Religion on TV

IMO, people in the US have become more focused on religion recently. There are probably many reasons for this. The media reflects the temper of society. Ergo, more programs with a religious theme or slant.

As far as the news in concerned, I think that there are two reason for this. One has been the large scale pedophile scandal among clerics. Another is the Republican administration, with its focus on religion.

I think too that 9/11 was an important catalyst for a renewed interest in religion. Churches reported a sharp surge in attendance following 9/11 though this has declined again as the distance widens from that horrendous event to the present.

And, as Phoenix mentioned, the current horrors in the Middle East have to focus attention on the religious undercurrents running through all that.

Then Mel Gibson's movie, for whatever reason, prompted intense interest and people talk about it. Whatever people are talking about generally makes it into the news sooner or later.

But mostly I think it is the propensity of polling data to be reported as news these days. When the polls show that 90+% of Americans believe in God or some kind of diety, this becomes news and gets its due share of attention.