GetReligion.org

19/07/2024

A serious theological question? Many would debate that -- and that's the point.

The New York Times spots a religion ghost and runs away from a serious discussion

17/07/2024

Why oh why is this a dangerous topic to talk about?

Yes, families need help finding ways to let children play together (and churches can help)

15/07/2024

How was your weekend? Here is what I have to say about journalism at this moment in time (and big Mattingly family news included here as well).

And how algorithm-driven news has, alas, changed America for the worse

13/07/2024

Sit down to read this one, parents....

Here are some edgy Rational Sheep questions for students, parents and even grandparents

10/07/2024

Friends, I am WAY over my head when dealing with this fierce online war about what it means to be a woman. Please, tell me what is going on here!

The Olivia Culpo war, saith influencers, is about "pick me" culture, politics and religion

08/07/2024

Is the Parkinson's specialist at the White House a big enough story for mainstream newsrooms? Can their readers handle the truth? What about late-night comics?

Why did Beltway reporters ignore the Parkinson's specialist at the White House? They thought they didn't need to cover that story

06/07/2024

Is this scary, or what?

This essay at After Babel is must reading for pastors -- period

03/07/2024

The other day, I was pulled into a poignant story from the past -- about a believer in the SEC Country church of Paul Finebaum. It's an old story, but I didn't find that out until after I was hooked. I knew this woman's voice.

Do you have a radio or online church?

Grieving voices in a radio flock show the power of mass media in the lives of ordinary people

01/07/2024

Yes, Hollywood has a summer hit (finally) with families. Yes, it has an interesting hole in it It's lighthouse parable time again.

Inside Out 2 contains a giant, cyberspace-shaped plot hole

30/06/2024

Here's more on an important addition to the religion-news scene -- Dispatch Faith and, yes, The Dispatch. This is a GetReligion encore post:

Newsrooms have changed how they cover many faith issues and almost everything else

26/06/2024

Saith Steve Martin: "Atheists Don't Have No Songs" when it comes to religion. OK, but what about most of the journalists in elite newsrooms? Are they tone deaf?

All the people said "Amen," as The Dispatch starts a "getting religion" news project

24/06/2024

A topic that is too hot for churches to touch?

Question: Can clergy grasp the moral implications of kids having the Internet in their pockets?

21/06/2024

It's time for a pop-culture apologetics flashback. Spot the theological hole in the "Avengers" passion play? Did anyone try to do that?

The faith-shaped hole in this Marvel universe passion play was a classic "lighthouse" parable about pop culture

19/06/2024

Thought for the day. Would "trad wives" exist, as a movement, without digital editing software? Dig in, folks:

What's the key element of these debates? The Bible, digital editing skills or harsh economic realities?

17/06/2024

Have you read about these terms in your newspaper -- "Tavistock" and "Cass Review"? What does that have to do with omnipresent smartphones? That's a Rational Sheep thing.

Also, has anyone heard these terms -- "Tavistock" and "Cass Review" -- in U.S. news coverage?

14/06/2024

Were the LOTR epics, ultimately, about "providence"? What did Peter Jackson say about that?

Some follow-up thoughts on books, movies and family rituals

12/06/2024

Yes, we live in an age in which comic-book culture is an important player in the public square and, well, public "theology."

Nitpicking? Not if you care about the influence of comics culture in American life

10/06/2024

Lots of questions. Is the "hot" Instagram era about pride, anxiety or shame? I hope this is a must-read for today:

What's up with young women urging significant others to take hot snaps of them for Instagram?

07/06/2024

We recently saw Angel Studios new film Sight - really recommend it. Bring your Chinese-speaking friends; there's a lot of Mandarin dialogue (with subtitles of course).

05/06/2024

Urgent! Urgent! Urgent! Spread this around, please.

Would it be appropriate for congregations to -- quickly -- organize trips to see these films?

03/06/2024

Yes, this is a depressing way to start the week. But I promise there are a few laugh-to-keep-from-crying notes in here as well. Please get a free subscription to Rational Sheep!

What trends are linked to screen culture? What trends are NOT linked to screen culture these days?

31/05/2024

Concerning Hollywood's Memorial Day bloodbath. A meditation on faith, technology and culture:

A meditation on the 2024 Memorial Day box-office disaster and the future of movies in American mass culture

29/05/2024

Yes, it's time to dig into the spiritual questions in a symphonic metal anthem. Why?

What comes after faith? These symphonic metal superstars still yearn for transcendence

27/05/2024

Want a happy holiday read? Sorry about that.

So many depressing trends, so many factors to consider in screens culture

25/05/2024

OK, here is the best entry point to Rational Sheep:

Substack and podcast(s) about mass-media culture, with an emphasis on the church and the family in the age of "screen culture". Click to read Terry Mattingly -- Rational Sheep, by tmatt, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

25/05/2024

A direct appeal to Facebook friends. Please do the FREE subscription to my Substack -- Rational Sheep. Please subscribe and PLEASE comment. Help me know more about what interests readers in the world of faith, family and the digital "screens" era. Even after the "launch phase" is over, there will be free material each week. Please help! Thanks.....

23/05/2024

In which your's truly asks: What was The Big Idea in that controversial Benedictine College address by Kansas City Chief placekicker Harrison Butker?

When it comes to matters of family (and Holy Sacraments) American Catholics appear to live in different cultures

22/05/2024

Just back from Alaska. So here is a quick post about a great YouTube series that you should all explore!

Probing the soul of one of the most iconic Hollywood heroes of all time

17/05/2024

OK, mothers. This one is rather hard to believe.

This would be a shock to the countercultural Catholic matriarchs who birthed this influential network

10/05/2024

Before heading out the door to -- Alaska. Here is this week's Crossroads podcast.

This is causing pain for "spirit of Vatican II' progressives, which means that this trend is big, big news