Touch, Prayer And The Role Of Clergy At Executions: SCOTUS Weighs Religious Freedom
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
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(ANALYSIS) The U.S. Supreme Court will hear religious freedom arguments Tuesday in the case of a Texas death-row inmate named John Henry Ramirez.
Ramirez, 37, wants his Southern Baptist pastor to lay hands on him and pray during his execution. The state of Texas won’t allow it.
Time magazine’s Madeleine Carlisle provides a nice overview of the case.
“The job of a minister is not to stand still and be quiet,” Dana Moore, the inmate’s pastor, tells Time. “Prayer is very important. And the power of touch is real. It’s encouraging. It brings peace. It’s significant… Why can’t I hold his hand?”
In an August interview with New York Times religion writer Ruth Graham, Ramirez took responsibility for killing Corpus Christi convenience store clerk Pablo Castro, calling Castro’s 2004 death a “heinous murder.” (As noted by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Ramirez “beat and kicked Castro and stabbed him 29 times with a 6-inch serrated knife.” He and two female accomplices left the scene with $1.25.)
“It would just be comforting,” Ramirez said of wanting Moore by his side at the time of his lethal injection.
At The Associated Press, religion writer David Crary explains that the “ACLU has a long history of opposing the death penalty and also says that condemned prisoners, even at the moment of execution, have religious rights.”
“Intriguingly, the ACLU’s position in the Ramirez case is echoed by some conservative religious groups which support the death penalty and are often at odds with the ACLU on other issues,” Crary reports.
For more on the case, see coverage by Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman, the Baptist Standard’s Ken Camp and AP’s Juan A. Lozano.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. God and guns: In a compelling piece for FiveThirtyEight, veteran religion writer Kimberly Winston presents “a tale of two pastors and two mass shootings.”
She contrasts the different responses to tragedy and trauma by Mother Emanuel African American Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas.
For more on this subject, see the award-winning 2020 coverage by ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Paul Glader and Michael Ray Smith.
2. Faith groups increasingly join fight against climate change: My favorite Associated Press tag team — religion writer Luis Andres Henao and videographer Jessie Wardarski — go on a boat ride along a Louisiana bayou.
The purpose: to report on “a broader trend around the world of faith leaders and environmental activists increasingly joining the fight against climate change.”
3. Women rabbis in France carve their own path: “Amid the many restrictions that pandemic lockdowns imposed on faith communities, 29-year-old Iris Ferreira emerged with a victory: In July, she became the first female rabbi ordained in France,” Hannah Steinkopf-Frank reports for ReligionUnplugged.com.
“Love this,” journalist Mya Guarnieri Jaradat said of this in-depth feature. “Love reading work that makes me jealous (because) I wish I'd reported it myself!”
More Top Reads
• A rabbi searches for a congregation in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam (by Stephen Kalin and Rory Jones, Wall Street Journal)
• For some churches, paying back PPP loans is better than forgiveness (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
• ACLU files suit against Horn Lake over rejection of mosque site plan (by Katherine Burgess Memphis, Commercial Appeal)
• Church vandalism is on the rise. Here’s how congregations heal (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
• Indians celebrate festival of light amid COVID-19 fears (by Krutika Pathi, Associated Press)
• Afghan girls, faraway relatives worry over dreams disrupted (by Mariam Fam and Noreen Nasir, AP)
• COVID-19 vaccine mandates turn into religious tests at GE, Disney—some longer than others (by Chip Cutter and Thomas Gryta, Wall Street Journal)
• A year after the election, Trump’s effect on evangelical churches lingers (by David Roach, Christianity Today)
• Inside the unraveling of American Zionism (by Marc Tracy, New York Times)
• A Christian talk show host promised to enrich clients. His Ponzi scheme bilked them out of millions. (by Brittany Shammas, Washington Post)
• ‘Christmas with The Chosen’ sets theater sales record, adds screens (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)
• Is Netflix good for the Jews? (by Joseph Bernstein, Buzzfeed News)
• 'Bringing together the cultures': All-White Arlington Heights church welcomes first Black pastor (by Madhu Krishnamurthy, Daily Herald)
• 250 years later, Methodists reflect on Francis Asbury’s mission, legacy (by Adelle M. Banks, RNS)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
Two Utah-based religion writers hit milestones this week.
The Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas marked seven years with her newspaper.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s Peggy Fletcher Stack has covered religion a little longer: Stack has written more than 5,000 stories since she began her Godbeat work 30 years ago on Nov. 4, 1991.
Keep up the good work, Kelsey and Peggy!
Meanwhile, one of the nation’s top Godbeat pros is changing beats and jobs: Award-winning Atlantic religion writer Emma Green is moving to the New Yorker, where she’ll cover academia.
I have a feeling she’ll still manage to find some intriguing religion angles.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• Missionaries to Amazon unwelcome by Indigenous people and prohibited by law (by Steve Rabey)
• 'The Jesus Music' explores Christianity from the perspectives of iconic artists (by Jillian Cheney)
• ‘Bible In A Year’ among Apple’s top podcasts, Spanish version due out next year (by Clemente Lisi)
• How the bloody Netflix sensation 'Squid Game' critiques Korean Christianity (by Abby Miller)
• Kenya bans gay-themed movie, sparking debate on LGBTQ rights (by Tom Osanjo)
• Biden is a 'good Catholic': How the press covered his meeting with Pope Francis (by Clemente Lisi)
• South African churches pray against COVID-19 at election day polls (by Vicky Abraham)
• Business meets charity: Airbnb's nonprofit wing houses Afghan refugees (by Ewelina U. Ochab)
• Biden says Pope Francis called him a ‘good Catholic’ as Vatican declines to comment (by Clemente Lisi)
• Israelis wonder if they should keep taking US' aid (by Dave Schechter)
The Final Plug
Here’s a shameless plug for my ReligionUnplugged.com colleagues, who won two national EPPY Awards and were finalists in five other categories.
Check out all the winners and finalists.
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.