March 16, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY
SUMMARY: A close observer of the American religious landscape will speak at
Calvin on April 11.
Full story, including links to Sharlet's website and much more, see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/sharlet.htm
A longtime journalist who pays close attention to religion, and religion
reporting, will speak at Calvin College on Wednesday, April 11.
Jeff Sharlet, author of Jesus Plus Nothing: How American Fundamentalism's
Power Elite Shaped the Faith of a Nation and co-author of Killing the Buddha: A
Heretic's Bible, will address the topic: "Fundamentalist History, Secular Myth,
and the Media’s God Problem" in a 3:30 pm address that day in the Meeter
Center Lecture Hall.
Sharlet says that rather than giving an "academic” lecture, he will offer
the reflections of a journalist who's been exploring the spiritual geography of
the nation in the post 9/11 era.
"Religion, in the true broad sense, underlies, controls, permeates at least
half the stories in the news," he says, "probably a lot more. Iraq, Iran,
Israel -- those are easy, we know those are religion stories. George W. Bush is
a religion story. Stemcell research and gay marriage and school vouchers are
religion stories, although not at all limited to the narrow pro and con set of
beliefs with which they are typically framed.
"The question of race in America is infused with God, top to bottom, and
anyone who covers immigration without thinking about conversion and apostasy
and literalism might as well not be writing about it at all."
Sharlet is a contributing editor for Harper's and Rolling Stone and an
associate research scholar at New York University's Center for Religion and
Media, where he teaches journalism and edits TheRevealer.org, a review of
religion and the press.
Full story, including links to Sharlet's website and much more, see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/sharlet.htm
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Received on Fri Mar 16 05:30:31 2007
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