And, on the whole, we journalists do a poor job of covering this trend. Doug Todd of the Vancouver Sun has made one of the better attempts by mining the spiritual preferences of writers, entertainers and other celebrities in the arts world. Few of them have strong ties with organized religion, but all have something to say about spirituality and how it has affected their work. All The religion beat is so vast and complex that none of us can understand all of it, but it's important to know such basics as the difference between a priest and a minister, or Reform and Orthodox Jews, or Sunni and Shiite Muslims. But I think the religion beat requires some extra measures, because every faith has its own vocabulary, its own complex theology, and its own sensitivities.
Believers care deeply about how they're portrayed in the media.
And most of the problems can be avoided simply something about your subject. I have tried to fill in some of the gaps in my own knowledge by taking courses on Islam, the Middle East, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. I have also collected a library of reference books. All this emphasis on knowledge and pitfalls may make the religion beat sound intimidating, but take heart. Keep working at the beat, and you will soon have a broader knowledge of religion than many members of the clergy.