October 25, 2007 | 10:18 am

What’s wrong with Post religion reporting?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Daniel Pulliam at GetReligion doesn’t care for “the snarky, uninformative feature/news stories in The Washington Post’s Style section,” especially a recent report on the Values Voter Summit that told him more about the reporter’s “day at the Hilton Washington than the latest plots from the religious right to take over America, or at least install a president to its liking in 2008.” Here’s part of the story: 

On the subterranean concourse level of the Hilton, it was very easy to feel you were in a different world. Former Reagan administration official and 2000 Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer told those assembled, “You are Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s and Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare.”

Across the way, the exhibition hall would probably require the Democratic Party’s leadership to order a mass prescription of Ambien as well. There, both Exodus International and PFOX (Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays) supplied literature offering ways out of homosexuality. Centurion Mutual Funds offered a “Biblically responsible” alternative to financial planning. For $499 (plus shipping), you could buy from the Family Research Council a stand called the “Cultural Impact Center.” It comes fully stocked with literature like “Partial-Birth Abortion on Trial” and “Dealing with Pornography: A Practical Guide for Protecting Your Family and Your Community.”

Standing by the Abstinence Clearinghouse Booth, which offered a plethora of items including “Pet your dog, not your date” T-shirts, Kurt Gernaat and his wife, Mary Beth, explained their own sense of struggle.

And Pulliam’s reponse:

Aren’t those evangelicals just a riot? I’m surprised (reporter Sridhar) Pappu didn’t bother to mention that this whole thing happened a few yards away from the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. What other juicy details can Pappu deliver from a conference in a hotel?

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