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February results 
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In February, March and April, 1999, volunteers
from across the country scanned newspapers for religious content. The results
are now ready. The scan is being compiled and analyzed by Dr. Joyce Smith.
The complete tables and charts can be found at Smith's
web site.
Taken as a whole, stories with some religious content outstripped those which were completely concerned with religious activity or groups. However, there is yet to be a single issue of the newspapers studied which does not contain some references to religion. |
Christianity (640 items, or 42.7% of all items) Generic* (364 items, or 24.3% of all) Catholicism (326 items, or 21.8% of all) Judaism (271 items, or 18.1% of all) Islam (175 items, or 11.7% of all)
*(mention of "religion," "spirituality," "God" or other words that don't specifically refer to a tradition)
The most references were found in news stories (28.5%), followed by Arts and Entertainment (24.5%). This is much more than those articles identified as "religious," either by virtue of its placement in the paper on a religion page, or by its submission by a religion writer. Religion items per se made up only 2.8% of all material. The newspaper with the most religious references during the week was the National Post (32 per day, on average).
Here are some of the highlights of stories which incorporated religious material:
Arts & Entertainment
When movie critic Gene Siskel died, not only did the public find out
that his thumbs up/down colleague actually liked him, we also discovered
that his religion was particularly important to him. In coverage about
his funeral, his rabbi was quoted as saying that Mr. Siskel's religion
was a central part of his life, and that one of the last functions he had
attended was his daughter's bat mitzvah. (Unfortunately, some papers had
this as her "bar" mitzvah, the word applicable for a boy's ritual.)
In accepting a Grammy award, singer Lauryn Hill held a Bible in her hand, quoting from one of the Psalms.
Global television pulled an episode of Xena, Warrior Princess which featured Lord Krishna, after complaints from Hindu and yogic communities.
Science
Astronomers noted that the convergence of Jupiter and Venus in the
sky could have been what was referred to in the New Testament as the Star
of Bethlehem, marking Jesus' birth.
A study recommending the optimum spacing between children was published. Only some reports noted that the mothers studied were all Mormons living in Utah.
News
The coverage of the trial of John William King in Jasper, Texas, contained
many religious references. After having been dragged behind a car, James
Byrd's body was dumped near a church, at a cemetery, which was seen as
particularly insulting to the community. Prosecutors argued for the death
sentence, suggesting that allowing King to live would give him the chance
to hurt Jewish guards, nurses, doctors, or anyone else who didn't measure
up to the racist's agenda. Before the end of the trial, a member of Byrd's
family embraced the murderer's father, asking for God's blessing. King's
own ideas were described by a prosecutor not only as racist, but satanic.
Ted Turner apologized for derogatory remarks he had made about the Pope with regard to his Polish background.
Overseas, the continued violence in Kosovo was covered with references to the previous violence involving Serbs, Croats and Muslims, and there were references to the Orthodox Christianity of the Serbs.
Captured Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was rumoured to have had the support of "Greek churches" during his period of freedom.
A high-ranking Shiite cleric was killed in Iraq, sparking violence between Sunni and Shiite factions.
Nigerian election information included mention of the country's Muslim, Christian and indigenous religions and the divisiveness between them.
At home in Canada, the Ottawa meeting of Reform and Tory members interested in the United Alternative movement involved debate with regard to how many "conservative" Christian policies to adopt. Rumoured to be a potential leader of the new party, Stockwell Day's own Christian background was also scrutinized.
Christine Silverberg, Calgary's police chief, was described as a victim of hate crimes, when a letter bomb was delivered to her, without resulting injury. This was thought to be as a result of her being Jewish (as well as being a woman), dovetailing with a B'nai Brith report on rising anti-Semitism in Canada. Meanwhile, a pollster was fired after asking voters in an Ontario riding if they would support a candidate who was a child of Holocaust survivors.
The Duplessis Orphans' charges of abuse at the hands of their Catholic caretakers were flatly denied by the Church in Quebec.
Sports
In the world of sports, Evander Holyfield was denounced as a hypocrite
by rival Lennox Lewis for having fathered numerous children out of wedlock
while claiming to be a devout Christian.
Business
On taking over the Bank of Montreal reins from Matthew Barrett, profiles
of Anthony Comper noted that he fitted the picture of the staid banker,
having, among other things, once studied for the priesthood.
Last modified: 6 December 1999