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Scepticism or cynicism. Advocacy or sabotage. Freedom of expression or religious sensitivity. Recent years have witnessed conflicts and rampant violence in different corners of the world. Interestingly, religion and mass media have often been attributed to being among the key factors behind the growing spats, and in turn, each often eyes the other as the party at fault. (Bangkok Post)
Can the divide between faith leaders and the media ever be narrowed, if not completely bridged? Last month, 17 religious leaders and media representatives from Asia and Europe gathered in Seoul, South Korea. According to the organiser, the Asia-Europe Foundation, the two-day event was the first time in their series of journalists’ colloquiums that the two interests have met face to face.
The more the two groups aired their grievances, however, the more commonalities they found. Each admitted to knowing very little about the other. Both pointed out the seeming lack of respect and trust, which could be a reciprocal phenomenon. Apparently, the realms of faith leaders and media practitioners feel like two totally different worlds that come into collision every now and then.
But do they have to be at odds with each other? Father Eamonn Conway, an Irish Roman Catholic priest and president of the European Society for Catholic Theology, captured the gist of both sides well when he asserted: ”I’d like to think that religion and media are both the services of the truth, at our best.”
FULL STORY
Journalists covering religion have more challenges and rewards than meet the eye (Bangkok Post)
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