Apparently, the only time the mainstream media are interested in scrutinizing a presidential hopeful's religious beliefs and behavior is when that candidate is a Republican.
For example, no matter how Rick Perry’s new campaign ad is perceived by conservative voters in Iowa, the reaction from liberals and the media has been predictable.
Perry's vow to end “Obama’s war on religion” and to fight against “liberal attacks on our religious heritage” brought him ridicule across the web, from the New York Times to Entertainment Weekly.
And, this type of contempt for a Republican's religious values is nothing new.
Perry’s conservative Christianity has been a target for the media since before he declared for the nomination. In fact, the media have shown an inordinate interest in the faith of most of the GOP primary candidates.
MRC’s Culture and Media Institute has just released a Special Report studying how ABC, CBS and NBC covered the republican candidates and their respective religions during the first 10 months of 2011. CMI compared those results to network coverage of faith for the Democratic primary hopefuls during the same months in 2007 – the same point in the 2008 campaign cycle...