WASHINGTON, DC-- Calling The Onion's mockery of them "too broad and obvious," Catholics, Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, and Evangelical Christians in a joint press conference urged the weekly to sharpen their satire.

	Above: Interdenominational Christian Group Urges A Higher Standard For Satire

"Good satire is based on close observation and calls forth the laughter of recognition," said the Rev. Henry Grubman of Trinity Baptist Church. "The articles in The Onion, by contrast, are based on the broadest stereotypes."

Christians featured in The Onion are often depicted as dull-witted and uptight about sexuality. Jokes about them capitalize on this image, as in the article, "Minister Frets For A Week About Noticing Breasts of Bank Teller." The clergy gathered at the press conference scoffed at this image of Christians.

"Just because our tradition seeks to foster a responsible sense of sexuality within the context of long-term relationships doesn't mean we are blind to human nature," said Father Gregory Luce of St. Mark's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. "Seeking a thoughtful alternative to the images of promiscuous sex hysterically promoted in secular culture is not the same as prudishness."

"Christianity enjoys a tremendous tradition of culture, scholarship, and intense self-scrutiny," added Rev. Jankert of Christ Episcopal Church in Spokane, Washington. "The very secular culture that so glibly dismisses Christianity is in fact a direct outgrowth of conflicts within Christianity that came to fruition in the the thinking of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment."

Stanley Kurkville, a professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Texas at Austin, agreed, calling The Onion "typical of what I have termed the 'smug secular.' They have inherited an easy dismissal of religion without doing the hard work of reflecting on the underpinnings of their own thought system."

Kurkville went on to say, "While it's true there is in America Protestantism a strong strain of anti-intellectualism, as witnessed by Fundamentalist hostility to scientific inquiry, it's a mistake to see this as representative of the church as whole."

"No one enjoys a good laugh more than we do," added Rev. Jankert of Christ Episcopal Church in Spokane, Washington, "The Onion staff should study some examples of really great Christian satire. I would suggest starting with Erasmus's The Praise of Folly. Then pay attention to what Christians are actually doing. We do some pretty funny shit. You needn't trot out tired stereotypes to ridicule us."