Study finds growing negative treatment of religion on prime-time TV

Published: 2004-12-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. television broadcast networks are treating religion much more frequently in their prime-time programming than they did in the 1990s, but the way they treat it has become decidedly more negative, according to a yearlong study by the Parents Television Council. The council is an advocacy organization seeking to protect children against sex, violence and profanity in the entertainment industry. The report was released in mid-December. It said that from Sept. 25, 2003, to Sept. 24, 2004, NBC "had a shocking 9.5 negative treatments for every positive treatment" of faith and religion, far more than any of the other six networks analyzed. The others were ABC, CBS, Fox, Pax, UPN and WB. Overall, while more than half the treatments of simple expressions of belief or disbelief were positive toward religion and only 7 percent were negative, the study found that negative treatments of religious institutions and doctrines outnumbered positive treatments by a nearly 3-1 margin.

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