Mainstream Media Cutting Back Programming About Religion



Nothing illustrates falling interest better than what is coming out of commercial broadcasting and print. CBS is planning to cut a program about religion that has been broadcast since the 1940's. The New York times has cut its staff assigned to religion from two to one.

Religion per se remains influential with legislation denying equal rights to gays and women doing well in many state governments. It is the supporting infrastructure, churches and theology, that seem on the decline.  A few years ago there was a big drop in the number of articles about religion published on the web. Now it has fallen again.

The economics of publishing discussions about religion are not promising. Advertising pays for publication either on the net or in print. As the publishing business became more and more competitive profit margins grew smaller. Advertisers do not see opportunities to market products to the smaller and smaller audiences that make up religious people.

I read an article today on a Christian site bragging that even though about 3,700 churches close every year in the U.S. about 4,000 open. This implies growth. Polls about church attendance show decline, not growth. The numbers of the largest organizations, such as the largest Protestant denomination, Southern Baptist, has declined 10% every year for several years.

The population of the U.S. is still growing. If Christian numbers held up with population growth there would be reason for it to be optimistic.

Self-inflicted wounds of positions against gays and abortion are among the reasons most of Christianity is slowly declining. That is also why there is less coverage of the faith in the media.

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