If you followed key phrases in the blogosphere you’d think there had been a major revival.
Actually, Bloglines does track trends and key phrases, and this is what they are seeing.
Judging by three of today’s top four key phrases, you’d think the country was undergoing some sort of national spiritual revival. But the sudden prevalence of religion-related discussions can be tracked to a meme — an online list of questions or an online game shared among bloggers — about topics that range from original sin to reincarnation, definitions of heaven and hell to free will, and the religion-science debates.
Speaking of debates, the increasingly loud/questionable/is-it-over-yet? debate about the Kerry-Bush Vietnam years brings out some bizarre combinations among today’s burstiest people: namely, mud-slinging Matt Drudge, of the Drudge Report and the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose accuse-and-make-them-defend tactics are mentioned in a LA Times editorial (registration required) calling for an end to the whole tiring affair. Hear, hear!
Interesting. I’m taking a bit of a break partly because I’m weary of the political advertising and discussion coming from the US. And, watching god-blogs, I’m not at all surprised by the first paragraph. It may be a meme, but it is well documented how many people search for spiritual and faith based material online. It’s a bit sobering really. Are we listening?
connexions just returned from a trip to the US and makes somewhat similar observations. The labels of politics are used freely to ‘place’ a believer.
The difficulty for those of us outside the United States is that the meanings are not the same. There have been times in the blogging where ‘international’ bloggers have had to stay silent, back away, and stay out of discussion.
Tempers (including mine) have frayed in attempts to move past or through cultural political/spiritual language.
It’s as if we speak different languages. Less political, more gentle voices in the blogosphere from the US, also backed away from the rough and tumble of the political labelling. It was difficult in the lead up to the Iraq war, and the election is difficult for many now.
Published 4 years, 1 month agoWhilst I envy that situation, I must also recognise that there seems to be a strong link between America’s conservatism and its “church-goingness”. I understand that GWB got 80% of the white church-going vote in the last election. American Christians routinely make a link between conservatism and faith as anyone who has spent any time reading Christian blogs will realise. If you’re not convinced have a read of the daily “blog-cache” on blogs4God and compare how many of those listed are supportive of the Kerry campaign compared with Bush supporters.
I feel a strong bond of fellowship with the American Christians that I have met or come to know via the internet, and many of them are much (much!) more conservative than me, certainly in the political sense. Is it possible to persuade my brothers and sisters there that Conservative politics and Christian faith are not so intimately bound together as they assume?
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“Is it possible to persuade my brothers and sisters there that Conservative politics and Christian faith are not so intimately bound together as they assume?” I don’t think anyone can be convinced of that until they’re ready to stretch and look outside the box. I’m speaking from my own experience. It’s just the past several months that God has been rocking my boat. I’m seeing everything (my political views included) change in drastic ways. What’s been interesting is that my relationship with God and my faith, have never been stronger or richer. At the same time my views are becoming much more liberal. I think when someone finally allows the freedom and grace God offers to permeate their being, those qualities spill over into other areas. That didn’t start to happen for me until I began searching, reading, praying, and yes even blogging. I guess I grew tired of blindly accepting all that I had been fed. I don’t know if I’m expressing myself clearly here. I’m short on caffeine this morning
I’m a little tired of the tendency, both in the media and the blogosphere, to assume that the prevailing attitudes of the American white middle-class evangelical Christian subculture is the prevailing attitude of Christians in general, so I’ll make a few points:
1. Not all - or even most - American Christians are white. The African-American and Latino churches may have their faults, but mindlessly supporting the Republican Party is not one of them. In most large cities in the U.S., there are more non-white Christians than white, so why do the white Christians keep getting all the attention?
2. White American Christians are not monolithic, and there is far more diversity of opinion than popularly supposed, even in the evangelical world, particularly for those under 40 and particularly among women. There are a lot of us - we just don’t get much media attention and don’t have much access to the positions of power in the evangelical institutions - or to the god-blog A-list.
3. Neither I, nor any of my Christian friends, pay all that much attention to the religious right or the supposed evangelical spokespeople. We’re asking different questions and living in a different world and speaking a different language. I think the credibility of the recognized “Christian” leaders among the under 40 crowd is far less than they suppose.
4. Although some are politically conservative, none of the American Christian bloggers on my blogroll would see their faith and conservative politics as inextricably linked.(well, maybe one) They’re smart, honest, ask good questions, and good writers to boot. Maybe ya’ll should read them.