In God Our Press Trusts

Susan Jacoby

“On Faith” panelist Susan Jacoby is the author of Freethinkers: History of American Secularism, (2004) which was named a notable nonfiction book by The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and cited as an outstanding international book by the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian. more »

The question about whether the media treat religion fairly really ought to have two parts, and the second half ought to read: "Do the media treat skepticism about religion fairly?" The answer to both questions is no.

The media do not treat religion fairly because they routinely give preferential treatment to religion, exempting it from the critical scrutiny that all other institutions receive (or are supposed to receive) from a free press in our society. Religious skepticism, by contrast, is either treated negatively or, more commonly, omitted altogether from stories about religious issues.