From Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue by Paul Woodruff:

In our time we hear more praise of irreverence than we do of reverence, especially in the media. That is because we naturally delight in mockery and we love making fun of solemn things. It is not because, in our heart of hearts, we despise reverence. In my view, the media are using the word “irreverent” for qualities that are not irreverent at all. A better way to say what they have in mind would be “bold, boisterous, unrefined, unimpressed by pretension”—all good things. Reverence is compatible with these and with almost every form of mockery… Reverence and a keen eye for the ridiculous are allies: both keep people from being pompous or stuck up.