Are mainstream journalists too ignorant to cover religion?

A journalist writes in with the following commentary on what the word fundamentalist meant in one newsroom in which he worked: Fundamentalist” is like the political f-word (fascism) . . . and other f-words. It has a particular meaning in the hands of someone who knows what he’s talking about — test cases: one who can distinguish the religious f-word from “charismatic” (or who correctly answers the question “is Pat Robertson a fundamentalist”) is someone who has a right to use the word.

It does appear that The Nation cares deeply about whether President Bush holds traditional Christian beliefs on issues of salvation. Thus, Matt Bivens is lobbying for journalists to start asking Bush if he believes that folks in other faiths are going to heaven or hell.

The whole subject of religion and the mainstream news media is getting more attention at several locations on the web, in addition to this blog. Doug and I will be doing what we can to point readers toward these other resources as they come along, each with its own emphasis and point of view.

Peggy Noonan is not a religion-beat writer. But she is one of the rare national-level commentators who truly get the fact that religious faith is at the heart of many of America’s most important trends and debates and, thus, news stories.