ALAN writes:

Words fail me.

With its “Ramadan Companion,” this is the first time, I believe, that Google has ever officially created a feature to support a religion…. and of course it wouldn’t be the religion that birthed, nursed, and grew the civilization that made Google possible. I’m googling “Lenten Companion” … nothing.

Google has a grant program to offer services to non-profits and it excludes religions.

Perhaps your readers can help verify or disprove my assertion about this being the first time Google has done something like this.

What’s next? No search results for those who slander the “Prophet Mohammed”???

— Comments —

Sage McLaughlin writes:

By way of reply to Alan, it pains me to say it, but there’s a big difference, from Google’s perspective between offering an app for Muslims to observe Ramadan, and for Catholics to observe Lent.

Namely, that Muslims might actually use an app for Ramadan.  What will the millions of supposedly faithful Catholics worldwide do with a Lenten app?  I’m pretty sure they can remember whether or not it’s Friday without the help of an app, and that’s assuming they even care so far as that.  Lent in the Western Church is a joke, consisting of nominal sacrifices of trivialities.  Some small fraction take it more seriously than that, it’s true, but hardly enough that the development bigwigs at Google will have noticed.

They may just as well make an app for President’s Day as for Lent.  The shame is ours, not Google’s.

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