Should journalists be religious themselves?

Just as political reporters are not required to be partisan, journalists who report on religion for general circulation media aren’t required to align with a particular faith. Religion beat reporters include Christians of all kinds, Jews, Muslims and members of other faiths, as well as atheists and agnostics. Whatever their own beliefs, good journalists must adhere to the professional values of balance and fairness when writing about people’s beliefs, whether or not they agree with them.