Has today's freshly cratered economy already given bloom to increased church attendance? No, Gallup's editor-in-chief, Frank Newport, writes in a Dec. 17 Web posting in reaction to the Times story. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
This is an important analysis of a New York Times story from Dec. 14 that purported economic downturn had stimulated greater church attendance. Jack Shafer, relying on a Gallup poll and Gallup's editor-in-chief for support, shows convincingly that the Times' assessment was incorrect. This was a story that was rated highly on NewsTrust by two editors and several other members (see links).
This is an important lesson in skepticism. Should have known better. The Times routinely botches trend stories like this. I remember back in the spring there was a front page piece on a "trend" in people who had died of exhaustion from blogging too long. Of course, we find out several paragraphs down that this has only actually happened to two people.
Good debunking of a shallow NYT article apparently intended to pander to those suffering from excess religiosity. The Gallup poll results here bring one back to reality.
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