The media wildfire that spread after Pat Robertson alleged that Haiti had made a pact with the devil has faded somewhat from the public’s mind, but the need for serious analysis regarding the proper space to discuss the relationship between religion and the media media has not.
On The 700 Club on January 13, Reverend Pat Robertson made a shocking comment regarding the recent tragedy in Haiti. “[The Haitians] were under the heel of the French… and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. True story… Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another, desperately poor.”
Many members of the media and religious groups have reacted very strongly to his assertion; in fact, his comments sparked a great deal of thoughtful commentary and debate, most notably accrued in the Washington Post’s On Faith.
