“For twenty-five years I have read your paper faithfully … In the last four or five years however, I cannot read the Star without becoming extremely annoyed at an increasing number of articles that criticize, ridicule and condemn my religious beliefs as a Catholic Christian … I do not see the same treatment towards any of the other major world religions.” Former subscriber Robert Costanzo
“On Canada Day, the MCC organized the first-ever woman-led prayer in a mosque anywhere in the world, ever … The Toronto Star chose to place the story in the ‘briefs’ column, sandwiched between reports of a drowning and decomposing bodies.” Niaz Salimi, president of the Muslim Canadian Congress
“Your June 25 article about the Jewish community, entitled “Faith, family, gefilte fish and Friday nights,” was in my opinion quite offensive. It misrepresented what it means to be Jewish in a manner that can be expected to foster anti-Semitism.” Reader Michael Orr
“I see you and your paper continue to disrespect Hindus and their Hindu advocates … Your policy towards Hindus is despicable …” Reader Veda Nath Mohabir
“But there is also the larger question of the treatment by the Star of the historic event of 100 years of Buddhism in Canada … Not large enough, or violent/aggressive enough, for the Star to pay attention? … I ask you, would a religion other than Buddhism have been given this kind of scant respect?” Professor Suwanda H. J. Sugnasiri, founder, Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies and adjunct professor, Trinity College, University of Toronto.
“Religion is fundamentally important to the lives of many of our readers …” Toronto Star policy guide
Religion is fundamentally important to the lives of many readers. But the Star has not had a reporter assigned to the beat for nearly seven months.
Let us compare oranges to apples.
In 1951, Canada’s population edged past 14 million, 96.5 of them Christian. The census recorded that Jews numbered 1.5 per cent and “other” accounted for 2 per cent. “No religious affliation” was not an option. The biggest Christian group was Roman Catholics.
Toronto numbers were not available then, but they are now. In 2001, the Toronto census metropolitan area, (similar to the GTA), verged on 4,650,000 people. Those with no religious affiliation totalled 16.5 per cent. Christians still dominated, at 67 per cent, but other religions comprised 16.5 per cent, among them, Muslims at 5.5 per cent; Hindus at 4 per cent and Jews 3.5 per cent. Roman Catholics remained the biggest Christian group. Most people still identified with a religion.
Religion is less and less confined to holy days and more and more a force that drives all aspects of life for the faithful influencing politics and business practice, stores and restaurants, delivery of health and social services, urban development patterns and architecture, fashion and decorating trends, education, AIDS fundraisers and the content of local newspapers.
Religion is a subtext to political events for the paper’s correspondents in London, the Middle East and Washington, as it is for the reporter assigned to cover security issues. The newsroom has a “New Toronto” team to track our evolution and reporters on all beats will find themselves writing about these connections. Is a “religion writer” even necessary?
To do its job well, the Star needs a staff that knows the city’s communities, but it also needs an expert on religion’s role in reshaping the culture.
The prospect of covering religion scares many editors. A misstep means angry calls, bitter letters and cancelled papers. This makes it tempting to stick to the non-controversial.
A good beat reporter brings expertise, knows the community, understands the issues. A good beat reporter not only builds credibility through authoritative coverage, but can prevent the paper from making dumb mistakes or ignoring stories that deserve attention. A good beat reporter is a signal that the newspaper cares about a subject.
Leslie Scrivener was such a reporter. She now writes for the Sunday paper but has been a security blanket until a successor is named. There’s a hiring freeze. Editor-in-chief Giles Gherson doesn’t want to rush into anything.
“Is it pressing and urgent? … We’re taking our time to sort through what we think we need.”
“Ironically we’re entering a spiritual century,” he said. “What’s emerging is something very different.” Those who have not rejected religion are “really, really devoted” and pluralism sometimes results in views of the world that “are not easily reconciled.”
“They’re hugely interesting questions that we should be probing …”
Exactly. I’d agree with all of that except his answer to the question, “Is it pressing and urgent?”
Adherents may never be happy with the coverage, but if recent letters are any indication, readers are looking for someone who can write intelligently and fairly about these issues now.
