Daily prayer doesn't make cut for Star

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The state's largest newspaper is getting rid of something few newspapers carry anymore -- a daily prayer. The Indianapolis Star believes the paths of faith and journalism should no longer cross.

In 1963, the Indianapolis Star began printing a daily prayer. But when a new format was revealed this week: the prayer was gone.

When the current editor of the Star arrived at the paper, he had a meeting with several religious leaders in the area and he says most of them said, "It's your job to report on religion, it's our job to practice it."

"We're not a church. And I'm a little uncomfortable practicing what churches practice. Our job is to report the news," said Star editor Dennis Ryerson.

One pastor believes most of the Star's readers are believers.

"I think what troubles me, this seems to have happened without corporate or community discussion," said Mount Comfort United Methodist Church Pastor Reed Walker. "If five percent of the population is Atheist and non-believers, God bless them. But then, when you add all those people who pray, regardless of who they call God, the representative culture is something 90-95 percent of people who believe in prayer. So not only do I question this at a spiritual level, I question if this is a good business decision for the Star."

The Star will retain a bible verse printed on its masthead. It's a longtime tradition, yet a rarity in modern papers.