Writing about Religion in a Polarized Age

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Rod Dreher,听American Conservative
Mark Oppenheimer,听New York Times
Sarah Posner,听Religion Dispatches
Alan Wolfe, md传媒国产剧 College

Date:听October 23, 2014

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Abstract

Both our politics and the wider American culture are increasingly polarized. Public discourse is often vitriolic, and rhetoric divisive. In such a context, nonetheless, there can still be found the few, but impressive writers who distinguish themselves with their thoughtful commentary on controversial and important topics. This Boisi Center panel brings together several such writers whose area of focus is a topic central to culture and individuals鈥 worldviews: religion. These writers will discuss their insights regarding contemporary discourse on religion, including the challenges that exist for those who desire to engage in thoughtful reflection on provocative topics; as well as present their approaches to these challenges.

Speaker Bio

Rod Dreher

Rod Dreher听is a writer, editor and blogger, who currently writes a regular blog for听The American Conservative. He is the author of two books:听The Little Way of Ruthie Leming听(2010), about his childhood home of St. Francisville, LA, and his sister鈥檚 battle with cancer; and听Crunchy Cons听(2006), about a growing "conservative counterculture" movement that stands outside the GOP mainstream. Previously Dreher worked as the director of publications for the John Templeton Foundation, and as a columnist and editorial writer for听Dallas Morning News听from 2003 to 2010. His writings have appeared in such publications as the听National Review,听Weekly Standard, and听Wall Street Journal, and he has contributed commentaries to NPR鈥檚听All Things Considered听as well as several television networks. Dreher is currently working on a book project about the "Benedict option," the idea that orthodox Christians should respond to the increasingly secular world by retreating from mainstream society into small religious communities. He holds a B.A. in Journalism from Louisiana State University.

Mark Oppenheimer

Mark Oppenheimer听is the 2014-2015 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations at md传媒国产剧 College. Oppenheimer is a journalist known for writing the biweekly 鈥淏eliefs鈥 column for the听New York Times, and he has also written about religion for the听New York Times Magazine,听the听狈补迟颈辞苍, and听Christian Century. His books include听Knocking on Heaven鈥檚 Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture听(2003)and听Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah across America听(2005). In addition to his writing, Oppenheimer teaches in the English department at Yale University and at Yale Divinity School, and he has also held appointments at Wesleyan University, New York University, and Wellesley College. While at md传媒国产剧 College, he will complete his research on Judeo-Christian interpretations of family law, specifically with regard to marriage and divorce. He received his B.A. and his Ph.D in Religious Studies from Yale University.

Sarah Posner

Sarah Posner听is an investigative journalist, author, and expert on the intersection of religion and politics. She is a regular contributor on religion to听Al Jazeera America听and听Religion Dispatches.听Her work has also appeared in the听Atlantic,听Politico,听Washington Post,听Mother Jones, American Prospect,听Nation,听Salon, and many other publications. She is the author of听God's Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters听(2008), which investigated the unholy alliance between politicians and televangelists. The regular host of a weekly program at听Bloggingheads.tv, Sarah also has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Current, NPR, PRI and other radio outlets.

Alan Wolfe

Alan Wolfe听isthe founding director of the Boisi Center and professor of political science at md传媒国产剧 College. He is the author and editor of more than twenty books, including, most recently,听At Home in Exile: Why Diaspora Is Good for the Jews听(2014),听Political Evil: What It Is and How to Combat It听(2011),听The Future of Liberalism听(2009),听Does American Democracy Still Work?听(2006),听Return to Greatness听(2005),听The Transformation of American Religion: How We actually Practice our Faith听(2003),听Moral Freedom听(2001) and听One Nation After All听(1999). Widely considered one of the nation's most prominent public intellectuals, he is a frequent听contributor to the听New听York Times,听Washington Post, and听Atlantic, and has delivered lectures across the United States and听Europe.

Event Photos

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Event panelists (l to r): Alan Wolfe, Sarah Posner, Mark Oppenheimer, and Rod Dreher

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Rod Dreher

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Sarah Posner

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Mark Oppenheimer

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Boisi Center director Alan Wolfe moderating the panel

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Photos by MTS photography

Event Recap

On an unusually dark and stormy October night, a dedicated crowd took shelter from the storm in Devlin 101 to hear three distinguished journalists discuss the challenge of writing about religion in today鈥檚 polarized political climate. Moderated by Boisi Center director Alan Wolfe, the panel brought together Rod Dreher of听The American Conservative, Mark Oppenheimer of the听New York Times听and Sarah Posner of听Religion Dispatches.

In his introductory remarks, Wolfe noted how the field of religion writing has become a more serious journalistic enterprise over the past twenty-five years, pointing to the relative youth of his panelists as evidence of the subject鈥檚 continued relevance. Dreher then launched the discussion by citing homosexuality as the most polarizing issue in modern religion writing, arguing that the failure to communicate the orthodox view on sexuality demonstrates a wide gap in understanding. Dreher generalized that religious liberals tend to treat religion as something man says about God, while religious conservatives see religion as what God says to man. He also worried that modern religion has turned into what Christian Smith calls 鈥渕oralistic therapeutic deism,鈥 a feel-good spirituality with little prophetic power.

Oppenheimer鈥檚 remarks focused more on the writing component and the responsibilities of a religion journalist. He argued that the main problem with reporting on religion is that it is too 鈥渟oft,鈥 and likened his role to that of a sports writer who holds enormous respect for his subject but is unafraid to tackle the steroid abuse stories as well.

Posner focused on the question of religious exemptions, citing the recent Hobby Lobby case as one example. For Posner, such questions reflect the ambiguous intersection of religion and politics, and pose a real challenge for reporters, who must at once take such religious claims seriously and respect the nonbelievers who are affected by exemption policies.

Following these remarks, the panelists engaged in a lively back-and-forth discussion. Wolfe raised the provocative question as to why American journalists pay so little attention to theology. All the panelists agreed that theology was rarely written about, but Oppenheimer disputed the consensus that it needed more media coverage, arguing that most readers do not care about theology and that increased theological understanding would not necessarily lead to greater political harmony.

The panel was also met with a series of questions from the audience, including a religion reporter from California who sent in a question via Twitter. Ranging from practical questions about how religion reporters should deal with church communications staffers, to broader themes of inter-religious understanding, the audience鈥檚 questions stimulated a wide-ranging discussion.

As the event drew to a close, Wolfe asked the panelists one final question: what do they consider the single most underreported aspect about religion in the United States? Posner maintained that the answer was Islam, since few Americans understand its theological roots or the way that American Muslims live their faith. Oppenheimer took a different tack, arguing that what is most needed is hard-hitting, indigenous reporting from within religious traditions. Finally, Dreher drew the audience鈥檚 attention to two neglected narratives: the growing religious divide between 鈥渢he West and the rest,鈥 and the falling away of working class voices from religion in the United States.

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Further Reading

From Our Panelists

Rod Dreher,听(Grand Central Publishing, 2013).

Rod Dreher, ","听American Conservative, October 21, 2014.

Mark Oppenheimer,听(Yale University Press, 2003).

Sarah Posner,听(Polipoint Press, 2008).

Sarah Posner, ",'" (Q&A with Jonathan Walton),听Salon, May 3, 2008.

Alan Wolfe,听(Penguin Books, 1999).

Alan Wolfe,听: How We Actually Live Our Faith听(University of Chicago Press, 2005).

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Joanna Brooks, ","听Religion Dispatches, May 25, 2010.

Sarah Morice Brubaker, "",听Religion Dispatches, July 14, 2011.听

Anthea Butler, ",'"听Religion Dispatches, July 16, 2009.

Rabia Chaudry, ","听TIME, June 24, 2014.

Kathryn Joyce, ","听The American Prospect听(November 2013).

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