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 | Overview | ||||||
| Typical examples of biased reporting | ||||||
| About topics often linked to religions:
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| Associated material on this web site |
Overview:
At any time over the past 500 years, there has been at least one active "hot" religious debate. Most conflicts in the distant past have been settled. These include the shape of the earth, path of the earth around the sun, interest on loans, childhood vaccinations, etc. But we are blessed (or cursed) with a large number of currently active religious debates. Most of these tend to involve human sexuality in some way. The most serious current conflicts appear to be on abortion and sexual orientation: namely abortion access and equal rights for gays, lesbians and bisexuals, including the right to marry.
Generally speaking, religious conservative (including Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Sikhs, conservative Jews and Muslims, etc.) tend to take one side in these debates. Liberals of all religious traditions tend to take the opposite position, in support of those individuals most concerned by the debates (women, homosexuals and bisexuals in the above examples).
The true situation is often more complex than simply two well-defined groups fighting each other. Not everyone who is pro-life is totally opposed to abortion in some cases. Others might oppose homosexual behavior in principle, but fight for equal rights for gays and lesbians.
Language is often used as a weapon in these debates:
 | It is often difficult to find truly neutral terms to describe beliefs and events. Often, the words used will automatically bias the article. Referring to homosexual behavior as a lifestyle or a preference implies that a person can choose their sexual orientation. Referring to homosexual behavior as an orientation implies that it is not changeable and not chosen. Yet, these are the only commonly used words. |
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| Often, terms such as "homosexuality" will be used in confusing ways - sometimes referring to behavior and other times to feelings of attraction. |
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| Other terms, such as "pregnancy" have different meanings to the groups in involved. Some conservative Christian groups define "Sexual orientation" as including exhibitionism, sadism, masochism, pedophilia, necrophilia, etc. |
The result is confusion and a loss in objectivity and balance.
Sponsored link:
Typical examples of biased reporting:
Bias can easily slip into an article:
| Pastor P.J. Peters in his article "Intollerance [sic] of,
discrimination against and the death penalty for homosexuals is prescribed
in the Bible" at: http://www.identity.org/files/homo.html
He wrote "Homosexuals are willing to...promote their life
style...[and] are willing to prescribe the death penalty to those who
oppose them."
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| "The Christian anti-Homosexuality Web Site" (now believed to be defunct) at http://www.anti-homosexuality.com/ refers to two frequently cited passages in Leviticus. He quotes the original Hebrew text which says that certain behavior is to'ebah. This, he translates as "an abhorrence or a disgusting thing." But to'ebah is a religious term, usually reserved for criticizing idolatry. If the writer(s) of Leviticus wished to refer to a moral violation, a sin, he/they would have used the Hebrew word zimah. To'ebah could better be translated "foreign religious cult practice." The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (circa 3rd century BCE) translated "to'ebah" into Greek as bdelygma, which meant ritual impurity. The author overlooks the facts that the Mosaic code calls eating a cheeseburger, charging interest on a loan, shaving a beard, sowing seeds in the corner of a field all "to'ebah". | ||||||||||||
| The Westboro Baptist
Church of Topeka, Kansas has perhaps the best known gay/lesbian hate
site on the Internet, at: http://www.godhatesfags.com/
It has the catchy name "God Hates Fags." Their
Fag Facts section contains some amazing assertions; most
are believed to be wildly inaccurate. Some examples:
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Abortion terms:
Terminology concerning abortion is a semantic minefield! It is very difficult to write about Abortion without using words that are unacceptable to some people. Typical difficulties are listed below:
| Many articles describing the developing embryo or fetus use terms like "products of conception" and "terminating pregnancy" to obscure the fact that we are dealing with a form of life that could develop into a newborn baby. Others use terms like child, baby, infant, murder, etc. to imply that the embryo or fetus is already a full human being. Perhaps the safest, least biased terms are embryo, fetus, killing, and terminating the life of.... |
| There is a general misconception in the media and elsewhere that there are two sides to the abortion access question: pro-life and pro-choice. Actually, there are many sides. Some pro-lifers would not allow any abortion under any circumstances; most would allow it to save the life of the mother; some would also permit an abortion if the conception was caused during incest or rape. Some pro-choicers feel that a woman should be able to have an abortion at any time before birth; others would prefer a cutoff date, beyond which abortion access would be restricted -- e.g. 26 weeks when the fetus' brain has developed to the point where it has self-awareness. So, calling a person pro-life or pro-choice only gives a vague idea of their exact position. |
| A general consensus exists among all sides to the abortion access question. When life, in the form of a sperm and ovum, becomes a human person, then almost everyone agrees that an abortion should only be performed in very critical situations. However, there is little agreement about when this transition happens: at conception, at birth, or some time in between. |
| The pro-life movement defines the start of pregnancy differently from the pro-life and medical communities. Pro-lifers generally define pregnancy as starting when the sperm fertilizes the ovum. Others define pregnancy as starting about 14 days later, when the fertilized ovum attaches itself to the wall of the uterus. This difference is critical. An intra-uterine device (IUD) and emergency contraception (the so-called "morning after pill") can sometimes work by preventing the fertilized ovum from imbedding itself in the wall of the uterus. These are regarded as a contraceptive techniques by physicians and the pro-choice movement because, as they see it, they prevent a pregnancy from starting. They are sometimes regarded as abortifacients by pro-lifers because, as they see it, pregnancy may have started many days previously. Care should be taken when writing about contraception, birth control, abortifacients, and the start of pregnancy. |
| Some derogatory terms have been used to refer to the pro-life and pro-choice movements. These include: anti-choice, pro-abortion, pro-death. We strongly advise against their use. We recommend that the terms that are used by the groups themselves should be used in writing about abortion access. |
The Occult:
This is another term that is so poorly defined that we recommend that it never be used. Occult is derived from the Latin word occultus which means "hidden".
Some meanings of the term Occult are:
| Any activity which
In modern days, much published material is available on topics ranging from ceremonial magick, to tarot cards, to Neopagan religions, etc. There are few formerly occult activities that are still secret. Without secrecy, they do not meet the first requirement listed above. Just about the only occultic that are left are some secretive faith groups, and some spiritual organizations like the Masonic order. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occult blood is a medical term which refers to blood which cannot be seen, except perhaps under a microscope. It has no connection to "the Occult." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Many Conservative Christians define
the Occult as including an enormous range of practices and beliefs. We have seen
references to the following as parts of the Occult:
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Some conservative Christians view "The Occult" as a profoundly evil international organization that is controlled by Satanists. The various parts of the Occult act to lure unsuspecting people into Satanism. They see all parts of the Occult as being condemned by God.
Others view it as an arbitrary grouping of unrelated activities, religions and pastimes. Again, this term has so many meanings that we recommend it not be used. We suggest that you refer directly to the activity by name, such as Astrology, Tea Cup Reading, Tarot Cards, Wicca, Masonic Order, etc.
Associated material on this web site:
| Suggested use of religious terms in essays, articles, etc. |
| Glossary of religious terms, A to Z |
| Religiously motivated hatred against gays and lesbians on the Internet |
Reference used:
- Baptist Press, "Town removes Christian symbol from seal," 1999-JUL-22. Online at: http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3261.htm
Copyright date: 1999-JUL-25
Latest update: 2004-NOV-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
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