Press and Religion: A New Dynamic

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Religion and the press have always been odd siblings at the First Amendment's family table. One plays to our faith, the other to our curiosity and fascination.

The idea that freedom to practice religion makes a more democratic people is as strong today as it was when Alexis de Tocqueville toured a young nation. Now religious pluralism is widely regarded as a tool for building new unity and national purpose.

The press enjoys the same constitutional freedom. Yet for all it does to shed light in dark corners, journalism does not occupy the same esteemed place in the eyes of the citizenry as religion. From the time of Jefferson to the present, the press often has …