ABSTRACT
Elite sociologists for decades assumed that material prosperity and technological advances would produce a broad decline in religious practice. And yet the opposite has happened: Though the youngest generation is more secular than in the past, vibrant religiosity characterizes much of the world—including in the US, where 70.6% self-identify as Christian. Do journalists who cover politics, economics, technology, and other cultural issues have a “blind spot” with respect to many citizens’ deeply held faith convictions? Moreover, if journalists tend to be more secular than the public-at-large, how might they better “get” religion, and report on its implications more accurately? This chapter documents examples—positive and negative—and argues that religious literacy can be learned, even by journalists deep into their careers. Firsthand stories from Faith Angle Forum, an Ethics and Public Policy Center program that since 1999 has hosted multi-day retreat sessions with 267 columnists, reporters, and broadcast journalists, suggests concrete ways in which journalism in the US has improved. Removing biases vis-à-vis religion is vital because journalists not only report the news but also indirectly help shape the capacity of societies to deal constructively with deep diversity.
