Journalism and Religion

Religion and media have always had an interesting relationship. It could have started with the whole “church being separate from state” thing, but ever since I can remember, bringing up God in public news was, and still is, a definite taboo.  Journalists deal with facts, and facts don’t involve faith. Facts are hard evidence. Something you can’t dispute. Many journalists shy away from stories that have the slightest religious influence because there is bias, prejudice, and shaky facts. Others refuse stories about religion because they do not want to exploit a church they belong to.

There is a way to keep your personal religion central, and uphold the standards while still reporting on other religions, or even your own. If you were to explain a concept or doctrine of your religion, you would speak so people would understand. The same thing goes for journalism. When reporting on religion, remember that the particular religion includes many thousands, or millions of members who believe in faith. They believe in works. They know the truth, whereas journalism is always seeking to find the truth. Because religion is so central in hundreds of millions of people’s lives, it shouldn’t be something to run away from. People relate to religion. They relate to God, and other people who believe the same as they do. There is no reason to be afraid of reporting a story especially when it includes someone’s beliefs.