J School centennial panel discusses religion and politics

By Charesse James

Published Sept. 12, 2008

More than 70 people attended the newly completed Reynolds Journalism Institute to hear religion journalists Dan Gilgoff and Cathleen Falsani discuss the interaction between religion and politics on Thursday as part of the School of Journalism's centennial celebration. "As the country grows more diverse, journalists cannot cover the news of the world without understanding the religions of the world," said the event's moderator, Debra Mason, who is executive director of the MU Center of Religion and the Professionals. During her introduction, Mason said the media's current coverage of religion is "painful." Falsani and Gilgoff, both religion journalists, discussed religion's impact on popular culture and politics. They discussed topics such as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's religious affiliation and the "faith factor" in the 2004 presidential election. Falsani is a nationally syndicated religion columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and Gilgoff is the politics editor of Beliefnet.com, a faith-based Web site. "I think that in today's political climate, we need this," said Hallmark Cards spokesman Steve Doyal, who attended the event. "It's a unique opportunity to hear from people who study and who think about it more than I do." The main topic for most of the forum was the change in political religious outreach programs and the increased attention on the religious preferences of this year's presidential candidates. "American elections are won or lost based on their characters," Gilgoff said during his portion of the forum. "We have to ask questions about (religion). If candidates are going to use it to benefit their campaigns, we as journalists are allowed to question it." Falsani and Gilgoff discussed the increasing amounts of print journalists being fired and religion sections of newspapers being discontinued. They also discussed the effects of losing a religious focus within the media on politics and on popular culture. "Journalism and religious studies are my majors and I think the speakers had really good things to say about religion and politics," junior Glen McMurry said. "I think religion and politics should go hand in hand, and when you throw journalism into it, it's going to be big until the public gets tired of it. It's going to be in the forefront. Religion is a huge part of people's lives." McMurry said politics and religion can help bring different groups together. "I think that the fact that more people are becoming more vocal about their faith, I think that a group of professionals can come together to discuss it," McMurry said. "It shows progression."