How the SBC sex abuse scandal turned a city hall reporter into a full-time religion writer
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-In” features analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith. Got feedback or ideas for this column? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
(ANALYSIS) Robert Downen almost burned out on newspapers and went into the insurance business.
Instead, the talented journalist, now 28, stuck it out and spearheaded what the Religion News Association chose as the No. 1 religion story of 2019.
I’m talking about the Houston Chronicle’s bombshell investigation that revealed more than 700 victims of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention and spurred reforms by the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
Come April, Downen’s work on the “Abuse of Faith” project could earn him and his colleagues a Pulitzer Prize.
For now, it has resulted in a new gig for the former City Hall reporter. As of last week, he’s covering religion full time for the Houston newspaper. This is wonderful news for Downen and Chronicle readers.
“Mr. Downen has already demonstrated the importance of the beat with his impactful investigative work,” said Peter Smith, the RNA’s president and the veteran religion writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Houston will benefit from his attention to the religiously diverse population of this major American city.”
Texas’s largest daily newspapers — including the Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram — all used to have full-time Godbeat pros.
But no more.
At the Chronicle, Downen steps into an important role that has been unfilled for a while. (Here’s hoping those other papers decide to keep up with the competition.)
“Our decision about the beat was sparked by Abuse of Faith and the thought that there will be an ongoing discussion about these sorts of issues in Southern Baptist churches, and those of other denominations, for some time,” Chronicle executive editor Steve Riley told Religion Unplugged.
“But that’s not the only reason for us to do more on the religion beat,” added Riley, who was the investigations editor when the Abuse of Faith project started. “It’s such an important part of the lives of many of our readers, and we hope to find ways to reflect that in our coverage. Rob, of course, did a great job on Abuse of Faith, and he was interested in this beat, so we decided to try to make it work.”
Christine Fox Parker, who runs PorchSwing Ministries Inc. to help victims of sexual and spiritual abuse, praised Downen’s passion and concern for survivors.
“His depth of knowledge, his desire to bring to light the problem of abuse in churches and by church leaders, and his willingness to do what it takes to do so were evident in the hour or so we spent talking,” said Parker, who was quoted in one of Downen’s recent stories.
In the “Inside the Godbeat: Behind the Bylines” section of this week’s column, learn more about Downen and his career journey.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. What’s really going on inside the Minnesota church accused of trying to expel its elderly members: The St. Paul Pioneer Press produced the original report on a United Methodist congregation’s alleged attempt to “usher out gray-haired members in (an) effort to attract more young parishioners.” The story quickly went viral. Everybody from The Atlantic’s Emma Green to The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher commented on it. Thankfully, the Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey and then Slate’s Ruth Graham dug a little deeper. Also, GetReligion’s Terry Mattingly discusses this topic on the “Crossroads” podcast. Yes, nuance is a wonderful thing. The real story is more complicated than it first appeared.
2. Multiracial churches growing, but challenging for clergy of color: Production editor and national correspondent Adelle Banks recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with Religion News Service. She was kind enough to do a Q&A with me about her time with RNS. Look for that interview in a future Weekend Plug-In. For now, read her latest in RNS’ “Beyond the Most Segregated Hour” series. (Bonus: It’s datelined Keller, Texas, which happens to be my hometown.)
3. Auschwitz was liberated 75 years ago. But politics are complicating the celebration: The Los Angeles Times’ Jaweed Kaleem has the story from Kraków, Poland. In related news, the Washington Post reported on 50 world leaders gathering in Jerusalem to commemorate the anniversary. Dignitaries and delegations filled Yad Vashem, the city’s somber memorial to the Holocaust’s 6 million Jewish victims. I was blessed to visit the memorial last year with a group of U.S. religion journalists.
Etc.: For some at March to Life, anti-abortion views drive their personal spending on health care, investments, even Starbucks, Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post … Trump’s black voter outreach looks in part to the pews, Elana Schor, The Associated Press … As Democrats grow more secular, N.H. clergy press candidates on values, G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor … Back to school: MLK’s remarks inspire educator to return to Christian university, Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman … Alisson Roberto, Firmino and religion’s role at Liverpool in the Premier League, Simon Hughes, The Athletic … Exclusive: Trump impeachment lawyer Jay Sekulow says ‘I’ve never felt not Jewish,’ Mark Pinsky, The Forward … Religious liberty vs. LGBTQ rights: Adoption bill puts Tennessee on the front line of the culture war, Holly Meyer, The Tennessean … Supreme Court seems ready to lift limits on state aid to religious schools, Adam Liptak, New York Times … Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez has been named Philly’s next archbishop, replacing Charles Chaput, Jeremy Roebuck, Philadelphia Inquirer.
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
A few highlights from my email interview with Rob Downen, new full-time religion writer for the Houston Chronicle:
• The early years: “I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and spent most of teenage years being terrible at school and playing in somehow-even-more-terrible bands. My journalism career started — and nearly ended — in central Illinois. After graduating from Eastern Illinois University in 2014, I was hired on as the city editor at a small, local daily just outside of Peoria, Ill.
“About six months in, GateHouse Media consolidated our paper with five weeklies in surrounding counties and tapped me to be the news group’s managing editor. I did that for about a year and a half before nearly burning out and moving to St. Louis to work in insurance. Luckily, I came across an advertisement for the Hearst Media fellowship, a program that sends early-career journalists to two of the company’s major publications for one-year rotations. I applied, won one of four spots and started as a business reporter in Albany, N.Y., where I covered everything from farmers’ rights to biotech to pension issues.
“On Aug. 24, 2017, I arrived in Houston from New York. Hurricane Harvey arrived about 22 hours later. I started work the next day and spent my first week as a Texan filing dispatches from a hotel an hour outside of Houston. Life really has not slowed down since. Over the next six months, I worked as a general assignment reporter on the Chronicle’s metro desk, covering everything from triple homicides to the Houston Astros’ first — and untarnished — World Series win*.”
• The road to the religion beat: “During that time, I also stumbled across court records that showed Paul Pressler, a leading Southern Baptist figure and former Texas Court of Appeals judge, had paid a former church youth group member $450,000 to settle a 2004 assault lawsuit. The now-adult youth group member had filed a new suit in which he accused Pressler of committing decades of rapes and molestations that the suit claimed were concealed by prominent Southern Baptist churches and leaders.
“The 2004 settlement lended credibility to the claims in the newer suit. And so I started looking for other, similar instances of SBC abuses. Ten cases became 20 became 40 became 80, and so on, until I had built the framework for what would become the Houston Chronicle’s database of SBC sex offenders. A few months later, a team of veteran investigative reporters signed onto the project, and in February 2019, we published the first part of “Abuse of Faith.” We've since put out roughly 60 stories and/or investigations, while I also covered City Hall for the Chronicle.
“Our SBC reporting obviously helped me get the full-time religion job. But I’ve always been fascinated by religion. My earliest memories are of a high school cafeteria in Naperville, Ill., where my family and about 10 others would meet each Sunday. We soon outgrew the fold-up tables and locker banks, and so moved into the auditorium. Ten families became 20, became 40, became 80 … until we'd outgrown the fold-up tables and locker banks, then the high school auditorium, and eventually broke ground on the first of 10 Community Christian Church campuses dotted across the Chicago area. Virtually every important person in my childhood I met through that campus. And I’ve always cherished that community — even if I was too tired from playing in terrible high school bands to stay awake through Sunday services.
“Then college. I initially wanted to major in religious studies and be a war correspondent but changed to journalism/poli sci after realizing that accomplishing that dream job would likely be difficult at a school without an Arabic program (heh).
“I remained enthralled by religion, faith and how the two influence — and are influenced by — history, at both the individual and institutional levels. And so it was easy for me to transition all of my energy first into the Southern Baptist Convention and, now, the faith community in one of America’s most diverse cities.”
• On his new role: “I think it’s too early to make predictions, other than that I expect to be very, very busy. Coverage of faith communities in Houston and Texas has, unfortunately, slowly faded in recent years. So there are so many important stories that have gone untold and won’t be told properly unless I fully immerse myself in those communities. So that’s what I plan to do.
“I can say, though, that our coverage approach will be different than anything the Chronicle (and its long line of fantastic religion reporters) have done. Until now, religion coverage has been overseen by our features department; I’ll be the first religion reporter working on the paper’s metro desk. That change will require a delicate balance between straight, daily news coverage and long-term projects.
“That change will also mean stories and, thus, more opportunities for us to delve into all aspects of the beat, through varying storytelling approaches and methods.
“I’m excited because this is such an all-encompassing beat. Faith is so personal; religion is so fundamental and influential. The micro affects the macro (and vice versa), and both have such wide-ranging implications for every aspect of the world.
“My hope is to help our readers understand that very complicated concept through the lens of individuals, institutions and every thing between.”
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• Christians in Panama respond to cult’s ritual mass murder (by Reynaldo Aragon)
• New technology helps archeologists identify Bible scribes (by Gil Zohar)
• Pachamama debate a lingering point of contention (by Terry Mattingly)
• Protests in India's holy Hindu city show rising interfaith solidarity (by Avinash Giri)
• Examining Rudy Giuliani's complicated Catholicism (by Clemente Lisi)
• Finding quiet on the 507-mile route Camino de Santiago (by Elissa Esher)
• Among society's exiled Christians are leaders of the next revivals (by Michael Metzger)
• HBO's 'The New Pope' serves up plenty of sin, but no substance (by Clemente Lisi)
The Final Plug
Baseball’s electronic sign-stealing scandal (see Downen’s asterisk above related to the Astros’ 2017 World Series win) has dominated sports headlines the last few weeks.
One of those caught up in the scandal: former Houston player Carlos Beltran, who lost his job as New York Mets manager.
During the Astros’ magical (it seemed then) 2017 season, Beltran discussed his Christian faith, saying prayer is vital to everything he does.
In the wake of the scandal, he said, “I am a man of faith and integrity and what took place did not demonstrate those characteristics that are so very important to me and my family.”
I’d love to see an enterprising journalist delve a little deeper into that angle.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.