The media and religion sometimes seem to live on different planets. The unkempt creature from planet Media, on the other hand, would be skeptical, hostile to authority, obsessed with facts, wary of commitment and, in some cases, sympathetic to the underdog. These aliens are separated by suspicion. Journalists accuse the clergy of being deluded, corrupt and boring. Religious dismiss journalists as deluded, corrupt and raunchy.
Catholics feel disgust with the media for focusing on priestly sex abuse.
Evangelicals fume about the media obsession over leaders' financial shiftiness. United Church members grumble about why the media only look at their policies on homosexuality. Muslims feel smeared as bomb-making fanatics. This gulf of understanding serves neither organized religion nor the media. With the mutual distrust, religious people fail to get their message out to the world.