Religion Journalism

3 units

This course is for aspiring writers and journalists, podcasters and documentary filmmakers, and anyone interested in understanding American religion better. Using newspaper and magazine investigations; profiles; podcasts; and documentaries, as well one lightly fictionalized account of reporters at work, we will explore how journalists portray religious people in the United States. We will delve into ethical controversies around religion coverage (asking questions like, “How sensitive should reporters be to the feelings of the people they write about?”). We will study best practices for reporting and writing, asking what makes a work good. By the end, we’ll be able to speak, and write, intelligently about Jews, Christians, Muslims, Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Scientologists. Q-Anon followers, and more. For a final project, students produce their own work of journalism, one that we will try to get published.