In a recent speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo predicted that “some people in the media will break out the pitchforks when they hear that I ask God for direction in my work.”

Was he right?

Well, Pompeo certainly was correct that his speech to the American Association of Christian Counselors would draw some media coverage — and not necessarily positive coverage.

Let’s consider USA Today’s story, headlined “State Department website promotes Mike Pompeo speech on 'Being a Christian Leader.’”

Before we get to the nuts-and-bolts of that report, a bit of quick, crucial background: First, as I reported in an April 2018 Religion News Service story during Pompeo’s confirmation proceedings, he is a former deacon and Sunday school teacher for an Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Kansas. Also, he made headlines earlier this year when he likened President Donald Trump, his boss, to the biblical queen Esther. And his invitation-only briefing with faith-based media caused a stir that we discussed here at GetReligion.

So Pompeo’s evangelical Christian faith isn’t exactly breaking news.

But back to this latest headline: Here’s the top of USA Today’s story:

WASHINGTON – A recent speech about “Being a Christian Leader” by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was promoted on the State Department’s homepage Monday, and has been met with criticism that it potentially violates the principle of separation of church and state enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

The speech was delivered at the America [sic] Association of Christian Counselors on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee. Pompeo touts Christianity throughout the remarks, describing how he applies his faith to his government work, referencing God and the Bible during the entirety of the speech. 

The remarks, posted and promoted on the department's homepage, begin with Pompeo, America’s top diplomat, saying he wanted to “use my time today to think about what it means to be a Christian leader,” continuing that he, “learned how to lead at whatever level I'm blessed with during my time at West Point and other experiences, but I want to talk today about being a Christian leader. I learned that through a very different experience, an experience with God and my own personal faith in Christ."

There’s more to the story, of course. By all means, you should read it all before judging the journalistic quality.

Here’s my take, though: Yes, the pitchforks came out.

Did any actual, helpful journalistic material emerge? Not so much.

This report follows a frequent but frustrating approach of 21st century journalism:

• It’s all about the critics, quoted mainly via media statements and tweets.

• It raises an important legal and constitutional question but never goes to the trouble to delve into it.

• As a result, it’s basically predictable critics raising predictable concerns — with no insight given from actual legal experts or impartial observers who might weigh in on the big questions.

Those questions, in my mind, would include: What right, if any, does Pompeo have to give a speech to a Christian group in his official capacity as secretary of state and tout his personal faith? What right, if any, does the secretary of state’s office have to promote that speech and Pompeo’s personal faith on its official governmental website?

USA Today never bothers to engage such questions. But we do have a purported news story on “many critics” expressing their dismay. Ho-hum.

Break out the pitchforks.