of robed faculty and graduates at Harvard's historic Yard for its 327th commencement. Expectations ran high. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was admired for his literary achievements and lionized by the faculty, if not for his outspoken views on Communism, at least for the fact that he was an oppressed intellectual. Solzhenitsyn delivered each line in his high-pitched voice in Russian. The translation blunted the impact somewhat—in fact, there were even sporadic bursts of applause. But soon enough, outraged professors realized that Solzhenitsyn was charging them with complicity in the West's surrender to liberal secularism, the abandonment of its Christian heritage, and with all the moral horrors that followed."

Colson is a Boston native and former aide to Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, R-Mass., who went on to serve as Nixon's chief counsel and was imprisoned in 1974 for Watergate-related crimes. After his release, he founded Prison Fellowship, and he has become a leading evangelical voice in the U.S.

Solzhenitsyn, who died Sunday, was a Nobel Prize-winning Russian novelist who was imprisoned for his critique of Stalin and then exiled (a portion of which he spent in Vermont) upon the publication of "The Gulag Archipelago,'' which described Soviet prison and labor camps.

Colson's piece, which was written with Anne Morse, piqued my curiosity about how the Harvard speech was understood at the time, so I asked the Globe's library to pull up our coverage from 30 years ago. The speech was clearly a big deal -- an image of the front page is at left. And the speech was clearly understood much as Colson describes; the Globe's headline was "Solzhenitsyn, at Harvard, laments West's darker side,'' and the lead paragraph, written by reporter William Hamilton, says, "In his first major statement since taking up residence in the United States nearly two years ago, Alexander I. Solzhenitsyn yesterday described his new home in angry terms as a materialistic, cowardly society that has lost its spiritual direction."

Colson goes further, comparing Solzhenitsyn to the prophet Jeremiah, and suggesting that the acceptance of same-sex marriage in parts of the U.S. and the declining popular support for the Iraq War are manifestations of the moral decay Solzhenitsyn foresaw at Harvard thirty years ago. That conclusion, of course, is sure to be contested; I suppose that with Solzhenitsyn gone, the debate over his legacy begins.

UPDATE: An e-mail from Ted Olsen, a managing editor at Christianity Today: "Nice post. A bit of oddness is that the piece was written about a month before Solzhenitsyn’s death and is in the issue that’s now at the printer.'' Impressive timing.

(Photo above, by UPI, shows Solzhenitsyn at Harvard on June 8, 1978.)

Today in the Globe's City Weekly section, Katherine McInerney takes a look at "krumping for Christ,'' using the new hip-hop dance style to interpret Scripture. She found local krumpers at the Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan.

"We don't just do it to dance," added Benito Henri, a towering 16-year-old from Dorchester. "We do it for something higher. Something more than us, more than movements, more than anything we say out of our mouths. . . . We're using this as a weapon to fight against the things that we go through daily."

Several other local churches have explored the use of hip-hop music and dance forms as a way of reaching out to young people. Last year, City Weekly featured a story by Will Kilburn about the first Holy Hip Hop Awareness Weekend; the previous year, City Weekly's Darren Sands visited Cram Sessions, a recording effort by Christian rap artists in Mattapan; and the year before that, Globe South's Carolyn Johnson explored the appearance of hip-hop in a variety of churches. Even the Episcopal Church has gotten in on the action; last year, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts's Cathedral Church of St. Paul hosted a "Hip-Hop Schoolhouse Worship Learning Party.''

The Washington Post reports on a proposed regulation that would deny federal funding to health-care facilities that do not accommodate workers who object to providing abortion and birth-control services:

"Conservative groups, abortion opponents and some members of Congress are welcoming the initiative as necessary to safeguard doctors, nurses and other health workers who, they say, are increasingly facing discrimination because of their beliefs or are being coerced into delivering services they find repugnant. But the draft proposal has sparked intense criticism by family planning advocates, women's health activists, and members of Congress who say the regulation would create overwhelming obstacles for women seeking abortions and birth control."

The New York Times previously took a look at the proposed policy.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement earlier this month defending what he called "conscience protection:"

“Patients with pro-life convictions, including women who require a physician’s care for themselves and their unborn children during pregnancy, deserve ‘access’ to health care professionals who do not have contempt for their religious and moral convictions or for the lives of their children.”

Dennis P. Hollinger, the new president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, addresses his goals and challenges in an interview with Christianity Today:

"We face a lot of ethical issues, and that is my area of expertise. There are significant bioethics issues and continual issues in sexuality, such as homosexuality. We continually need to face the racial issues. I think the Obama campaign has certainly demonstrated that we have a lot of unfinished business in that area. Part of the task in theological education is to help people navigate their way amidst the complexities and do so in a way that isn't politicized. That's one of the dangers we have when we jump into these issues. We're known more for our political stance than we are for our principled orientation and our theological undergirding."

Globe correspondent Maddie Hanna describes the scene at the Women of Faith conference here.

"You want to know how badly I wanted to come?" said Amy Hoyt, 71. "Three weeks ago I was in the hospital with a stroke, bleeding from the back of my head, and I said, 'Lord, if you'll let me come' - and he did."

I did an interview with the conference's founder on Friday; you can read the transcript here.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Christian blogger Sarah Flashing (Flash Point) responds to my interview with Women of Faith conference founder Stephen Arterburn.

(Photo by John Tlumacki of the Globe staff.)

Westminster Theological Seminary, a theologically conservative Presbyterian and Reform seminary, says 'no,' and their position has led to the departure of a theologian, Peter E. Enns (right), who argued that the Bible was the work of both God and human beings. The Philadelphia Inquirer's religion reporter, David O'Reilly, has the story:

"Although some of his supporters had condemned the hearing as a 'heresy trial,' the trustee board said Enns appeared to have defied the school's founding principle, based on the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith, that scripture is solely the word of God."

An estimated 9,000 women are expected to gather tonight and tomorrow at the TD Banknorth Garden for a "Women of Faith" conference.

The gathering, which offers a mix of preaching, music, and motivational speaking, is a bit unusual in the world of religion -- it is not affiliated with a denomination, and it is a for-profit operation, owned by a Christian publishing house, Thomas Nelson. At the Garden, women will pay between $65 and $149 to attend part or all of the event.

The conferences were launched in 1996, and have become a bit of a phenomenon -- according to the organizers, there are an average of 30 held each year, drawing a total of 400,000 women annually.

Earlier today, I spoke with Stephen Arterburn, the founder of the conference. Here's what he had to say:

Q: What is this about?
A: This is the largest women's conference, and probably the most successful travelling conference like this, with over four million people having attended. The purpose was simply to encourage women. There was no big agenda or hidden agenda. I was sitting in a motivational seminar listening to Mary Lou Retton tell women she hoped they have a 10 for a day, and I thought, nobody's ever done this for women. It was in the middle of one of the worst failures of my life, after I had proved I was the ultimate failure at these things.

Q: What is the scale now?
A: About 400,000 women attend every year. And then a new conference has spun off for young women, called Revolve, which is extremely successful. A lot of the women were asking for something for their daughters.

Q: Why isn't it in churches?
A: It’s in arenas, 12,000 to 16,000-seat arenas. There aren’t any churches that we know of that are big enough to hold it. Also this is not a typical church event. We love it when people who go to church invite people who don’t go to church.

Q: Is it a form of Christian evangelism?
A: I call it an inspirational conference. We’re trying to inspire women that are in big trouble to hang on. We try to inspire them to live the life that God intended them to live.

Q: What is the religious component of it?
A: Everybody that speaks is a Christian, but we’ve got Presbyterians and Southern Baptists and charismatics. There’s no denomination, but everybody is a believer. There is a place that people can check a little box if they’ve made a decision of any kind, but it's not like a Billy Graham crusade, with people flooding the aisles. It’s a grace-filled, shame-free day and evening of no pressure. The key to this is that the communicators are absolutely the best speakers in the world. You will never hear better communicators.

Q: What do the speakers talk about?
A: They talk about their own story, things they’re going through, sharing their own struggles. It’s always a great relief to women to know that not everybody that stands up on a stage and talks about God and Jesus acts like they’re perfect. They’re human just like everybody else.

Q: Is there some kind of take-home advice?
A: This year it’s a theme of grace, so the take-home lesson would be that there’s nothing you could do to earn God’s love. It’s a gift. You can’t earn it. So why don't you relax and quit trying to? Next year the theme is, "A whole new day."

Q: And it's for-profit? That seems odd.
A: It was formed when I was running a venture-capital funded company. It wasn’t in line with our original mission, but it was a way to draw attention to the services we provided, and we moved forward with it. Eventually the venture capitalists sold it to Thomas Nelson publisher. It’s no different than a Christian artists' tour. Those artists work for a musical company.

Q: Does it ever strike you as unusual that you, as a man, founded this conference for women?
A: I’m a very unlikely person to have started it, but I think that’s pretty typical of God, that he seems to like to use unlikely people. Moses spoke for Israel and he was a stuttering murderer. It’s just a kind of a theme God has of using ridiculously unqualified people to do stuff. But I've never been confused about why the success is there. It wasn’t because of me. It was something God inspired.

Q: Does it have any relation to the Promise Keepers?
A: No. We don’t have seven promises or seven anything. There’s no agenda, no pressure. When I started this, I had never even been to a Promise Keepers meeting. I didn’t even know what it was like. This is very different than Promise Keepers. We have men that come, and they beg for something like this for themselves.

Q: This is your second conference in Boston. Is the response different here from elsewhere?
A: Other than that it’s one of everybody’s favorite cities, it’s pretty much the same. Women are women and they respond the same all over the country.

Last night I attended the graduation ceremony for a group called the Jewish Organizing Initiative, which, as its name suggests, trains young Jews in community organizing skills. The program is a fellowship for folks in their 20s, who spend a year interning with social change advocacy organizations, and attending regular workshops with one another to discuss both the secular and religious components of social justice activism.

A good friend of mine, Adam Rogoff, is the chairman of the JOI board, and he wanted me to see what the program was all about. The evening ceremony, held in the downtown boardroom of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, offered a chance for the fellows to reflect a bit on their experience doing something many of them called "agitating.'' They had spent the year working with a variety of community groups, including Rosie's Place, the shelter for homeless women, Health Care for All, which pushes health care reform, and Unite Here Local 26, a labor union for hotel workers. The students seemed genuinely moved by how much they had to push themselves, or be pushed by their mentors, to help members of struggling communities emerge as leaders in various battles on their own behalf.

Social justice movements don't get a ton of attention in the broader culture these days -- one of the fellows even referred to JOI as continuing the mission of the 1960s -- but there's a fair amount of discussion going on in all kinds of religious congregations and movements, from evangelicalism to Unitarian Universalism, about how faith communities might, as they so often say, put their faith into action. Here in Boston, there is a relatively new group of (mostly) young evangelicals, the Boston Faith and Justice Network, working on these issues; the Episcopal Church has a new congregation for young adults, The Crossing, that emphasizes "social justice values,'' and Rabbi Jonah Pesner, formerly with Temple Israel in Boston, is now travelling around the country for the Reform Jewish movement's Just Congregations program, trying to help synagogues figure out how they might actualize their oft-cited support for social justice, and just what that means anyway. And, of course, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization just marked its tenth year trying to influence policy, on issues like health care and housing, through a coalition of change-minded congregations of multiple denominations.

It's not clear to me whether there's some kind of new trend here or not, and how effective these faith-based efforts are at effecting broad change, but clearly they're affecting individual lives, as the JOI fellows reminded us last night, and for people like me who write about religion, it's something to keep an eye on.

We don't have comments enabled on this blog yet (working on it!) but if you have observations to share, I'm interested -- just shoot me an e-mail.

This morning I went to the funeral of Tony Thompson -- formally Anthony V. Thompson -- who was for a time an associate pastor at the Quincy Street Missional Church, a small Dorchester congregation whose birth I chronicled in the Ma Siss's Place series in the Globe last December. Tony died on July 13 of kidney and liver failure. He was 52.

Tony and I had a difficult relationship. We talked quite a bit during my time at the church, and he always made me smile. But we never fully got past race -- he was suspicious of newspaper reporters in general, and frequently told me about his concerns about how he had been wronged by white people, including the law enforcement folks who had imprisoned him for a time -- and he was angry at me after the publication of the series, because I referred to the fact that the congregation had become concerned about his drinking, and that tension between him and others at the congregation had led to his departure.

But Tony also had an irresistible charisma, and an irrepressible passion for Jesus. He fancied himself a street preacher, and in the few years that I knew him he expressed that passion in many ways, starting with the Jesus baseball cap he would often wear. He arrived at Quincy Street and quickly distinguished himself with his ability to quote from the Bible and his evangelical fervor. He was loud and garrulous and energetic and intense; he started a morning prayer group and during worship he sang loudly and preached zealously and always wound up with one of his favorite lines -- "Feelings come, and feelings go. Feelings are deceiving. I place my faith in the word of God.''

After Tony left Quincy Street, he founded his own ministry, New Beginnings, which he ran out of his home, recruiting even his mailman, who sang at his funeral today. And then he threw himself into the Victory Chapel, on Columbia Road, where his funeral -- which the worshipers called a homegoing -- was held. Tony, who had joined the military at age 17, had a black beret in his hand and an American flag on his casket.

"He ventured down a lot of roads, but he kept God in mind,'' Tony's brother-in-law said at the funeral.

Tony's wife of 30 years, Gloria, invited Globe photographer Pat Greenhouse and me to the funeral; Pat shot pictures, as she always does, and sends along these images, which show Gloria with friends and family at the funeral:

photos by Pat Greenhouse of the Globe staff.

This lovely photo was shot by Joanne Rathe of the Boston Globe to accompany a story by Brenda Buote that ran Thursday in Globe NorthWest about a new labyrinth at the Church of Our Redeemer, an Episcopal parish in Lexington.

A couple of other recent items in the Globe about religion:

Obituary: Former Lexington Christian headmaster Strodel dies

Same-sex marriage: Kevin Cullen criticizes Mass. Family Institute