Late last year, popular news outlets launched a cycle of around-the-clock, hard-hitting coverage the moment Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Barrett’s religious beliefs were their primary focus.
A WashingtonPost headline declared, “Amy Coney Barrett Served as ‘Handmaid’ in Christian Group People of Praise.” The paper’s nod to TheHandmaid’s Tale, a novel about a theocratic society ruled by misogynists, isn’t subtle.
The scare tactics of other media outlets were even more direct. Reuters tweeted, “Handmaid’s Tale? U.S. Supreme Court candidate’s religious community under scrutiny.” An article by Newsweek falsely claimed that People of Praise, an ecumenical group, was the inspiration behind The Handmaid’s Tale’s storyline.
The Daily Citizen
But one news source offered a very different take on the onslaught of negative reporting:
The Washington Post article [is] a suggestive hit piece that highlights “accusations from some critics of Barrett that People of Praise is built on the sexist expectation that women defer to men.”
USA Today also emphasizes the group’s biblical view that men are supposed to be the spiritual head of their household, but made sure to find some anonymous sources who criticize the group as “hierarchical, authoritarian and controlling, where men dominate their wives, leaders dictate members’ life choices and those who leave are shunned.”
But the website of the so-called “secretive” People of Praise says, “We admire the first Christians who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community. Those early believers put their lives and their possessions in common, and ‘there were no needy persons among them.’ ”
Scary stuff? Or basic Christian principles founded in the Word of God?
That analysis comes from Focus on the Family’s The Daily Citizen, an online resource that equips Christ-followers to understand and navigate today’s chaotic media landscape.
Paul Batura, who serves as Vice President of Communications at Focus on the Family, says the mission of his team of reporters at The Daily Citizen is straightforward. “We want to help Christians analyze the news and current cultural issues through the principles of truth, moral objectivity and inherent, innate natural rights.”
Values-based reporting
The topics covered at The Daily Citizen can vary, but the team approaches each news cycle with the goal of covering stories relevant to the family. “We concentrate on the core areas that Focus on the Family is interested in: life, religious freedom, marriage and gender issues,” Paul says.
Like all news outlets, The Daily Citizen has a worldview that guides its coverage. What’s different about The Daily Citizen is that the team has no pretense of holding “neutral” positions on the issues.
“God has declared certain things ‘good’ and certain things ‘bad,’ ” Paul explains. “He’s given us clear principles to use in considering current events. And He’s spoken clearly on the subjects of life, marriage, law and government. We cannot remain morally neutral in our reporting.”
Paul says The Daily Citizen team approaches every news event with the goal of articulating those core values.
“Viewing news through this biblical world-view naturally results in writing about marriage, for example, through the lens that one man, one woman marriage is God’s best plan for mankind. Or that abortion is morally wrong. Or that the freedom of religion must be protected.
“The team at The Daily Citizen remains tireless in pursuit of God’s truth,” Batura says. “We’re fiercely curious in search of new stories that our readers need to hear about.”
The Daily Citizen Morning Headlines Email
by Paul J. Batura
What if you could receive a single email each weekday that highlighted an eclectic mix of excerpts curated from sources including The Daily Citizen, The Wall Street Journal, National Review and USA Today?
The Daily Citizen Morning Headlines is a mixture of what we think you’d like to know—with what we believe you should know, too.
As Christians, we’re called to engage the world, even while standing apart from it. This includes being aware of events. The Bible is clear that Jesus, though a citizen of heaven, was also an informed citizen of earth, often speaking out when circumstances warranted.
We invite you to sign up for The Daily Citizen Morning Headlines email at FocusOnTheFamily.com/MorningHeadlines. It will arrive in your inbox Monday through Friday at no cost to you.
Citizen Through the Years
1980s
Focus on the Family Citizen launches in 1987 with coverage including the galvanization of the pro-life movement, pro-family accomplishments during the Reagan years, and the importance of voting.
1990s
The magazine changes to a full-color format in 1997. Issues of the era include school choice, the left’s push for same-sex marriage and the cultural impact of a new computing tool called the internet.
2000s
Undergoes a redesign in 2000. Exposés include the consequences of legalized gambling and efforts to undermine the moral stance of the Boy Scouts of America.
2010s
In 2019 transitions from a printed publication to The Daily Citizen, an online outreach that addresses late-breaking news. The wide variety of topics includes how transgenderism is harming women’s sports and the growing support for socialism in the U.S.
2020s
The Daily Citizen helps readers process the day’s events through a biblical worldview. Coverage includes the suppression of conservative voices across social media channels and the exercise of religious
liberty in an era of lockdowns.
