That's a touchy topic for journalists who cover religion, and my observation is it extends to historians of religion as well. The topic is candidly discussed in this story by a veteran religion journalist at Get Religion (a great religious news commentary site). The best answer journalists can offer seems to be the kind of bland assurance that politicians have perfected: "I take my own faith very seriously and, because of that, I want to do the best job that I can to understand your faith and get the facts right." Note that the bloggers at Get Religion disclose their own point of view, which is that they "have an ancient, even premodern, approach to matters of faith." So they're either Mormon, Christian fundamentalist, orthodox Jewish, or Islamic. Any guesses?
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