Jonah Berger, a University of Pennsylvania researcher who studied the Times' "most emailed" list, explained: "Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion. If I've just read this story that changes the way I understand myself and the world, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together."

William James, the early 20th-century philosopher/psychologist, would not be surprised. In The Varieties of Religious Experience, a groundbreaking book that sought to reconcile science and religion, James advocates the primacy of religious experience—that is, the emotional evocation of awe and transcendence—over religious institutions. Nor would many of today's true believers be taken aback. They, too, assume that their vision of the "good news" leads to a deeper and richer awareness that also builds community.

Looks like writing about religion would be among the paper's most emailed stories, right? But nowhere in Tierney's piece is that word even mentioned. Rather, the paper's most widely circulated pieces come from the Science section, covering topics ranging from the science of the stars to the prehistory of humankind. Secular elites, as many Times readers are, don't look to God or the Bible for answers about the history of the universe, human evolution or the nature of good and evil. They turn to cosmology, paleontology and social psychology for illumination. When they look to religion, they want color, conflict, scandal and sensationalism. (Or so goes conventional journalistic wisdom.)

But conventional wisdom is not always wise or widely accepted beyond those who hold it. Yes, the public needs to know about priestly pedophilia and politically over-reaching pastors. We need stories on the rise of religiously inspired terrorism and the debates over ordaining gays and lesbians. But there's much more to religion than a laundry list of the good, the bad and the ugly. Art, nature, mystery and (super)naturalism shouldn't all be ceded to science.

Two years ago, The Wire—HBO's brilliant series on life in Baltimore—took a critical look at how and why the news media fails citizens. This spring, Caprica—a SyFy series about a civilization beset by religious terrorism, widespread corruption and technology gone amok (sound familiar?)—depicts how tainted tips, gang-bang reporting and sensationalist coverage likewise undermine an otherwise thoughtful citizenry.

The Penn study offers an alternative. Its findings indicate that readers want something more than trivia, trifles and bad news. The ramifications could change not only the coverage of religion but how and what we cover across the board.

Diane Winston