Radio Religion

From two church magazines U.S. Protestants learned last week how bad their religious broadcasts are.

Assailing "the childlike radio broadcast of the average Protestant group," the United States Baptist editorialized that "the Protestant message and program is gradually becoming a sort of laughing matter in this country. It is surprising that radio stations continue to accept most of the programs offered--even for pay. Baptists are no exception."

The Chicago Theological Seminary Register amply documented this accusation with a fact-crammed survey of religion on the radio, based on Chicago's 16 commercial stations. Highlights:

> Religious broadcasts are "overloaded with talk"--70 of Chicago's 77 religious programs per week are either wholly or largely devoted to a sermon.

> The churches have not studied "how to create types of programs that fit the peculiar facilities of radio."

> Not "a single radio program" is devoted to great church music, though "the greatest composers in the world have devoted their talents to the writing of religious music."

> "Many of the ministers seem to play upon the credulity, the sentimentality, the superstitions and the fear of their audiences. Their appeals for money are often blatant."

Though network religious programs (for which radio time is given free) are much better than most local religious broadcasts, the Chicago survey has two criticisms of them also: 1) local stations often cancel the free time when they can get paying customers ("Throughout the autumn of 1941 ... no NBC station in the Chicago area carried Dr. Fosdick--he was crowded off the air in favor of professional Sunday football"); 2) "too many" of the network programs come from Manhattan.

The United States Baptist editorial urged both Northern and Southern Baptists "to set up well-organized and amply financed radio departments." This is also the solution suggested by the Chicago survey, which thinks the national churches themselves should produce and sponsor network broadcasts that would utilize to the hilt the techniques of such successful programs as Town Meeting of the Air, the Music Appreciation Hour, and Cavalcade of America, develop also some new techniques of their own.

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