Poynter Ethics Journal

"Seven Heroes, Seven Faiths" read the headline. It was a simple piece of journalism, from a non-traditional news source, Beliefnet.

It said so much. It gave equal time to the religious lives of each of the crew members who died on the Columbia. It documented that, in addition to the four Christians from four different traditions, there was a Hindu, a Unitarian Universalist and a Jew. It blended small details about each of the traveler's religious practices with a bit of theology from his or her religion.

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It was no surprise that journalists discovered the spiritual side of the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster early in the news cycle.

Over the last decade, religion and spirituality have gained a new foothold in American newsrooms.

There is an element of faith in almost every news story and reporters are getting better every year at articulating this realm of life. When done well, there is great validity in this journalistic exploration. It invites the readers and viewers to chew on the themes of diversity, tolerance, collaboration, race, ethnicity and nationality. In a world often divided by these differences, they tell the story of seven people brought together for a common purpose.

Religion is after all a human quest for understanding. Although it is many other things, journalism too seeks to create understanding.When merely mediocre, stories about religion ring hollow in the public ear. When we misrepresent theology, generalize across varying sects, or paint with a broad brush when detail work is in order, we compromise our credibility.

There is a temptation to gloss over the differences among the astronauts. It takes a particular skill with the language to accurately reflect the beliefs and practices of an individual or a faith community.

While many journalists have the desire to delve into religious themes, they lack a basic understanding of how faith is practiced in everyday life. Likewise, journalists are lured into simplistic and inaccurate reporting on religious themes by the desire to create a world where differences -- rooted in ethnicity, gender and faith -- don't matter. That world doesn't exist.

The astronauts didn't leave their differences behind as they boarded the shuttle. They brought them along in the concrete form of artifacts, special diets and religious mementoes, as well as in their very DNA.

As daunting as this may seem, there is great value in examining the religious beliefs of the individuals at the center of dramatic events. Through these people, we glimpse a universe endowed with meaning, waiting to be discovered.

Embedded in the saga of the Columbia and its seven doomed astronauts are themes as old as civilization itself, the pursuit of knowledge, the journey into the unknown and home again, the human aspiration to be close to God and the pride that accompanies accomplishment. Think of Eve and the apple, Icarus and his wings, the Tower of Babel, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Religion is after all a human quest for understanding. Although it is many other things, journalism too seeks to create understanding. By telling stories, we provoke our readers and viewers to see information in a new light, to ask new questions, to tolerate the ambiguity that comes with real life. We give the journey a name. We make it possible to join the travelers in their desire for enlightenment.