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Lobbyists represent every interest group in America. Representatives from the business, religious, labor, science, medical and other communities try to influence governmental policies. They sometimes lobby face-to-face with their elected leaders and sometimes by indirect means. One of the most used and effective means is to persuade the leaders’ constituents to lobby for them. From the beginning of our Republic, using the media to accomplish this has been a very effective tool. In recent years, however, the media has become increasingly concentrated, giving it more power to affect public opinion. Interest groups, of course, are aware of this development and spend more time and money trying to gain access to these limited media outlets to promote their particular agendas.
America was built on the foundations of the freedom of the press, the freedom to practice or not practice religion, and the freedom to petition government, but I have recently noticed an unhealthy relationship developing between some media outlets and religious groups expressing their religious views. The media depend on some religious organizations for advertising and members of their congregations for subscriptions to their publications and listeners for their broadcasts. Just recently, on a late afternoon TV show, a news anchor was “interviewing” a clergyman who made outrageous statements claiming that the turmoil and natural disasters occurring around the world were being orchestrated by God as retribution for disobedient human behavior, and to demonstrate His power! After each ridiculous claim, the anchor’s only response was, “Yes Reverend.” Not once did he challenge any of his assertions. In my opinion, no challenge was forthcoming so as not to upset the show’s primary audience, who believe the reverend’s claims. These claims of abandonment and retribution by God in bad times are accepted by many so as to strenghthen their belief that God blesses and protects them all during the other times. Last year, three presidential candidates, in a televised debate, said they did not believe in the theory of evolution that is so widely accepted by the scientific community around the world that it is now the basis for all the biological sciences, including medical research. These statements from three leaders who aspired to the office of the Presidency of the United States should have been cause for alarm, but none was exhibited—that I could detect—by the debate’s moderator, other participants, or the audience. Again, in my opinion, the lack of any alarm was because they knew many listeners agreed with the three non-believers. I sincerely believe that if any in the audience had visited this Web site and read my book Settled Science, there would certainly have been a gasp or two!
Religious beliefs and practices by individuals to attain psychological comfort from the sometimes horrible realities of life should always be respected by government and the media, but neither should allow itself to be used as an instrument to promote any particular religious belief. After all, science and technology are man’s attempts to explain and control the natural world, and man’s place in it, and religions are attempts to define and reconcile with a supernatural one.
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