Dart: Religion Reporting a Mixed, Humorous Blessing
By Zachary Brown

John Dart

There aren’t very many men who can say they’ve worn a dress in the presence of Jerry Falwell. If they have, they usually aren’t very quick to admit it.

University of Colorado School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate John Dart (‘58) did just that when he came to the School in March and related his experiences from more than three decades of reporting on religion. He brings the reputation of one of the nation’s most respected journalists in that specialty. His visit was funded by the Hearst Professional-In-Residence program.

The Los Angeles Times veteran gave a speech titled “The Odd You See: (The Lighter Side of) a Reporter’s 30-year Search for Religion News” on March 12. Dart told the audience of some of his most memorable moments, including how he ended up in a dress in front of Falwell.

Falwell, who Dart said appreciates religion humor to an extent, agreed to a roast by religion reporters. Dart was among the roasters, and to playfully rile Falwell, he wore the costume of the Church Lady, a character played by Dana Carvey on the television show “Saturday Night Live.”

“Some of the religious leaders have a sense of humor,” Dart said. “Sometimes they even joke about themselves.”

Dart retired as the Times’ religion reporter in 1998 after 31 years at the paper. He is now news editor of Christian Century Magazine and the author of two books: “The Laughing Savior” and “Deities and Deadlines.”

After graduating from CU, Dart went into the Army. After a brief stint working for UPI in Indianapolis, he moved to the Los Angeles bureau. Next, he said he took a job with the public relations department of the California Institute of Technology before joining the Times in 1967.

He told of getting one of his best assignments soon after being hired there — a story about the New Metropolitan Community Church, a largely homosexual and pioneering church in late-1960s Los Angeles.

“The Times had not written a lot about the non-hetero world at that time,” he said. “It got good play, and the New York Times quickly followed with a story of its own. Eventually the MCC expanded and has started several other congregations.” During the 1980s he covered the Jesus Seminars, semi-annual meetings of New Testament scholars. The purpose of the meetings was to determine the accuracy of words spoken by Jesus. In 1986, with Dart covering the conference, the scholars reported that nearly half the words from the Sermon on the Mount were “not from the lips of the historical Jesus,” Dart said.

Since his first assignment on the Bible beat over three decades ago, Dart said, media outlets across the nation have stepped up their coverage of religion.

Despite the seriousness with which many people view religion, Dart said he will always try to keep the humor in faith, both in his stories and his personal life. He cited a bumper sticker that he and his colleagues put on their cars: “Religious writers are the best sects experts.”

“Sometimes the mixture of humor and religion is front and center,” he said. “Sometimes gentle comic relief is necessary because religion can be dull itself, and, without humor, the stories can be dull as well.”