Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity
Encyclopedia
Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity (2010)
is a book-length critique of media bias
by author, journalist, and conservative political commentator, S. E. Cupp.
. She also claims that The New York Times
, The Washington Post
, CNN
, and Newsweek
among others "mock, subvert, pervert, corrupt, debase, and extinguish" the Judeo-Christian
ethic and back believers into a dark, irrelevant, morally void corner of American society.
In her book Cupp wrote, according to Newsweek, that:
asked the National Center for Science Education
's Joshua Rosenau "to weigh in on Cupp's scholarship" on the issue of evolution
. He responded by saying that S.E. Cupp's handling of science and religion misrepresents the nature of evolution, obscures the science of biology
, and dismisses the deeply-held religious views of most Christians outside of the fundamentalist
subculture. This is the sort of misrepresentation which Rosenau believes leads her to concoct an anti-Christian conspiracy
on the part of reporters, and to say that Darwin
is "quite literally the antichrist
" for liberals.
Some believe Cupp presents evolution—and science more generally—as the enemy of religion. Reporters' "propping up of science," she writes, is an "attack on Christianity." She concludes by complaining that "the liberal media is not interested in acknowledging our nation as a deeply religious one," and repeats her claim that evolution has been a weapon used to attack Christians.
2010 in literature
The year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
is a book-length critique of media bias
Media bias in the United States
Media bias in the United States occurs when the media in the United States systematically presents a particular point of view. Claims of media bias in the United States include claims of liberal bias, conservative bias, mainstream bias, and corporate bias...
by author, journalist, and conservative political commentator, S. E. Cupp.
Summary
Cupp argues that the liberal media is not only unreliable, irresponsible, and partisan, but they are also guilty of inciting a "revolution" that will destabilize and dilute Christian AmericaChristianity in the United States
Christianity is the largest and most popular religion in the United States, with around 77% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian, as of 2009. This is down from 86% in 1990, and slightly lower than 78.6% in 2001. About 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation...
. She also claims that The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
among others "mock, subvert, pervert, corrupt, debase, and extinguish" the Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
ethic and back believers into a dark, irrelevant, morally void corner of American society.
In her book Cupp wrote, according to Newsweek, that:
- SecularistSecularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
media have attempted to portray religious expression as a marginal "subcultureSubcultureIn sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
." They overreacted to presidential candidate Mike HuckabeeMike HuckabeeMichael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
’s 2007 ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
commercial by concentrating on a "strategically placed" crossChristian crossThe Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
formed by bookshelves in the unfocused background.
- Major media outlets did not cover President ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s failure to acknowledge the National Day of PrayerNational Day of PrayerThe National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day...
.
- Newsweek’s review of the bestselling dispensationalistDispensationalismDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
Christian fictionChristian novelA Christian novel is any novel that expounds and illustrates a Christian world view in its plot, its characters, or both, or which deals with Christian themes in a positive way.-The tradition of Christian fiction:...
series, Left BehindLeft BehindLeft Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
, said, "Sociologists tell us that the United States is experiencing a religious revival, but if the bestseller lists are any guide, the revival looks more like a collective leaving of the senses."
- Film reviews of the Christian-themed Chronicles of NarniaThe Chronicles of Narnia (film series)The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of English fantasy films from Walden Media that are based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels written by C. S. Lewis...
were lukewarm despite it being a box office hit. Reviews for The Golden Compass, which attacks religion in general and the Christian faith in particular, were positive although the movie did not do well at the box office.
- Cupp also noted that the liberal press downplays Obama’s discomfort with religious America and barely wrote about his covering up of religious imagery in the backdrop when he gave a speech at Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
Science and religion
The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
asked the National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
's Joshua Rosenau "to weigh in on Cupp's scholarship" on the issue of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. He responded by saying that S.E. Cupp's handling of science and religion misrepresents the nature of evolution, obscures the science of biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, and dismisses the deeply-held religious views of most Christians outside of the fundamentalist
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
subculture. This is the sort of misrepresentation which Rosenau believes leads her to concoct an anti-Christian conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
on the part of reporters, and to say that Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
is "quite literally the antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
" for liberals.
Some believe Cupp presents evolution—and science more generally—as the enemy of religion. Reporters' "propping up of science," she writes, is an "attack on Christianity." She concludes by complaining that "the liberal media is not interested in acknowledging our nation as a deeply religious one," and repeats her claim that evolution has been a weapon used to attack Christians.