Washington Reporter—"Why I No Longer Hide My Faith in the Newsroom"

Teresa Neumann : Mar 21, 2014
Lauren Ashburn – Fox News

"The unspoken and spoken bias meant that I didn't talk about my faith at work. And I certainly didn't talk about my volunteer work at a pro-life pregnancy center… [but following a period of deep reflection] it wasn't lost on me that all around the world Christians die for the right to bear witness in public, and yet in our free country, I hid my beliefs in the name of the news god." -Lauren Ashburn

(New York, NY)—Lauren Ashburn is a Fox News reporter who has written a piece defending her faith in the wake of the resignation of acclaimed CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson. (Photo via Daily Caller)

It was a bombshell revelation because, though under-reported in the mainstream press, the primary reason Attkisson gave for her resignation was that she was "frustrated with the network's liberal bias" and felt she couldn't do her job properly in the current atmosphere.

Says Ashburn of Attkisson's decision: "If true, in a nutshell, she had become a square peg in a round hole, and was tired of pretending otherwise."

Ashburn believes the same is true for religion persecution in newsrooms around the country and goes on to share her own personal experience walking the "faith line" in her business.

She shares that early on, she was told she couldn't wear a cross while working; "Real reporters don't wear religious symbols," clearly was the message.

"As the years went on, and my crosses hung in my jewelry box," says Ashburn, "I realized that I didn't even feel right wearing them outside of the TV station either. In my head, the unofficial work rule bled into my personal life, taking me farther away from God. Somehow, I thought, someone will see me wearing a cross in a grocery store and decide that I'm not objective, and then I'd be denied the ability to report the news; a job I loved."

"The unspoken and spoken bias," adds Ashburn, "meant that I didn't talk about my faith at work. And I certainly didn't talk about my volunteer work at a pro-life pregnancy center where we collected clothes for babies and talked to women about adoption alternatives."

The reporter goes on to describe her feelings of guilt and shame saying, "It wasn't lost on me that all around the world Christians die for the right to bear witness in public, and yet, in our free country, I hid my beliefs in the name of the news gods."

Ashburn concludes her article giving kudos to Attkisson for standing by her principles, saying, "For the record, I'm wearing crosses again. If you don't want to hear my news analysis because of it, I'm OK with that. I've learned to bless my detractors."

Click Here to read this gutsy reporters article in its entirety. If, like her, you're in a working environment that squelches your religious freedoms, it may be just the encouragement you need.