It’s the vacation season, a time for pleasure, feasts, household — and a deluge of articles in regards to the issues that Democrats have with faith and religion.
That’s occurred much more this 12 months, as we head into the 2020 presidential primaries. But, most of this chatter misses the actual difficulty: The issue will not be with Democrats however with how the information media sometimes covers God and politics.
Nearly each main journalism outlet has a faith reporter who examines every little thing from theological debates to folks within the pews. However that reporting often is discovered deep contained in the newspaper or web site. Entrance-page tales about religion aren’t actually about religion in any respect however in regards to the intersection of faith and political energy — which, most frequently, means the GOP.
In the case of broad questions on precise beliefs, Republicans and Democrats aren’t that far aside. One survey, by the Pew Analysis Heart, confirmed 84 p.c of Republicans and 72 p.c of Democrats stated faith was vital or considerably vital of their on a regular basis lives. That’s not a giant hole, contemplating how usually liberals are seen as missing religion.
There wasn’t this “faith drawback” within the 1960s and ’70s, when progressives usually made widespread trigger with religion leaders over points similar to nuclear arms, the Vietnam Conflict and civil rights. President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, was a born-again Southern Baptist.
But, by 1980, spiritual conservatives — led by Jerry Falwell and the “Ethical Majority” — had aggressively stepped into politics themselves, particularly Republican politics and the Reagan administration. That relationship has solely gotten stronger over the a long time — to the purpose now the place evangelicals are arguably the only strongest GOP constituency.
Demographics clarify why this religion-and-power dynamic developed in a single social gathering over the opposite — and it’s not about who loves God extra.
The GOP is overwhelmingly Christian: Evangelicals, Catholics, mainline Protestants, and others. The Democratic trustworthy put up massive numbers with Christians as effectively, but additionally embrace 69 p.c of Buddhists, 64 p.c of Jews and 62 p.c of Muslims questioned within the Pew examine.
That variety makes it exhausting for anybody spiritual group to dominate Democrats the best way that Evangelicals — now usually in live performance with conservative Catholics — wield energy within the Republican Get together. It’s troublesome for the information media to report on progressive politics and faith: There is no such thing as a left-wing equal to, say, the highly effective Christian Coalition.
Reporters don’t simply comply with energy, after all. In addition they comply with its equivalent political twin, cash. Right here, too, faith and the GOP are a greater story: Over the course of a number of a long time, conservative Christian mega-donors have arrange suppose tanks, media retailers and institutes, backed candidates and cultural points. It’s exhausting to seek out related investments on the spiritual left which have formed politics in the identical approach. That story simply isn’t as sharply outlined.
Spiritual variety amongst Democrats additionally makes it trickier for progressive politicians to deal with religion on the stump. When Republicans discuss values, their viewers is aware of they imply Christian, or Judeo-Christian, values. A Democrat doing the identical has to fret way more about alienating non-Christian believers who vote blue. In consequence, there isn’t as a lot reporting about religion on the Democratic marketing campaign path — which might verify the impression that Democrats, by and enormous, simply don’t care.
When faith reporting strikes past myopic concentrate on the political energy dynamic, a greater image of Democrats and religion comes into view. The Pew survey, for instance, revealed Republicans and Democrats share many primary religious practices. Most stunning amongst these: The identical quantity from every political social gathering — 40 p.c — say they meditate as soon as every week.
And with impeachment and the election set to dominate the 12 months forward, that follow will little question come in useful — for either side of the political divide.
Joe Ferullo is an award-winning media govt, producer and journalist and former govt vice chairman of programming for CBS Tv Distribution. He was a information govt for NBC, a writer-producer for “Dateline NBC,” and labored for ABC Information. Observe him on Twitter @ironworker1.
The post Politics, faith and news reporting: The Democrats’ perceived ‘religion problem’ appeared first on Down The Middle News.
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