Religion is shaping the news more than ever. Most reporters are missing it.
Pixabay image of newspapers
By Lawrence Pintak
Recent polls tell us that most Americans think the influence of religion in society is declining and the percentage who say religion is important in their own lives has plunged. As Gallup reports, few countries have measured larger declines in religiosity than the U.S.
Those numbers obscure the fact that religion continues to shape American society in profound ways, perhaps more so than ever before. Just as a certain song may become a soundtrack for our lives, religion is a bass track to the news. But for most of us, it just becomes white noise.
I began thinking about this as I prepared to give a talk to a group of religion reporters. With massive cutbacks in newsrooms across the country, religion reporters are an endangered species. But the reality is that in the U.S. — and around the world — every reporter is a religion reporter … or should be.
