Centre News

Arthur Kent to speak at our National Conference How is the Canadian media handling religious news stories? Come and hear Arthur Kent speak at our national conference May 26-28 at Carleton University – “How the Secular Media Cover Religious Pluralism in Canada”. Information and registration is online at our website: www.faithandmedia.org

 

Commentary

Where have all the religion reporters gone? In Canada, the number of “religion reporters” can be counted on two hands. Yet the number of stories with a faith or religious aspect or angle have multiplied in recent years. We are facing a Catch-22 in Canadian journalism. Journalism schools don’t train journalism students to cover religion, though they do receive training to cover sports, and business. Media outlets do not hire “religion reporters”, or very few, and most are part time with other responsibilities. So the journalism schools don’t see value in teaching their students to cover religion, when there are no religion reporting jobs available. Yet the religion stories keep coming, fast and furious, and will continue to come, thanks to the multi-religious diversity of Canada, conflicts overseas, and internal debates within Canada over moral and ethical issues. Religion is going to continue to be news, and my prediction is….more and more reporters with no training or background (or interest) in religion and faith matters will be sent off to cover highly complex and nuanced stories. Perhaps they will do a good job. Perhaps they will not have sufficient background, or the right contacts, and their stories might reinforce negative public stereotypes about a particular religious group. This is why we need the Centre for Faith and the Media, to provide journalists with those resources, background information, and the right contacts to cover those stories well. But we also need journalism schools to train their students in religion reporting, and we need media outlets to wake up and realize that religion is news, and it will continue to be the source of major news stories in Canada. - Richelle Wiseman   Executive Director

 

What’s in a Word: Using the Word “fundamentalist”

Fundamentalist A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. It can also apply to atheists, or secularists who want to eliminate religion and religious points of view from the public sphere. Whereas it originally meant someone who adheres to the fundamentals of a tradition, it has become a pejorative term, and is often misused. Within Canada, there are fundamentalists in every religious tradition, and fundamentalist non-religious people. Evangelical Christians are sometimes referred to as fundamentalists when in reality, most are not.

 

Tips for Journalists Covering Religion

Interview Contacts Need a religion scholar for an interview? See the American Academy of Religion’s website: www.religionsource.org, where over 3000 scholars are listed, of which 500 are Canadians. Their areas of expertise and contact numbers are available.

 

Kudos and Lemons

Kudos to Ian Brown for his interesting series on American evangelicalism which appeared in the Globe and Mail. Next, how about a series on how different the Canadian evangelicals are from the Americans. See the Ipsos-Reid survey at http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/resources/resource_viewer.asp?Resource_ID=180 and the article originally published in The Globe and Mail, April 24, 2004 and which is also at: http://www.christianity.ca/news/national/2004/04.003.html

 

Calendar

Christianity March 20 Palm Sunday celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. March 24 Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, and Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. March 25 Good Friday, the crucifixion of Christ, and March 27 is Easter Sunday’s celebration of the Resurrection. Judaism March 25 Purim celebrates victory over an oppressive ruler, as related in the Book of Ester. Buddhism March 20 Spring Ohigon is a special day for Jodo Shinshu Buddhists who meditate on enlightenment. Sikhism March 26 marks the beginning of a three day festival known as Hola Mohalla, when music, mock battles, and festivities take place.

 

Did You Know…?

The Centre has an online database of religion contacts for Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto. We are hoping to expand this to include all the other major cities this year.

 

About the Centre

The Centre for Faith and the Media is an independent, non-profit organization to inform, advise and help media and the general public achieve a stronger understanding of spiritual history, practices and values in Canadian society. The Centre provides non-partisan resources to journalists and the public to enable a more accurate and fair portrayal of faith in our midst. It conducts research, creates guides and other reference works, and operates an online site to enable broad access to information. The Centre is based in Calgary but has a national board of directors from academia, media and business. Its initial financing has been provided by Canadian Heritage, Department of Multiculturalism.

 

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