By Cal Thomas, Los Angeles Times Sundicate

October 1994 –Glory be! The New York Times and CBS News, definers of the news that is fit to print and broadcast, decided to boldly go where few journalists have gone before: into the valley of cultural outcasts where religious believers, a.k.a. conservative Christians, hang out.

These media gods have delivered to the nation a poll that reaches the most amazing conclusions. It turns out, to what I’m sure must have been the astonishment of the New York Times and CBS (but not to most people who do other things on Sunday mornings in addition to, or instead of, reading the Times and watching CBS), that the “Christian right, which has been the focus of an intense debate in the Republican Party, is a far more diverse group in terms of geography, politics and even religious doctrine than is generally suggested by either its critics or its most vocal proponents.”

That CBS and the New York Times have been among those doing the general suggesting goes unadmitted in a news story on the poll. But they do admit to a “caricature” of Christians as “Republican Southerners (who) follow a monolithic religious agenda.”

“They are as likely to be Democrats as Republicans,” the poll says. “And while they are disproportionately from the South, conservative Christians live in all parts of the country.”

That ought to cause great concern among people who thought they had these folks isolated. Why, employees of the Times or CBS might be living closer to one or more of these people than they think.

There’s more. The poll suggests that the debate over the appropriate role of religion in politics “cannot be painted in the sort of black-and-white terms offered by either side.” Including, one might add, the media gods who have deliberately closed their eyes to this subject for years, preferring to stereotype, caricature, ridicule and portray in black-and-white such people and their deeply held beliefs.

It gets better (or worse, depending on your perspective).

The poll found the education backgrounds of these people “are roughly the same as all Americans.” This after years of portraying conservative Christians as snake handlers, book burners, misogynists and racists who didn’t graduate from real universities and who never read books, other than the King James version of the Bible.

It is the equivalent of discovering that blacks are fully human or that women can succeed working outside as well as inside the home. The press continues to flaunt its deliberate ignorance of religion and religious people. Editors would never allow any other group to be portrayed in this manner, especially a group so large.

Recall a Washington Post story that described evangelicals and fundamentalists (the press uses these words but few nonreligious reporters can define them) as “poor, uneducated and easy to command.” Following a flood of phone calls and letters protesting such a stereotype, the Post ombudsman lamely explained that most reporters don’t know any of “these people.” Since they are everywhere in the country, why can’t journalists find them and fairly report on their beliefs?

When Jimmy Carter burst on the national scene in 1976, he proclaimed himself to have been “born again.” NBC’s John Chancellor took to the air and said, “We’ve looked up ‘born again’ and it is nothing new.” That’s right, John. The term wasn’t invented by Jimmy Carter, though the One who coined it had the same initials. Millions of Americans who profess to have been born again laughed or were outraged at such ignorance. (For the theologically challenged, the definition is found in the New Testament, Book of John, Chapter 3.)

Information about the beliefs of people the Times/CBS News poll surveyed is not classified. It is available in the Book most newsrooms have, but seldom consult. How can we report on people whose beliefs we don’t know? We read the platforms of political parties, but refuse to read the spiritual platform of believers. This is journalistically indefensible. Reporters and commentators have an obligation to understand the terms and beliefs of persons about whom they write. They don’t have to believe in the same things to do their job well, but accuracy and fairness ought to be expected.

Eighteen years have passed since Jimmy Carter ran for president. There is no excuse for waiting so long to do a survey like this. Because religion is so intertwined with contemporary politics, newsrooms ought to conduct an affirmative action program to include people on their staffs who believe as millions of Americans do and who can report correctly and fairly on those beliefs in a way that will inform all of us.