Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 22, 1994 TAG: 9405210012
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Maybe you should start around the house and work up to reporters - though I expect you'll have about the same level of success in any venue.
Here we go:
1. In the Church of England, what is a suffragan bishop?
2. What are rabbis referring to when they speak of the Midrashim?
3. What is the current grievance against the U.S. government by the Native American church regarding the use of eagle feathers in worship services?
4. In U.S. Protestantism, which are the three traditional peace churches?
5. What is the dominant religious affiliation among members of Congress?
6. What were the teachings of Gautama Buddha on suffering?
7. What's the difference between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims?
8. Who were the founders of these religious orders, and when: Cistercians, Jesuits, Missionaries of Charity, Benedictines?
9. What are deep-water Baptists and where are they?
10. How did Amos, the Hebrew prophet, get into trouble?
Tough ones, eh?
Here's your chance to show off. Write me with your answers at The Back Pew, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010. Go ahead, cheat if you want to. Try to look them up.
Let me admit up front that even though I think I'm reasonably well-informed, some of these stumped me. As one of the only 50 or so full-time religion writers among the country's 1,600 daily newspapers, it was a little embarrassing not to have the answers to all 10 questions at my fingertips. But, dadgummit, these are hard.
Whoever does the best job answering the questions - in the view of an impartial judge who will probably be me - will get a swell surprise from the Roanoke Times & World-News gift shop. Don't take too long looking up the answers, though, because we'll select a winner in two weeks.
The quiz was originated by the Post's Colman McCarthy when he wrote about a recent speech by Billy Graham to the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
It is no doubt true, as Graham told the editors, that he - and other religious leaders - too often have to teach rudimentary religious concepts to the reporters sent to interview them.
Graham wasn't talking about nit-picky esoteric knowledge, either, like some of that represented in the quiz. He said he sometimes had to explain the difference between a Baptist and a Presbyterian, a Protestant and a Catholic. Or he had to explain what an evangelist is.
McCarthy asserts in his column that it is as ridiculous for Graham to have to do that as it would be to have a football coach explain before each press conference that both teams have four downs to move the football 10 yards and that teams score six points when they cross the goal line.
That's a point well-taken. Certainly, any reporter who is sent to cover a distinctly religious event or personality should have taken the trouble to become well-enough informed to at least ask intelligent questions.
On the other hand, it is probably unreasonable to expect all reporters to understand the subtle nuances of every Christian denomination, every branch of Judaism, every strain of Islam, every animistic tribal religion, every New Age "spiritual path." Good reporters, though, ask good questions and strive to become informed before they start writing about a subject.
So, for Graham or any other religious figure, the question must be whether they would rather have a reporter write an inaccurate story or ask some simplistic questions about the fundamentals of a religion.
Graham, however, is always a gentleman, granting a compliment while gently chastising. Those reporters he was talking about "did their best. And they were honest. But I think they needed more training, more understanding of what they were writing about."
While I hope he's not talking about me; I'm sure Graham could get a hearty "amen" to that.
by CNB