On the Square Today

George Weigel on biblical illiteracy and Bible Babel :

One of the disappointments of the post-Vatican II period has been the glacial pace of the growth in Catholic biblical literacy the Council hoped to inspire. Why the slowdown? Several reasons suggest themselves. The hegemony of the historical-critical method of biblical study has taught two generations of Catholics that the Bible is too complicated for ordinary people to understand: So why read what only savants can grasp?

Also today, Gerald R. McDermott on Evangelicals and the coming Romney victory :

A new poll from Virginia, a key swing state, suggests that evangelicals will help put Mitt Romney in the White House this November. It has become a truism in recent years that evangelicals are critical to our national elections. As New York Times reporter Erik Eckholm pointed out on April 14, evangelicals accounted for nearly one-fourth of all ballots cast in recent presidential elections. Their lukewarm support for John McCain in 2008—with many staying home on Election Day and upwards of thirty percent of their 18-29 year-olds casting votes for Obama (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research)—helped give the White House to the Democrats.