Religion, politics and spin
July 23rd, 2007 ~ Potpourri for 100, AlexThe NY Times shows the result of a Pew Research survey. People were asked if they would be less likely, more likely or indifferent to a candidate who was black, Christian, handicapped or anything else they could think of. Here’s how it came out:
So Americans, who are routinely told we are racist, sexist and homophobic overwhelmingly don’t care about a candidate’s race or gender, and are evenly split as to whether they care if they’re gay. But they are overwhelmingly likely to vote against an avowed atheist and there is a significant portion that would be more likely to vote for a Christian candidate.
This is why it matters very much, in the current politically-charged environment, that (as these guys say) the press just doesn’t get religion. It’s not that I want them to try to get at a person’s personal commitment. I suppose all I want — all I ever want — is for this aspect of things to be given a little respect and coverage. Not likely, of course. But I can dream, right?
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July 23rd, 2007 at 7:25 pm
NY Times, that is when I quit reading. Any paper that doesn’t mind telling me how many of my boys got killed today, but says nothing of the enemy, except to tell them what we are doing in order to combat them…frankly, if I had a bird I wouldn’t line its cage with the NY Times.
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Couldn’t agree more. It seems like their slant has only gotten more pronounced in recent years. But if Christianity Today had reported these survey results, the religiously-challenged would dismiss them as meaningless. I suppose it’s *because* these results are coming from an unfriendly source that I thought they might rise above the level of suspected Christian propaganda.
Now, do I think that the NYT will EVER look at results like that and decide to try to pay due diligence to the Christian segment of their readership? Nope, not a snowball’s chance.