Religion and the media

For a profession that is all about reliable sources, verification and facts, religion can be a tough beat for journalists to cover. But that doesn't mean that it can't or shouldn't be covered; religion is too intertwined within the fabric of American life to be ignored. 

Here's a list of the Huffington Post's top religious news content of 2012:

1. The Sandy Hook shootings and the presence or absence of God
2. 20% of Americans identifying themselves as affiliated with "No Religion"
3. The creation of the anti-Muslim film "The Innocence of the Muslims"
4. The Vatican scolding American Roman Catholic nuns over social justice issues
5. A mormon running for president
6. The first Hindu and Buddhist in American Congress
7. The negative effects of religion mixing with government
8. The gay equality movement
9. The shooting of six Sikh worshipers in Wisconsin
10. Vatican and Pope controversy 

At least six of the top stories are either negative or controversial, which isn't surprising. Journalists will always rush to jump all over the negative and controversial, the same way shoppers rush to jump all over over Black Friday deals at Walmart. But with the thousands of churches in America, there's got to be some positive, uplifting human-interest stories--right?

No matter what faith journalists claim--or don't claim, there is a whole lot of good that is done in the world because of religion. Every denomination deserves to be covered fairly, without their beliefs being misunderstood or ostracized. Indeed, the age old adage applies even in the cold hearted world of journalism: cover other religions as you would have them cover you.