The nation’s leading religion reporters overwhelmingly chose the ordination of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the next bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire as the top religion story of 2003—and with a majority of 80 percent also selected him as the Religion Newsmaker of the year.
The survey of members of the Religion Newswriters Association (RNS) was conducted in mid-December. About one-third of the group’s 240 members responded.
In second place was the disagreement among religious groups on the war in Iraq, followed by the definition of marriage in the wake of decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Court and the highest court in Ontario on gay marriages and the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas ban on sodomy.
In fourth and fifth place were the controversy over the Ten Commandments monument removed from the Alabama Judicial Building and the removal from office of Chief Justice Roy Moore and the Roman Catholic Church’s plans to combat sexual abuse by its priests. Pope John Paul’s celebration of his 25th anniversary in office, and speculation about his successor, was number six on the list.
RNA membership includes print and broadcast journalists whose primary responsibility is coverage of religion in the secular media. It was founded in 1949 and its current president is Jeff Sheler, a contributing editor of U.S. News and World Report.
