Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog: RNA's Top Stories, Newsmakers for 2004

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Tuesday, December 21, 2004

RNA's Top Stories, Newsmakers for 2004

The Religion Newswriters Association has Mel Gibson and President Bush at the top of their lists for the year's biggest stories and most important newsmakers. First, the newsmakers:

Stories about faith's role in President George W. Bush's re-election and reports about Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ tied as the No. 1 religion stories of 2004, in a survey of Religion Newswriters Association members released today. Gibson also was named RNA's Religion Newsmaker of the Year by 51 percent of those voting. President Bush received 40 percent of the votes as runner-up for Religion Newsmaker of the Year.

The stories:

No. 1 (tie) Religion and values play major role in presidential campaign and then the election; some studies credit evangelicals with providing George Bush with his margin of victory. The faith commitments of both Bush and John Kerry stir many arguments pro and con, as do registration efforts by some churches. (3.2)
No. 1 (tie)
The movie The Passion of the Christ draws record crowds, spurs many discussions about its possible anti-Semitism, violence, faithfulness to Scripture, interpretation of the Atonement. DVD sales soar. (3.2)

Of special personal interest is #11:

No. 11: Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code dominate best-seller lists throughout the year; Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now makes it near year's end. Warren's book becomes the focus of countless study groups; Osteen's is beginning to do so. Brown's novel inspires a number of efforts seeking to debunk his premise. (10.8)

Huurrumph. The least they could have done was provide our names, the title of our book, and detailed ordering information. More media bias! When will it end...? (Yes, I'm joking.)

Posted by Carl Olson on Tuesday, December 21, 2004 at 01:30 AM | Permalink

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Or at least they shouldn't generate books. From the RNA's list of top religion stories of the past year: Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code dominate best-seller lists throughout the year; Joel Osteen's Your... [Read More]