Advice to reporters on writing about religion

For most of the 33 years I covered religion for secular newspapers, I was an active member of the Religion News Association, ending as its president. The RNA teaches journalists to report on religious topics with balance, accuracy and insight.

In 2018, the RNA presented me with its William A Reed Lifetime Achievement Award.

One of the proudest moments of my live became an opportunity to offer my perspective to my fellow journalists:

First, thank you for this tremendous honor.

My career would not have been possible without the RNA.

When I was starting out, experienced RNA colleagues generously shared contact information for important sources.

RNA conferences introduced me to news-gathering innovations, such as a search engine called Google, before they became mainstream.

RNA paid for me to take a canon law course, so I could better cover governance issues in the Catholic Church.

So I have benefitted from your wisdom and I’m told it’s now appropriate for me to share some words of wisdom with you.

First, I never got to interview God.

I covered what people believe about God, not what God said, wanted or did.

I did not draw conclusions about whether God is real or illusory, one or plural, male female or beyond gender, loving or malignant, close or distant.

My goal was to understand what others believe from their point of view, and to explain how that motivated their actions.

Descriptions of everyone’s beliefs must avoid stereotype and caricature. No matter how much we

may disagree with a person or movement, or how silly we may think it is, we need to describe the heart of their beliefs and present their best arguments for why they believe it.

Of course we can, and usually should, quote alternative voices with reasonable counter-arguments. But no one benefits if journalists paint their subjects as worse, better or otherwise different than they really are.

A guiding principle throughout my career, and one that is of particular comfort to my present employer, is that no one elected me pope.

As a religion journalist writing for the secular media, it was not my job to advocate for or against any doctrine or style of religious structure.

A journalist strives to accurately describe those doctrines and structures, and to fairly present any debate about whether or why these beliefs or practices should or should not change. But we should not seek to influence what any religious body should teach about good, evil or about its own governance. Those religious bodies have a first amendment right to make those decisions according to their own beliefs and rules of order.

A corollary is that journalists should learn as much as possible about each group’s systems of theology and governance. That way we can cover whether religious groups are following their own rules.

Ecclesiastical polity and canon law sound boring and often are. But they are as important to religion reporters as the U.S. Constitution is to those who cover government.

Theology can seem arcane, but it has real world consequences concerning what people do and do not do to try to make the world a better place, how they treat others and the decisions they make about their life goals. Theology is often the key to our storytelling, even if we don’t use a single theological word in the story.

Journalistic integrity demands that we be aware of our own prejudices and assumptions. Make sure that what you learned as a child in religious education actually reflects the official teachings of the religious tradition you are writing about.

When quoting critics of any tradition, consider whether they represent a significant movement or a fringe, and what their relationship is to the official organization. It’s legitimate — and sometimes very important — to cover fringe movements. But they need to be identified as such, not presented as mainstream or influential within their traditions.

For the past five years I have worked for the Catholic Church — even though I’m not Catholic. I am a Christian, however, and I have a few words for those who wrestle with how to integrate their faith with objective coverage of religion. Although I speak from a Christian perspective, I hope this may also be helpful to those from other faith traditions.

I have always understood my role as a reporter and my call as a Christian to be identical: Both compel me to pursue the truth.

I had no qualms about reporting negative news within Christian circles because the Bible itself is largely a story of bad behavior by faith leaders. David commits adultery and murder. Peter denies knowing Jesus.

If the Bible doesn’t sweep such scandals under the rug, why should I?

Ask hard questions of everyone on all sides. Hard questions focus as much on “why” as on who, what, where, how and when. And “why” questions are always at the heart of religion reporting. Apply them to the Church, and when Church and state collide, apply them also to the government.

As religion reporters, we cover faith, but must do so by getting facts right. This is critical for our own integrity as human beings, for the survival and revival of professional journalism and for the health of our increasingly polarized society.

May your fearless pursuit of truth cast a beacon of light in dark times.