Religion and Ethics Newsletter

Following is a brief outline of the stories Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly will be covering this week. Every Friday evening, new stories are uploaded to the Web site at http://www.pbs.org/religion.

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Perspectives: A Look Ahead to 2004

What major religion and ethics news stories are expected to make headlines in 2004? Program host Bob Abernethy is joined by John Allen, Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, E.J. Dionne, columnist for The Washington Post, and Cathy Grossman, religion reporter for USA Today, for a special panel discussion on the top stories coming up in the new year including: the role of religion in the 2004 elections; religious influence on new constitutions being forged in Iraq and Afghanistan; the health of Pope John Paul II and its effect on the Vatican; the implications of major church/state cases being considered by the Supreme Court; the realignment in the U.S. Episcopal Church, which remains divided over the issue of homosexuality; and the implications of new developments in biotechnology, including the possibility of human cloning.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week718/perspectives.html

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Cover Story: Sensitizing Police Toward Muslims

It’s been more than two years since the terror attacks of September 11, but many Muslim and Arab-Americans say they are still regarded with suspicion and hostility by some members of the public and by law enforcement agencies — even though police officials want to enlist the help of those groups in fighting terrorism.

Paul Miller reports on how the Department of Justice has begun a program to improve relations with these communities by educating FBI and local police departments across the country on cultural and religious differences that cause misunderstandings and lead to incidents. Jean Abi Nader, managing director of the Arab-American Institute says, “Arabs and Muslims are being treated as if they are criminals…” But according to Sharee Freeman, director of Community Relations Service in the Department of Justice, “We do the best we can to assure the communities that they’ll be okay — by open dialogues, by town hall meetings, by having the program that we run, the initiative that we run for Arab, Muslim and Sikh cultural training.”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week718/cover.html

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Feature: Christian Rock Opera ‘!Hero’

While Jesus has appeared in many guises during the past 2000 years, the Son of God is portrayed in an entirely new way in “!Hero.” This new Christian rock opera imagines an African-American Messiah born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who preaches his message to the modern world on the streets of Manhattan. The cast of this popular opera, which is currently touring the country, features some of the most well-known performers in contemporary Christian music including Michael Tait of “dc talk” in the title role, Rebecca St. James as Mary Magdalene and Mark Stuart of Audio Adrenaline as Peter. Kim Lawton talks to co-writer, veteran Christian music star Eddie DeGarmo about his idea to bring the gospel story to an MTV-generation audience. “I tried to use an imaginary part of your mind where, ‘Well, what would it be like if it had happened today?,'” DeGarmo explains. “What if Christ never came 2000 years ago, and he came today?”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week718/feature.html

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Daily News Headlines

Get the latest news headlines from the Religion News Service, featured on the Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly home page at http://www.pbs.org/religion.

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What’s Ahead

January 9: Lucky Severson explores the epidemic of overweight children and adults in America and how churches are addressing this problem through a variety of innovative programs, including “Overeaters Anonymous,” which promotes physical, emotional and spiritual well-being as the path to a healthier person.