Where's the Open Discussion?

Hopefully, this post makes sense. If it doesn't, it's because I'm still trying to make sense of it all myself. So, bear with me.

As a Journalism and Political Science major, I am usually neck-deep in politics. The people I know in my field talk politics all the time, spouting off their opinions. I know that most of us were taught that there are two things you don't discuss in polite discussion - politics and religion. In journalism, we simply throw out the first one. Politics are our bread and butter. Sure, the discussions in my section at the campus newspaper occasionally trample politeness, but regardless of whether we agree or disagree on an issue, I always learn something from those with viewpoints antithetical to mine.

I love an open discussion, where nobody holds back their opinion. It's invigorating, and one of the reasons I chose my major. However, as I have grown in faith and have looked for opportunities to expand my understanding of spirituality, I have hit a dead end. There's the road block.

I quickly discovered that religion is the only taboo subject in a newsroom. We'll discuss ethics, we'll debate the everything from gay marriage to bank bailouts, but never do we sit down and have an intellectual discussion about our views on God.

In journalism, the only acceptable way to talk about religion is to bash it and tear it down. For the life of me, I cannot understand why talking about religion in an article automatically destroys my credibility.

As a journalist, I am also bound by a strict code of ethics. I have to be committed to an unbiased, fair and balanced approach to any topic. Yet, for some reason, these ethics to do apply to any talk about religion.

Why can't I be a respected journalist and a Christian? How do those two worlds conflict? I can't see it.

It's not that the entire newspaper industry is atheistic. I think the real problem is that it's hard to have an intellectual discussion about religion without offending someone, not to mention journalists' aversion to anything that cannot be concretely proven with scientific evidence.

Even so, I cannot renounce my beliefs to fit in with my coworkers and I need free expression. I think we could have a friendly, open, engaging and challenging discussion about religion if we would just get over our fears. I think the time has come to invite everyone to the table. Maybe if we just sat down to talk, we could figure out what God really wanted from us.

I'm ready to talk. Are you?