On May 4 we welcome Dr. Mary Hess right *here*

Dr. Mary Hess explores
religion and media on many levels,
for example, check out
 her treatment of  the Trayvon Martin case.

I'm thrilled to announce that on May 4 The Snake Charmer's Wife will participate in a blog tour featuring the incredible Dr. Mary Hess, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. 

This is how it will work: I've been invited to submit questions on religion and media based on Snake Charmer readers' interest. Mary will respond, I'll post here, and then throughout the day on May 4, you are invited to comment and Mary will continue respond to your comments.

Got it? Ok, so here are the questions I submitted:

1.) How can churches protect and encourage GBLTQ youth?
In Iowa, tragically, we just buried another young man who committed suicide because of bullying after he came out gay. This boy happened to be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the denomination I share with many SCW readers (though not all). Many people in my congregation, St. John's Lutheran Church in Des Moines, are concerned for the spiritual and physical protection of GBLTQ youth. What are your recommendations for steps churches can take in keeping these kids safe and loved, especially in the face of hate messages from other Christian sources?


2.)What do you make of theYouTube video: "Why I hate religion but love Jesus"? 
A young man, Jefferson Bethke, created this video arguing that "Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums," when people don't practice what they preach. The video, titled "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus," had already surpassed 2 million views just two days after it was posted on Jan. 10. And the controversial topic generated an onslaught of more than 30,000 conflicting reactions in the video's comments section, according to the Huffington Post. What's the take-away for faith communities?


3.) Tied up in these two questions is a conversation around why the dominant voice of Christianity seems to be such an extremest one. Is this just my perception? How can we put out there the loving/welcoming face of the church as opposed to "Do as we say or you're going to hell"? 

4.) Exploring the intersection of religion and media in terms of the "religious right" and the "religious left." Radio and television helped give rise to the religious right. In today's media landscape, younger people--who are wary of religious institutions and generally regarded as more liberal in their religious beliefs ("left")--are more likely to lean toward new media technologies and have those influence or reinforce what they think and believe. So is being on the religious left or right becoming increasingly influenced by how one engages various media, and therefore, is there a generational divide, and will that divide increase or decrease over time?


If there's yet another topic you'd like addressed on May 4, let me know. Meanwhile, be sure to check out Mary's powerful blog, Tensegrities.

Mary Hess Bio: 
Mary Hess is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since 2003 she has written the blog Tensegrities(www.religioused.org/tensegrities/). A Roman Catholic Layperson with eclectic interests, Hess received her B.A. in American Studies from Yale University; her M.T.S. is from Harvard University; and her Ph.D. is from Boston College. She served as a core member of the International Study Commission on Media, Religion and Culture. She serves on the editorial board of Journal of Media and Religion, Religious Education and Religion and Education in the Public Sphere. Visitwww2.luthersem.edu/mhess/web/Home.html to learn more about her publications and teaching.


Cheers, Terri