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Bias against pomposity
Q: Is there widespread media bias against Christianity? Against evangelicals such as Brit Hume and Sarah Palin? Against public figures who speak openly and directly about their faith? Against people who believe as you do?
You can tell how biased the media is against Christianity by the number of broadcasters who ridicule it and speak openly about how their lives improved after becoming atheists. Well, there's Bill Maher. And then there's Bill Maher. The main shtick for a number of comedians consists of ridiculing pomposity. A neverending source for them can easily be found among fundamentalist, evolution-denying Christians who claim moral superiority because of their beliefs.
There may be mainstream newscasters who are atheists, but if so they don't go about promoting their atheism. Coming out as an atheist or a secular humanist is not generally viewed as a career enhancer in any profession, outside of the Secular Coalition for America (secular.org) and its member organizations.
In any election, national, state or local, voters usually must choose between the Republican Christian and the Democratic Christian. These politicians may or may not be believing Christians, but they know it doesn't hurt their campaign to say they are. Some candidates are almost certainly atheists, or at least agnostics, but fear they would be signing a political death certificate by telling the truth. So I find it difficult to drum up much sympathy for discrimination against Christians in this country.
Brit Hume said Tiger Woods would be better served if he were to convert to Christianity. In a way, I agree. Regardless of what Tiger believes, a good strategy to get back some of his lost sponsors might be to say, "I found Jesus, who washed away my sins. I gave myself to Jesus, and he turned my life around." But I expect many sincere Christians are troubled by Hume's opportunistic brand of Christianity. Instead of claiming to find a different God, Tiger and many others might be better served by placing a higher value on honesty and not exploiting other humans.
There is a media bias, but it has more to do with advertising revenue than with religion or politics. My favorite TV show in 1950 was Howdy Doody, a puppet I trusted implicitly. When Howdy told us kids to try a delicious drink called Ovaltine, I nagged my mother until she bought it for me. It tasted terrible, and I learned a valuable life lesson about specialized abilities. Howdy may have been a talented puppet with an engaging sense of humor, but he had a lousy sense of taste. Howdy Doody, actors, and athletes may be superb in their chosen professions. But the public often mistakenly grants them an inordinate amount of wisdom and respect in areas completely unrelated to the fields in which they achieved. At least Howdy Doody's personal life was impeccable, if somewhat wooden. The lesson I learned quietly from Howdy when I was eight was one that superstar basketball player Charles Barkley tried to broadcast to the world in 1993. After spitting on fans and having run-ins with the law, he wisely said, "A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?"
Tiger Woods deserves to be recognized for his extraordinary golfing skill. But a golf role model is not a life role model, unless nothing matters in life except golf. And Tiger is a metaphor for all famous people, including many who learned they could become rich and powerful by speaking publicly on topics they know little about. I might include Brit Hume and Sarah Palin in this category, but they would just accuse me of Christian bashing. So to be fair and balanced, I'll also mention celebrities like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Joseph Lieberman. I guess the lesson is to be careful what you buy, and examine your reasons for buying. As for me, I've learned never to buy Ovaltine, no matter how accomplished the person or dummy pitching it.
By
Herb Silverman
|
January 12, 2010; 9:57 AM ET
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Posted by: khote14 | January 18, 2010 1:58 AM
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"There may be mainstream newscasters who are atheists, but if so they don't go about promoting their atheism. "
Imagine if any mainstream journalist were to say that Mark Sanford wouldn't be such a mess if he abandoned Christianity for atheism. Christians would go nuts. And you know what else they'd do? Point to it as proof of media bias against Christians.
Posted by: rashomon | January 14, 2010 12:02 AM
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It's weird that bobmoses compares gay TV characters to Christian TV characters. Gays should be compared to straights, not to Christians.
Christianity should be compared to other religions. How many non-terrorist Muslim characters do you see on TV? How many Buddhists or Hindus or atheists?
I can think of a gob of Christian characters right off the top of my head -- and I watch liberal shows. On the Simpsons, everybody but Apu and Krusty are Christians. On the X-Files, Scully was Catholic. Christians are everywhere on TV.
Posted by: dougmuder | January 13, 2010 9:42 AM
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"POSTED BY: SUX123
Christians have all the power in this Country - they just want more."
Really? You mean that 76% of the country's population "wants more power"? All 230 million of the 300 million people who live in the US?
Talk about absurdly broad stereotypes. But hey, what else do you expect from "tolerant" liberals?
Posted by: bobmoses | January 12, 2010 8:29 PM
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"POSTED BY: DAN46
Hume owes all non-Christians an apology. His insensitivity and ignorance are astounding."
Does Maher owe Christians an apology for his far, far greater insensitivity and ignorance? Or are you just another liberal hypocrite?
Posted by: bobmoses | January 12, 2010 8:25 PM
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"You can tell how biased the media is against Christianity by the number of broadcasters who ridicule it and speak openly about how their lives improved after becoming atheists. Well, there's Bill Maher. And then there's Bill Maher."
What a silly comment. Sorry to inform Silverman, but media bias extends far beyond the narrow definition he has put forward.
Let's follow Silverman's line of thinking. How many openly gay characters are there in today's films and tv programs? Plenty. How many openly Christian characters are there in the same programming? None that I can see.
Of course there is nothing wrong with openly gay characters, but considering how many more Christians there are in America than gay folks, there is no other explanation for the disparity other than the biases of our media.
Of course, if you really want to see the true feelings of the American left towards Christians, scan through the comment sections of OnFaith and you will find plenty of hatred towards Christians from "tolerant" liberals.
Posted by: bobmoses | January 12, 2010 8:24 PM
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I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Silverman's article this week. He certainly goes against the stereotype that atheists are nihilists with a negative outlook on the world. I think Dr. Silverman could easily host a late night show or do stand up comedy. Come to think of it, most atheists that I know have a great sense of humor. We're really not such a bad lot. I wonder why there is such a bias against us.
Posted by: jonesm2 | January 12, 2010 8:08 PM
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When we can consider a political candidate without considering his or her religious affiliation we will have moved forward in this country. Even if we are to accept on face value the affiliations with which public figures align themselves, even the most sincere can misrepresent themselves in words and ideology. Dr. Silverman makes a great point in saying that we project a ridiculous amount of trust onto public figures when it comes to things they know little about. Religious faith and one's ability to lead a moral life is no exception.
Posted by: LorettaHaskell | January 12, 2010 7:33 PM
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Mr.Silverman is spot-on. I am an Atheist and it is denegrated in this country to such a degree that you need a lot of courage to "come out". Neo-nazis and devil-worshipers get more respect. Christians have all the power in this Country - they just want more.
Posted by: sux123 | January 12, 2010 2:27 PM
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Hume owes all non-Christians an apology. His insensitivity and ignorance are astounding.
Posted by: DAN46 | January 12, 2010 1:57 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
you can see how politicized christianity has become by reading the posts of this putz bobmoses. He assumes all people who are against our christian overlords are liberal.
Hey bob, you dumbsh!t, most of the atheists I know are libertarian. But then the knowledge of the difference between liberal and libertarian is probably unavailable to you.
We don't want the liberals telling us what we can say, think, feel or do any more than we want the christian monsters like you telling us. IN fact since the republican party has become infested with the thickheaded idiots like you, most of us have abandoned the republican party, once the home of many libertarian-minded voters.
Your worst enemy is not the liberals, it is you.