Why read about God on the front page?

Almost without fail, whenever The N&O runs a story about religion on the front page, someone complains about mixing religion and news.

When the paper ran a piece last spring about new Catholic Bishop Michael Burbidge, here was one response: "Once again I have to read some religious story about some man in a dumb hat who gets instruction from another man -- in another country, no less -- in an even stupider hat."

Sure enough, there was similar reaction last week to a front-page story Monday about reintroduction of the all-Latin Tridentine Mass into local Catholic churches.

"We're in the midst of two wars, there is a presidential primary, we are embroiled in international incidents and environmental issues, a presidency run amok, a judicial system in near ruins, an economy on the verge of who knows what, and you chose a story about the Latin Mass for the front-page headlines?" wrote Mike Tomalski of Raleigh. "Was it a slow news day, or did you just want to do a feel-good, upbeat piece about religion, where in this increasingly theocratic society, you thought it would sell more papers?"

Another reader, Don Barefoot, wrote, "Not all of us believe a newspaper should be a pulpit for your religious views."

To be sure, more readers were pleased by reporter Yonat Shimron's report on the trend back to formal Catholicism. "It was a wonderful experience for those of us in attendance, and I appreciate the respectful way The N&O reported this story," wrote Lisa Roess of Cary, in a fairly typical response.

I can't explain why religion news arouses such vehemence in some readers. But it gives us an opportunity to discuss why The News & Observer devotes a fair amount of time and resources to the topic.

The paper has one full-time reporter, Shimron, assigned to the religion beat. Every Friday, the Life, etc. section has a religion theme, which includes a main story usually written by Shimron, an "Acts of Faith" feature picture by the N&O photo staff and a religion advice column called "God Squad."

Shimron also writes for the news sections of the paper and often stirs controversy, as when she reported on an Enloe High School teacher who brought in an anti-Muslim activist as class speaker. The teacher ended up being transferred.

Religion is an important beat for the newspaper, Shimron said, because it's important to the paper's readers. "I think it brings up issues of meaning in people's lives," she said. "Why are we here? What good is our presence? These are issues of meaning and values."

As for being a pulpit for religious views, "we're just reflecting what's out there," Shimron said. "We're not promoting religion per se, any more than we're promoting the election, the primaries or what's happening in Pakistan. We're not preaching."

It also is an important topic in a world where religion often is an animating factor behind the news of the day. Whether the issue is Islamic extremism, immigration or Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, an understanding of religion is essential to making sense of the news.

It's a truism that the media are drawn to controversy, and controversial topics on the American agenda are rooted deeply in religion and morals. Stem cell research, gay rights, abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment have, for better or worse, driven domestic political discourse in recent years. Every political candidate defines him/herself by religious coloration, and an understanding of the religious context is important to following the election. Think evangelical Mike Huckabee v. Mormon Mitt Romney.