You Can't Ride the Fence if you want to Cross the Bridge

There are many approaches that professionals in journalism can take when it comes to integrating or separating their faith with their career. There are those that follow a “fence” approach, where they separate their profession and faith. Others follow a “bridge” approach, where their faith and profession coincide. Both sides carry valid arguments and come with both perks and down falls.


Professionals who follow a “fence” approach to journalism down play or separate the influence of religion in the work place. Some feel that religion should be separate and saved for at home, family and church rather than expressed and displayed in a person’s journalistic career. Some focus on privatizing their religious identities, while others refuse to talk about the connections between faith and work.

Writers such as Steinfels, religion correspondent for the New York Times, feel that there are boundaries that separate the professional and religious worlds. He was quoted saying, “there is a difference between what they are doing and what the first responsibility of a reporter is.” Steinfels defines a reporter’s main responsibility to be and focuses on informing people about what is happening without making any kind of strong evaluation of whether the situation is good or bad.

The “bridge” approach focuses on being able to combine professional and religious worlds. Followers of this approach try to translate religious convictions into the language of their secular colleagues. Schmalzbauer defines bridging as relying on new openness to religion and on the critique of journalistic objectivity to justify the influence of religious perspectives on their work.

Evangelical Wesley Pippert believes and tries to bridge his faith and his writing. He criticizes “mere objectivity” and “mere accuracy. Pippert quoted and agreed with Jacques Ellul when he said, “modern practice of using facts as the criterion of truth.” Pippert feels that it is ridiculous that people want value-free reporters. He feels that a person can’t be value-free since people’s religious and professional identity has truth and moral dimensions to them. This causes the two to have an “organic relationship.”

My education at Biola University not only helped me to integrate my faith into my career in radio more but also help gained credibility and respect in academic circles as well. While Steinfels reminded me to think and focus on my first priority, after much thinking and prioritizing I realized that ministering to people and encouraging them in their faith is my first priority. I personally feel that I lean more toward the “bridge” approach. I realize my call to work in the Christian industry and to minister makes it easier for me to accept the bridge approach. I agree with Pippert in his belief that a person’s morals and faith should be inseparable to other parts of their life. I feel that it is because of my life that I have a strong sense of integrity, morals, and work ethic. Whether I worked in a secular or Christian environment, my faith would still call and hold me to those standards.