The Christian Science Monitor

Lore & Background

Eddy insisted on including 'Christian Science' in the paper's name despite opposition from advisors. She sought to counteract fear spread by media reporting, writing that a periodical of their own would 'reach many homes with healing, purifying thought.' The paper's mission was declared to be 'to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.'

In the 20th century, the Monitor expanded into radio and television. In the 21st century, the Monitor faced financial struggles and shifted to digital. In October 2008, citing net losses of $18.9 million per year, the Monitor announced it would cease printing daily and instead print weekly editions; the last daily print edition was published on March 27, 2009. The weekly magazine follows on from the London edition (1960) and the World Edition (1974).

Reader's Guide

The Christian Science Monitor holds a distinctive place in American journalism as a nonprofit news organization founded by a religious leader but not primarily a religious paper. It does not evangelize, though each issue contains a single religious-themed article in the Home Forum section. The Monitor has been praised for objective coverage of Islam and the Middle East by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in 1997. During Nelson Mandela's imprisonment, it was one of the newspapers he was allowed to read; after his release, he visited the Monitor offices and thanked staff for their 'unwavering coverage of apartheid.' The Monitor was also an early critic of Senator Joseph McCarthy, coining the term 'McCarthyism.' Its editorial positions include opposing government interference in healthcare choices, supporting separation of church and state, and opposing teaching fundamentalist Bible interpretations in science classrooms. The Monitor has won seven Pulitzer Prizes, including for international reporting, national reporting, and editorial cartooning. In the digital age, the Monitor introduced a paywall in 2017 and by September 2023 received about 1 million hits per month on its website.

Did You Know?

• The Monitor coined the term 'McCarthyism' and was an early critic of Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• Nelson Mandela was allowed to read the Monitor while imprisoned in South Africa and later visited its Boston offices after his release.