Lauren Susan Green (born June 30, 1958) is the Chief Religion Correspondent for

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

.Lauren Green bio
Fox News Network, accessed November 8, 2013. Previously she was a headline anchor giving weekday updates at the top and bottom of the hour during morning television show ''

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...

''. She has also appeared as a guest panelist on Fox's late-night satire show ''

Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld ''Red Eye'', also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017, was an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throu ...

''. She is the first African-American Miss Minnesota.

Early life

Green was born to Robert and Bessie Grissam Green in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

. She has two sisters, Barbara and Lois, and two brothers, Leslie and Kenneth. In an interview with Bill O'Reilly she admitted that when she was in the sixth grade,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

had a crush on her, called her to say "I like you", and she hung up on him. She later appeared in the music video for Prince's 1992 song

My Name Is Prince "My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as the second single from the 1992 ''Love Symbol'' album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by ...

, playing a news anchor and using her own name of Lauren Green. She won the

Miss Minnesota The Miss Minnesota competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Minnesota in the Miss America pageant. Women from Minnesota have won the Miss America crown on three occasions. The most recent winner was Gretchen ...

pageant in 1984, and was third runner-up in the

Miss America 1985 Miss America 1985, the 58th Miss America pageant, was broadcast from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 15, 1984 on NBC Network. The winner, Paraguay native Sharlene Wells, became the first foreign-born Miss America ...

pageant. Green earned her

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

in piano performance from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in 1980, then attended graduate school at the

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

., The King's College (New York), October 27, 2009, accessed July 28, 2013. Green is a practicing Christian and was raised in the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

Interview with Reza Aslan

In 2011, Green asked whether Islam "makes believers more susceptible to radicalization." After a 2013 interview with Iranian-American scholar Reza Aslan (who was then promoting his new book, '' Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth''), she received considerable criticism for her questions. Green questioned why a Muslim would write about Jesus, saying, "You're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?" Aslan defended his credentials several times throughout, and clearly stated that his interest was scholarly. Green continued to press him on the same matters, clearly not taking on board anything Aslan said.

Erik Wemple Erik Wemple is an American journalist who works as a columnist and media critic at ''The Washington Post''. He was formerly the editor of the alternative weekly ''Washington City Paper''. Early life Wemple was raised in Niskayuna, New York, and a ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' disparaged Green's questions as "dumb, loaded, and prejudicial," calling for the Fox News Channel to apologize to Aslan. Daniel Politi of ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'' speculated that the interview was possibly "the single most cringe-worthy, embarrassing interview on Fox News ..in recent memory." Matthew J. Franck criticized Aslan for his claim of a degree in the history of religions, as he teaches

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

and holds a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

Sociology of Religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (surveys, ...

rather than a degree in history. In the interview, Aslan clearly stated that "anyone who thinks this book is an attack on Christianity has not read it yet."

Music

In 2004, Green released an album called ''Classic Beauty'' consisting of classical piano music. Green also played keyboards for

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nominati ...

's band The Little Rockers on the

program ''

Huckabee ''Huckabee'', formerly on Fox News, is a TV political commentary program, following the basic format of a late-night talk variety show, on TBN hosted by former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. It premiered on Fox News on September 2 ...

''. In January 2014 Green performed in the 90th birthday concert for

Georg Ratzinger Georg Ratzinger PA (15 January 19241 July 2020) was a German Catholic priest and musician, known for his work as the conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg. He was the elder brother of the Pope Emeritus B ...

, the brother of

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

, who was also in attendance. She described this in an opinion piece written for Fox News as "the honor of a lifetime."

COVID-19 pandemic

Throughout the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Green advocated for churches who defied court orders to stop large gatherings. An editorial written by her, and published by

on March 15 featured a stock photo of people holding hands when CDC guidelines at the time advised against it. The article called washing hands, sanitizing homes, and practicing social distancing a "temporary or flimsy barrier to a raging tsunami" and said "To close the churches where people go for comfort and spiritual strength – as an act of fighting against this biological scourge – seems like a surrender to Satan." Green interviewed Louisiana pastor Tony Spell for a

piece in which she argued that "The fundamental right to freedom of religion in the United States is

sacrosanct Sacrosanctity was the declaration of physical inviolability of a temple, a sacred object, or a person through the ''lex sacrata'' (sacred law), which had religious connotations. Festus explained that: “Sacred laws are laws which have the sanctio ...

." In Green's piece Spell claimed the church closings were politically motivated, and that through faith his church members had been "healed of HIV and cancer -- diseases

hat are A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

bigger than COVID-19."

References

External links

Lauren Green at Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Lauren 1958 births African-American classical pianists African-American television personalities American classical pianists American women classical pianists American television reporters and correspondents Fox News people Living people Medill School of Journalism alumni Miss America 1980s delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners People from Minneapolis University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni African-American Christians People of the African Methodist Episcopal church 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century classical pianists American women television journalists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists African-American women musicians