January 9, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Exit polls don't ask Democrats if they're evangelicals
Frank James/baltimoresun.com (01/09/2008)
Here's a problem with the entrance and exit polls that has gone under the radar. Not the kind that had anything to do with the screwy polling in last night's New Hampshire Primary but certainly one that needs fixing. Pollsters apparently aren't asking Democrats if they self-identify as evangelicals. They ask the question of Republicans but not Democrats, even though there are many evangelical Democrats.

Huckabee moves beyond religious right
Ed Stoddard/Reuters (01/09/2008)
ROCHESTER, New Hampshire - Republican Mike Huckabee is trying to soften the image of the religious right as he reaches out to liberal Christians and blue-collar workers for support in his presidential campaign.

DEATH PENALTY
Religious Foes of Capital Punishment See New Momentum
G Jeffrey MacDonald/Religion News Service (01/08/2008: beliefnet.com)
In this shifting environment, religious leaders who oppose the death penalty are seeking out high-profile venues where they can portray executions as inherently immoral. But the fate of the death penalty in America, observers say, hinges largely on whether its rank-and-file evangelical and Catholic supporters can be persuaded en masse to reconsider.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Survey: Non-attendees find faith outside church
Cathy Lynn Grossman/USA Today (01/09/2008)
A new survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays, finds 72% say 'God, a higher or supreme being, actually exists.' But just as many (72%) also say the church is 'full of hypocrites.' Indeed, 44% agree with the statement 'Christians get on my nerves.'

What Is It About Mormonism?
Noah Feldman/New York Times Magazine (01/06/2008)
Mormonism’s political problem arises, in large part, from the disconcerting split between its public and private faces.

ARTS AND MEDIA
VeggieTales creators put faith in new film
Bob Smietana/Tennessean (01/09/2008)
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, which will hit theaters Friday, represents a remarkable turnaround for Big Idea, which went bankrupt in 2003, after the release of its last film, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. The company self-financed Jonah after major studios turned it down. Now, studios have embraced the potential of faith-based films.

Will Smith boosting Scientology
Ben Widdicombe/New York Daily News (01/09/2008)
Will Smith has joined the ranks of Hollywood power players actively recruiting for the Church of Scientology.