Religious news

Top religious events & trends for 2006

The Religious Newswriters Association polls its members near the end of each year to assess their opinion on the most important news stories across the world. Their selections for 2006 were:

1. Cartoons: A series of cartoons were published in a Danish newspaper showing drawings of the Prophet Muhammed in negative ways. Many Muslims feel that pictures or images of the Prophet should not be created because it could lead to idolatry. One image in particular inflamed many Muslims: that of Muhammad wearing a bomb in place of a turban.
2. The pope: This story was also related to Islam. During a talk at a European university, Pope Benedict XVI quoted a 14th century Christian emperor who said that Muhammad was "evil and inhuman." This triggered unrest and multiple murders. The pope later came close to a complete apology for the incident.
3. Episcopalians: The conflict within the Episcopal Church, USA over equal status for women and gays deepened into a real schism during the year. Traditionalists within the denomination were outraged by the election of the Anglican Communion's first female primate, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Seven dioceses have refused to recognize her leadership. This added to their earlier outrage at the confirmation as bishop of Gene Robinson, a gay male in a committed relationship.
4. Homosexuality: Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals initially denied allegations that he regularly engaged in gay sexual activity enhanced by met amphetamine. He later admitted that at least some of the allegations are true. He is currently in a long-term treatment facility.
5. Elections: The mid-term elections in November produced a number of defeats for religoius conservatives. Calls have been made for Evangelicals to depart from their intense focus on restricting abortion access and fighting against equal rights for sexual minorities, in favor of including additional social topics. Some have even suggested backing off from political involvement entirely.
6. Middle East: Violence and conflict in the Middle East appears to be escalating. This included civil war between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Iran's nuclear activity.
7. Amish: The remarkable developments surrounding the terrible tragedy involving ten Amish children at Nickel Mines, PA. A gunman killed five schoolgirls, injured five -- one of whom later died -- and finally committed suicide. In a remarkable display of forgiveness, the Amish community responded by publicly forgiving the perpetrator, taking food to his family, attending his funeral and raising funds for his widow and family.
8. Da Vinci Code: The release of The Da Vinci Code movie reemphasized the message in Dan Brown's book that Mary Magdalene and Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) had married and had children. Some were fascinated by the story. Some Christians were outraged at the suggestion that Yeshua was sexually active. Many evangelicals used the movie as a method of evangelizing non-saved individuals.
9. Same-sex marriage and civil unions: Tied for 8th place was the recognition of same-sex relationships. The Supreme Court in New Jersey unanimously ruled that same-sex couples should be able to obtain the same state rights as married opposite-sex couples routinely receive. The New Jersey legislature subsequently created a system of civil unions for same-sex couples. At the mid-term elections, there were eight state proposals to ban same-sex marriage. Seven passed, but with much reduced majorities compared to previous series of proposals. Arizona's failed -- the first such measure to be rejected by the electorate.
10. Stem cell research: President Bush used the first veto of his presidency to reject a bill that would have expanded federal funding of stem cell research. A referendum to encourage stem cell research in Missouri passed.

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Our picks for 2006:

We agree that the choices of the Religious Newswriters Association are important news items. We would add: