The need for journalistic atheism

They who in folly or mere greed
Enslaved religion, markets, laws,
Borrow our language now and bid
Us to speak up in freedom's cause.
– Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972) 

Perhaps Karl Marx was kinder towards the role of faith in society than is commonly believed. His remark that religion was the opiate of the masses is often quoted out of context and then distorted. Marx observed, 'Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation.' After the diagnosis, he declared, 'It is the opium of the people.' The suggested remedy to get rid of the addiction was a revolution. The supreme deity of the communist pantheon prescribes, 'The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.' In the Marxist formulation, revolution is the broad-spectrum drug that treats all human diseases.

The media is a purveyor of different forms of illusions. It is the religion of the middle class in democratic societies. It creates its own fantasies to calm the nerves of strugglers and strivers. Freedom of the press and the right to information are fundamental beliefs of the faith. It has its own saints – celebrity talk-show hosts, star reporters and syndicated columnists. This priesthood often consists of politically savvy editors, world-wise marketers and management wizards. However, unlike religions of the past, the media does not have a holy scripture, and lacks a comprehensive guide for the people to help them live virtuous lives. Media moguls manipulate this gap and turn the religion of the media into a profitable industry.