Time Magazine's cover story this week is Why did Jesus have to die? Lately, I feel like Time (and its competitors) have given Christianity a surprising amount of front page coverage, and so I decided to dig a little deeper.
Time publicly archives its past covers, so it's easy to view their covers from any period. I decided to compare Christianity-themed covers from the January 1998 - April 2004 with the same period 20 years prior, January 1978 - April 1984.
What I included:
+ To be included in my count, the whole cover had to be devoted to religion -- collage images with one religious symbol don't count.
+ The main point of the featured article had to be religion, so nuns battling Alzheimer's or Y2K fears don't count.
In both periods, Christian (or Judeo-Christian) themed covers appeared 12 times; however, I was startled to see the difference in how it was covered during the two periods.
From 1978 - 1984, 11 of the 12 covers concern the papacy's role in geopolitics or the Pope as a person.
From 1998 - 2004, the covers address a number of topics, from historical aspects of the Christian myth to the role of Christianity in modern times.
I'll go out on a limb and say that magazines like Time used to discuss organized Christianity when its actions made the news. Now, they editorially interpret Christianity, making it the news.
| January 1998 - April 2004 |
| 1998 | January 26 | Fidel Castro & Pope John Paul II: What brought them together -- Two giants of the century put their faiths to the test |
| April 20 | The Shroud of Turin: Now that it's back on display, the debate flares anew -- Is this Jesus? |
| December 14 | Moses: New research and an epic animated movie offers a fresh look at a hero for our time, The Prince of Egypt |
| 1999 | December 14 | Jesus at 2000: Novelist Reynolds Price offers a new Gospel based on archaeology and the Bible |
| 2000 | April 3 | Pope John Paul II: The Pope in the Holy Land |
| 2001 | April 16 | What Jesus Saw: Jerusalem Then and Now |
| | September 17 | Preacher T.D. Jakes: Is the man the next Billy Graham? |
| 2002 | April 1 | The Catholic Church Dilemma: Can the Catholic Church save itself? |
| | July 1 | The Bible & The Apocalypse: Why more Americans are reading and talking about the end of the world |
| | September 30 | Abraham: Muslims, Christians and Jews all claim him as their father. A new book explores the challenge of turning him into their peacemaker |
| 2003 | June 30 | Should Christians Convert Muslims?
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| 2004 | April 12 | Why did Jesus have to die? |
| January 1978 - April 1984 |
| 1978 | August 21 | Search for a Pope |
| September 4 | Pope John Paul I: The New Pope |
| | October 9 | The Church in Shock: Pope John Paul I, 1912 - 1978 |
| October 30 | Pope John Paul II |
| 1979 | June 18 | Pope John Paul II: Triumphal Return -- The Pope in Poland |
| October 15 | Pope John Paul II: John Paul, Superstar |
| 1981 | May 25 | Attack on the Pope: Terrorist's Target -- "Why did they do it?" |
| 1982 | November 29 | Archbishop Bernadin: God and the Bomb -- Catholic Bishops debate nuclear morality |
| | December 27 | The New Missionary: Preaching the Gospel in New Guinea |
| 1983 | March 14 | Pope John Paul II: "To Share the Pain" |
| | June 27 | Pope John Paul II: Homecoming -- The Return of the Polish Pope |
| 1984 | January 9 | Pope John Paul II: Why Forgive? The Pope pardons the gunman |
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