Chavez creates divide among evangelicals

Nov. 2007, The Washington Post

By Krista Kapralos

CARACAS, Venezuela — Every Sunday, Ana González wears one of her best suits to attend Las Acacias, the largest evangelical Christian church in Caracas.

And each week, four days later, she laces up combat boots and tucks her hair into an olive green military cap to report for duty with Venezuela’s army reserves, a foot soldier in President Hugo Chávez’s military.

“I believe in Jesus Christ because he was a revolutionary,” said González, 47. “I follow Chávez because I believe in the things Chávez is doing. He is also a revolutionary.” Read more

Mormon Bloggernacle is no choir

March 2009, Religion Dispatches

By Krista Kapralos

In an era of unprecedented scrutiny of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormon “mommy bloggers,” and other women with personal blogs, say they’re at the helm of a lucrative industry that allows them to shape how the rest of the world views the church.

“This is a big, big deal,” said Heather Oman, who posts at Mormon Mommy Wars. “This is a huge, multibillion dollar industry with mommy bloggers.”

So why aren’t some established academic Mormon bloggers welcoming them with open arms into the “Bloggernacle,” the term many academic bloggers use to describe themselves? Read more

Birth of the Bloggernacle

Feb. 2009, Religion Dispatches

By Krista Kapralos

It started out as a bit of a joke.

“Mormon in Manhattan” Natalie Hill felt a world away from her Utah family. She started her online diary, (NO) Sex in the City, to share a laugh with her sisters and cousins about her dating disasters.

“I was totally not into the blogging world,” Hill said. “I could barely read e-mails.”

Then, her sister, A Little Sussy, photographer Nicole Gerulat, linked (NO) Sex in the City with her own popular blog.

And, faster than many Mormon coeds get married, Hill’s blog sped around cyberspace and “Mormon in Manhattan’s” adventures were famous.

“I have over 2,000 hits a day,” she said.

Hill started her blog about a year ago, months after M. Russell Ballard, one of the leaders of the Mormon Church, encouraged young Mormons to e-mail, text, Twitter, Facebook, and blog their friends into the eternal kingdom. Read more