Sightings Articles
Ferguson — Martin E. Marty
I am back to “sighting” for Sightings, after what the editor called an August “hiatus” and this scribe called a Summer “sabbatical.” Pleased to hear that we were missed, we are discussing whether (or not) to publish relentlessly through all the weeks...
September 1, 2014
GRACE against sex abuse — Martin E. Marty
GRACE acronates “Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment.” Its story is well told in Kathryn Joyce’s “By Grace Alone,” an article in American Prospect (May/June; see “Sources,” below). Please read it, since it offers background and detai...
July 28, 2014
Russian Orthodoxy — Martin E. Marty
“Many a bum show has been saved by the flag,” actor and playwright George M. Cohan once mumbled in criticism of the hypocritical use of patriotic symbols in efforts to rescue bad plays. One could also mumble, “Many a bum cause has been saved by the c...
July 21, 2014
Intolerance and Violence — Martin E. Marty
“THE NEW JIHAD” screamed the first line of a really, really big headline in last weekend’s Wall Street Journal. The next few lines were equally and credibly, or incredibly, alarming: “A brazen new generation of battle-hardened extremists has rebelled...
July 14, 2014
Prayer Meetings in Leipzig — Martin E. Marty
“Christian Führer, 71, East German Pastor Whose Prayer Meetings Inspired Protests” was the headline for a July 3, New York Times obituary. In 1983, when the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall still symbolized the reality of non-freedom, including fo...
July 7, 2014
Catholics Reject Church Teachings on Sex — Martin E. Marty
A typical headline calling attention to the forthcoming (October) Vatican conference of bishops reads: “Vatican: Most Catholics reject our teachings on contraception, sex.” The bishops are convening to deal with these often-rejected teachings. Som...
June 30, 2014
Giving Up, Giving Down — Martin E. Marty
“Giving,” as in “Charitable Giving,” is “up” for three causes: “Arts and Humanities” (6.3%), “Education” (7.4%), and “Animals and Environment” (6%). But giving to “Religion” was down 1.6% from 2012 to 2013. Good news for those who have positive vi...
June 23, 2014
Southern Baptists Waning — Martin E. Marty
Southern Baptists, present in every state of the union, outnumber Jews in the whole world. Only Roman Catholics outnumber them in the United States. Citizens who care little about religion and less about denominations have learned to watch the Sou...
June 16, 2014
Trigger Warnings — Martin E. Marty
Trigger Warning! A few years ago you and I and most people would not have known what that headline meant. Now if you are a teacher, from elementary school through post-doctoral scholarly life, especially if you teach and study literature and all the ...
June 9, 2014
Roma — Martin E. Marty
Sightings usually sights religious news and trends with a metaphorical “naked eye.” No one needs a telescope or a microscope to spot most of our topics. Snappy headlines, prime time signals, and messages gone-viral call attention to them. This week, ...