WASHINGTON -- Below is an excerpt from On Faith, a weekly Internet feature sponsored by The Washington Post and Newsweek. Fox News analyst Brit Hume said "widespread media bias against Christianity" was to blame for criticism of his suggestion that Tiger Woods should embrace Christianity to find redemption. "Instead of urging that Tiger Woods turn to Christianity, if I had said what he needed to do was to strengthen his Buddhist commitment or turn to Hinduism, I don't think anybody would have said a word," Hume told Christianity Today. "It's Christ and Christianity that get people stirred up."
On Faith asked panelists: Is there media bias against Christianity?
Matt Maher Catholic musician and recording artist
"Whether there is a 'bias' against any religion is a pointless argument. As a Christian, I constantly forget that Jesus said, 'You will be hated by the world for my name's sake' (Luke 21:17). If this is true, then why should I ever be surprised or shocked about it? I would rather use any energy I have in my heart not giving the world more reasons to hate God."
Richard Mouw President, Fuller Theological Seminary
"I think Brit Hume is obviously correct about the bias against Christianity. Indeed, I can test the bias here by endorsing his recommendation in this way: I too think that the best way for Tiger to deal effectively with his current problems is to accept Christ as his savior. Now, are people offended by that? After all, I am president of a very large evangelical seminary -- wouldn't it be odd for me not to believe that kind of thing? Isn't it pretty obvious that being an evangelical Christian means wanting other people to make the same commitment to Jesus that we have made?"
Aseem Shukla Co-founder, Hindu American Foundation
"Brit Hume used the airways to proffer a latest version of Christian exceptionalism, and Fox News became an apt vehicle to allow millions to hear the basic dogma of evangelical Christianity: There is only one truth, and only Jesus Christ can take you there. Left unsaid: 'Everyone else is doomed to hell.'
"Hume's words, rendered during an ostensibly intellectual discussion on television, are so commonly heard by people of Dharma faiths such as Hinduism and Buddhism, they fail even to emote anymore. ...
"But sometimes, it is important to listen to the Hume variety of blatant triumphalism, if for no other reason but to affirm again the diametric polarity of our religious life."
Welton Gaddy Leader, Interfaith Alliance
"Talk of 'persecution of Christians' in the United States is a ludicrous enterprise. One only needs look at the U.S. State Department's most recent report describing religious persecution around the world. Nowhere else in the world does Christianity enjoy the favored status that it receives in the United States."
