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Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 2004 by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt

Byline: Rachel Lehmann-Haupt

Early in her reign as editor-in-chief of Seventeen magazine, Atoosa Rubenstein began noticing that many readers signed their e-mails "God Bless." She began writing back, asking them about their thoughts on faith. "These kids are growing up in an insecure time. They're seeing soldiers being decapitated and a lot of them are looking toward spirituality and faith as a way to find answers," she says. As a part of the magazine's quest to be a wholesome teen book, she decided to give her readers some spiritual guidance. In September, the teen bible launches its first ever section on faith.

The debut installment asks readers "Do You Pray?" with the tagline "Whether you look to yourself or call on God, reflection can help us all." It includes a page of inspiration from spiritual and secular leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Goethe and Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama ("It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance"). It also includes a feature on the importance of premarital counseling with a "Christian counselor." "A lot of girls of different faiths or no faith saw it as a peek into the lives of girls that they don't know," says Rubenstein. "We're not trying to preach. That would be inappropriate." In the October issue, the news story of the faith section is about the dispute over the amplified call to prayer (five times daily) from a Muslim Mosque that some residents tried to have banned as "noise pollution."

Just as in the broader culture, where politicians who never talked about their beliefs are practically required to wear it on their sleeves and celebrities yak about their religious practices, spirituality is moving into the mainstream of magazine publishing. Aside from the occasional newsweekly cover (usually trotted out to guarantee strong newsstand sales in a slow news week), spirituality once was practically taboo outside of Christian bookstores and alternative magazines sold in health food stores. "Many people said you can't talk religion in a secular magazine" says Rubenstein. "But it's not just the traditional forms of religion. Whether it's Wicca or science or friends and family, these kids are looking for something to have faith in." Rubinstein is tapping into a do-it-yourself spirituality that has become part of the popular culture and which magazines like Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine, have already brought into women's service magazines. In the wake of Sept. 11, says Samir Husni, the Hederman lecturer and professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, "We want a superior power to make us feel good about what we're doing. You're going to see more and more of those comfort food magazines."

Whether they meditate at home, pray on the subway or go to religious services, Americans are believers - or say they are. According to a 2003 Roper Report on spirituality, 63 percent of the population and 70 percent of women say that they believe God is important in their daily lives; 73 percent of the population says that they believe in angels. Jon Berry, vice president of NOP World, which produces the Roper Report, says that the biggest change in attitudes about faith is that people have become more independent-minded in their definition of God. Also, "there is a strong theme in people seeing the utility of prayer for a healthy lifestyle," says Berry. Another recent report by The Barna Group, a market researcher, surveyed a random sample of U.S. teens and found that 82 percent consider themselves Christian and 89 percent pray on a regular basis.

That religiosity spells opportunity, both for mainstream publications and for publishers of spiritual titles that now have a chance to attract more readers. "What we've noticed going back to the mid-1990s is a significant gap between the people's interest in spirituality and the number of people going to church," says Berry. "In this gap, we've seen a real opportunity for publications and programs to help people explore their spirituality."

Time and Newsweek have picked up on that trend, adding more coverage of religion and spirituality beyond the occasional Jesus cover. Pricilla Paiton, the executive editor of Time, says that the magazine's coverage has been more focused lately on alternative spirituality, such as the resurgence of chanting, interest in the Kabbalah and how Christianity is penetrating mainstream culture. "We recently did a story about the movement to show the Christian meaning behind popular movies," she says.

And, taking their cue from the massively successful O, all sorts of women's magazines are adding more spirituality to the content mix. Emily Listfield, EIC of Fitness immediately bumped up the size of the magazine's tagline: "Mind, Body and Spirit" when she took over in 2002 and has pushed the copy to emphasize the benefits of a spiritually fit mind as well as a buff body. One recent story: "To get in touch with your body, try an eight-minute meditation." Says Listfield: "Americans are coming to the point that balance and spirituality - no matter how you find it - is becoming an integral part of our lives." And an integral part of her brand, she adds, "Our circulation has jumped from just over 1 million to 1.5 million and I attribute a lot of that to our coverage of this vital balance."