The Year in Religion

Sadly, there is clearly an unhealthy fascination with sex and violence in our culture. I was reminded of this all too obvious point as I recalled the most prominent religious news of 2006. Some of the stories were noteworthy for the controversy they raised. Our cultural obsession with partisan bickering was seen in the debate over the Da Vinci Code. There was no great challenge to religious orthodoxy in the fictional musings of Dan Brown, but there was no shortage of outraged Christians willing to make a spectacle decrying the suggestion that Jesus may have been a father. Remember the flap over the Gospel of Judas? I didn’t think so. Even in the theological academy there has been sustained buzz. The reason is that it was not really something new. There have been a number of narratives about Jesus that were not seen as gospel by the Church. It is an issue long settled with a history known to theological students. Difference of opinion is something that has yet to end Christianity, although it has created plenty of schisms over the years.

One piece of news this year was about yet another schism. This time it was a portion of the American Episcopal Church breaking from their communion to seek the leadership of a conservative Nigerian bishop because of their refusal to accept the ordination of homosexuals. In what seemed to be a related bit of Episcopal news, the American church elected its first female national bishop, Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Sadly, progressive moves to include diversity in sex and sexuality carry with them the threat of rupture.

Of course, one of the most shocking religious stories of the year was the fall of Rev. Ted Haggard. Again the issue of sexual preference caused a painful experience in the church. As leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, there was no way Rev. Haggard could have come out as a gay man and remained in the position. But the painful division went even deeper as he revealed his inner struggle to fight against his desires.

Two of the major religious stories focused on violence. One was the pope’s maneuvering in relation to Islam in explaining how he wasn’t really saying that it was a religion of violence after reading a quote stating just that. Regardless of his intent, he damaged interfaith dialogue in these already perilous times. As a remarkable counterpoint, we saw an Amish community in Pennsylvania offer forgiveness to the very sick man who tragically killed innocent children. In response to the popular question “what would Jesus do?” I hope we would agree that he would definitely have done what the Amish did and likely not what the pope did.

Finally, one of the stories that got little attention but ironically caused me both to despair and hope is the rejection of the Christian Coalition of their newly elected president, Rev. Joel Hunter. Rev. Hunter wanted the Christian Coalition to expand its focus to address the issues of poverty and stewardship of the environment. It is sad that the fear of being labeled a liberal (Hunter’s assessment) caused some Evangelicals to reject this move. On the other hand, there are signs that a number of Christians on the right such as Hunter and Jim Wallis of Sojourners are pushing for a more progressive social agenda in the name of Christianity. 2007 could prove to be a very interesting year for Christians in society if we can agree to this broader vision of Christian ethics.