Journalists too often park their critical faculties when reporting on a religious story. They will report a ‘miracle’ as if it was a fact, whereas if even one actual miracle was verifiable, universities throughout the world would be studying such an alleged setting aside of the laws of physics.
Nor should journalists give a free ride to priests, clerics or other religious leaders saying unverifiable nonsense like ‘God says’ or ‘God told me’. Even milder versions like ‘the Church teaches’ must be challenged. The Church taught things in the past that it now knows are laughable and ridiculous.
Journalists shouldn’t be mouthpieces for the Big Lie of religion. They shouldn’t collude in the Big Lie or allow professional religious people to speak nonsense without challenging them.
Any school which claims to teach religious education but which then sees all or most of its pupils take first holy communion and confirmation has not engaged in religious education. It had indoctrinated children into a particular faith.
People now realize that it was wrong of society in the past to allow priests, nuns and lay teachers to beat children in schools. They know that that it was wrong to turn a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children. But as a society or a species we have yet to awaken to the harm done to children’s minds and thinking to indoctrinate them into a religion. It is child abuse to do so. We have awoke to abuse of the body through corporal punishment, abuse of the dignity of the child by child sexual abuse. But we have not yet awoken to the violation of the human rights of a child to learn to think for themselves by indoctrinating them into religions.
Journalists must do far better than many currently do. They must interrogate the dogmas, myths and nonsense held as true without a shred of evidence that permeates society.
They should not be intimidated by not having a degree in theology. As I mention in this interview, conducted by Gerard Conningham on the Freelance Forum Podcast, and reproduced in the Losing My Religion – Trust your Doubt podcast, theology is the only ‘oly’ about something that doesn’t exist.