The Revealer: May 2006 Archives

1/3 of a National Magazine Award
Sharlet: I feel like I am entitled to claim at least 1/3, or maybe 1/18th, of Harper's' National Magazine Award for "general excellence" in the 100,000-250,000 circulation category. The prize is based on a submission of three issues; two of the issues in Harper's winning submission featured cover stories on religion -- Erik Reece's "Jesus Without the Miracles,", on Thomas Jefferson's Bible, and the double feature of last last May's issue, a piece of mine, "Inside America's Most Powerful Megachurch," and a story by Chris Hedges, "Feeling the Hate with the National Religious Broadcasters." [ Continue reading: ]

Benedict in Auschwitz
"A German Pope Confronts Nazi Past" is the misleading hed on Ian Fishers' account of Pope Benedict's recent visit to Auschwitz. Let's tally the pope's "confrontations" with the past... [ Continue reading: ]

Professor of Repression
Some of the best foreign affairs investigative reporting of the moment is to be found in "Washington Babylon," Ken Silverstein's online-only column for Harper's. A veteran of the LA Times and AP, Silverstein pays attention not only to the skullduggery... [ Continue reading: ]

Southern Cross
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, according to Purdue political scientist Michael Weinstein, is poised to announce in June that Venezuela is now the most oil-rich country in the world, surpassing Saudi Arabia. Is this a religion story? Yes.. [ Continue reading: ]

Hell Froze...
And the devil put on his mittens: George F. Will, sanctimonious conservative pundit, demolishes an "aggressively annoying new phrase in America's political lexicon," "values voters," and subtly pays tribute to the great literary journalist James Agee.... [ Continue reading: ]

Muscle Car Minutemen
If you dig awesome 1970s muscle cars and fascist-tinged anti-immigrant activism, then you just gotta check out this red, white, and blue 1970 Mercury Cougar, dubbed the "Spirit of Allegiance," "Official Pace Car of the Minuteman Project Caravan to Washington,"... [ Continue reading: ]

The "Duh" in Fundamentalism
Our favorite Weekly Standard writer -- actually, the only one we really like -- Matt LaBash goes on tour with Christian metal-rap group the Junkyard Prophets, "saggy pants Elijahs." They're a cranky bunch -- not just anti-gay and anti-sex, but... [ Continue reading: ]

Buddha, Bodies, and Irony
Cleve Wiese: Is The New York Times' mockery of lite religion lite journalism? [ Continue reading: ]

Jew Night at Mo Pitkin's
Jeff Sharlet: At 7 pm on Monday, May 8, I'll be reading a part of "You Must Draw a Long Bead to Shoot a Fish," my contribution Laurel Snyder's new anthology of "Jew-ish" tales by half-Jews, Half/Life, at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction in Manhattan, 34 Avenue A, between Second and Third streets. It's Jew night at Mo's, but my essay is really about a half-Mennonite. Greater Jewish satisfaction will be had from readings by Renee Kaplan, a novelist and broadcast and print veteran of "60 Minutes II" and the New York Observer; and Jeremy Mullem of Zeek, "a Jewish journal of thought and culture." [ Continue reading: ]

Sex, Violence, and the National Day of Prayer
Jeff Sharlet: Why can't the press hear the president's prayers? [ Continue reading: ]

Christians and Immigrants
"The future growth of the Christian Right," writes Tanya Erzen, "depends on whether it can mobilize African-American and Latino conservative Christians around policy issues." Erzen reports on the Christian Right immigration conference that preceded Monday's massive immigration rights rallies.... [ Continue reading: ]

Salome
Margaret Atwood reimagines the story of Herodias's daughter -- the girl who called for John the Baptist's head -- as fodder for gossip among the Toronto PTA set in SoMA Review.... [ Continue reading: ]

Prayers for Oil
A small story that gets no press, because it's wacky and kind of pathetic: D.C. prayer rally at a gas station for lower gas prices. Thing is, such prayers are probably not so uncommon -- we'd like to know how... [ Continue reading: ]

What If Rick Warren Were a Muslim?
Lamar Clarkson: Readers who like to think of the conservative wings of Christianity and Islam as fundamentalist twins separated at birth will be delighted to learn that the behavioral studies are in: Now that Islam has its own celebrity televangelist to make traditional messages more palatable, the Muslim world’s rising class of young urban professionals are falling into line, blushing with a special and righteous pride last seen in the congregations of Rick Warren and Billy Graham... [ Continue reading: ]

Gimme A Medal
Sharlet: I'm a finalist in the national reporting category for the $10,000 Livingston Award for journalists under 35, for "Soldiers of Christ: Inside America's Most Powerful Megachurch," in Harper's. I'm delighted to see that Matt Power is also a finalist... [ Continue reading: ]

Rolling Stone Revival
"Bush's faith-based conception of his mission, which stands above and beyond reasoned inquiry, jibes well with his administration's pro-business dogma on global warming and other urgent environmental issues..." -- Historian Sean Wilentz, in a cover story on "The Worst President... [ Continue reading: ]

Expose Yourself
The Revealer seeks new revelators. We've been weaned off the foundation teat, and we're all busy trying to feed ourselves with paying journalism. But we plan to keep on revelating, which means we need to deepen our talent pool. We're looking for three media critics to join our staff as contributing editors... [ Continue reading: ]

Bolt, Jesus, Bolt!
Sharlet: I'm late in noting Amy Sullivan's fascinating and important Washington Monthly report, "When Would Jesus Bolt?", the story of the growing dissatisfaction with the GOP in some evangelical circles. I spoke with Amy about her research while she was working on the story. [ Continue reading: ]

The Real Point of the Spear
An anthropologist examines faith and deception in End of the Spear, this spring's evangelical film controversy. By Lucas Bessire. [ Continue reading: ]

Blackwell for Lord High Priest of Ohio
The press is paying attention to last night's Ohio gubenatorial GOP primary win of Ken Blackwell. If Blackwell wins in November -- and he looks like he might -- he'll be Ohio's first black governor. He'll also be perhaps the... [ Continue reading: ]

Workplace Gospel
The boundaries of religious expression in the workplace -- a cause defended by an over-broad coalition that links religious minorities who wish to wear required religious clothing or hairstyles with conservative Christians seeking to proselytize their co-workers -- become a... [ Continue reading: ]