tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post2959019805214398756..comments2024-03-27T14:20:05.905-04:00Comments on Montclair SocioBlog: Do Liberals Fail the Churches?Jay Livingstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-31536798159991668052015-05-30T16:25:18.209-04:002015-05-30T16:25:18.209-04:00Dr. Livingston,
Thanks for your response.
...Dr. Livingston,<br /><br /> Thanks for your response.<br /><br /> The numbers, rough as they are, come from the website www.papalencyclicals.net. This site appears to include documents going back to 1227. So, the numbers I presented are from all documents, going back to 1227. I should probably insert some caveats here about 'searchable' and 'in English'.<br /><br /> This page claims to have a complete index: www.papalencyclicals.net/all.htm <br /><br /> The site offers the ability to search the encyclicals of individual popes.<br /><br /> FWIW, I agree that sex/repro issues ARE frequently discussed in modern churches. However, I think that it is seldom done from the pulpit and even more seldom in any sort of official pronouncement. Instead, it is presented in study groups and religious classes as a part of custom and doctrine. The obliqueness you mention is almost always present. <br /><br /> Thanks again for your response.<br /><br />MikeMikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-28614057477879757142015-05-29T22:24:28.578-04:002015-05-29T22:24:28.578-04:00Mike, I just noticed that your comment wound up in...Mike, I just noticed that your comment wound up in the spam filter. Very strange, especially considering some of the bot-placed "comments" that get through.<br /><br />Anyway, you’re absolutely right. This post was not my finest hour. Thanks for the data. I looked at a couple of encyclicals on some website and saw that the ambiguities in language would make it difficult to set up a coding function for content analysis. These ambiguities were not just for <i>poor</i> and <i>poverty</i>, but IIRC, issues of birth control and abortion were referred to in oblique terms. In any case, I didn’t notice the search function. Also, I was looking only at Pope Benedict’s pronouncements. Is that where your numbers come from?<br /><br />That said, I do think that Douthat is a being a bit disingenuous in suggesting that sex/repro issues rarely intrude into messages from the pulpit.Jay Livingstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-1074813402165976272015-05-29T07:48:19.612-04:002015-05-29T07:48:19.612-04:00Dr. Livingston,
I believe that your numbers ar...Dr. Livingston,<br /><br /> I believe that your numbers are skewed for two reasons:<br /><br />1. The Catholic church frequently mentions 'the poor' in homilies and encyclicals, usually describing individuals that the church connects with to provide some type of spiritual or physical support. While 'the poor' typically live in 'poverty', I believe the Church's language reveals a bias towards dealing with the problem on an individual vice societal level.<br /><br />2. You noted that the search returns might reflect the concerns of the press. Beyond the simple choice of topics, there are two other issues associated with the choice of Lexis-Nexus as a data source. First, you will get multiple hits on individual statements because different media sources report on the same encyclical or communication by the church. Second, the press is likely to share a common vocabulary and consistent phraseology.<br /><br />The website www.papalencyclicals.net offers a rudimentary search capability. Running the same terms there reveals a different set of numbers:<br /><br />Abortion = 4<br />Homosexuality = 6<br />Condom = 0<br />Birth Control = 3<br />Poverty = 81<br />'The poor' = 181<br /><br />To be fair, 'the poor' numbers are skewed because the results contain references to 'the poor in spirit', quotes like "Blessed are the poor", and other similar returns. <br /><br />However, the numbers are dramatically different from those reported in your post. Using your search terms alone, 'poverty' occurs approximately six times more frequently than all other terms put together.<br /><br />Please consider reporting these results, or results from some other search engine that allows you to examine papal pronouncements directly.<br /><br />Thanks for reading this comment.<br /><br />- MikeMikenoreply@blogger.com