As mediatisation is key to this essay, it is important to firstly define it in order to elaborate on its effects on religious institutions. Mediatisation is a new theoretical framework that describes a process through reframing questions regarding the influence of various media in culture and society (Hjarvard, 119). Initially mediatisation referred to a process of disempowerment, now it describes the power of media institutions, values and technologies and their increasing autonomy. Media no longer mediate power, but rather constitute it (Deacon, 1033). This is a metaprocess concerned with the appropriation of and adjustment to media logics by, in this case religious institutions into their own various cultural practices (Lunt, 466).
This
…show more content…
Media is nowadays a vital information source and discussion forum for topics relating to religion; this kind of interaction with religious issues, challenges the authority of religious institutions. The places (churches), representatives (ministers etc and texts (bible etc) are relocated to a minor role when it comes to spiritual matters and religious issues, one can google these things themselves (Hjarvard, 125). Online metrics have become more important potentially than actually going to church, pageviews, Twitter followers, and so on are key to religious organisation, the question is do these things actually bring people to the Church ().Due to media becoming this important source of information, furthermore, the place to visit for engaging in spiritual matters, the media have acquired what used to be the Church’s power to frame and define religious ideas. (Hjarvard, 125). Subsequently, media become the producers and distributors of religious content, thus, influencing the ways in which users and audiences interact with the institution. Media, through mediatisation has the power to create virtual worlds that invite people to take part in the experiences of a religious-like character - FOR EXAMPLE. Additionally, social media have to an extent replaced the church as a platform …show more content…
Hjarvard, discusses the concept of banal religion, an implicit, ‘unwaived flag’ and religion that may come to be associated with religious meaning through the “media’s representational practices, despite not including explicit religious meaning (Hjarvard, 128) These are alternative religions, seen in film, books, computer games and their accompanying websites that are created and consumed by media and fans alike; religious symbols and actions blend to invite religious-life experiences and interests (Hjarvard, 126).Through agenda-setting functions (McComb 2004), both fictional and factual media influence the type of information about religious issues that circulate in society (Hjarvard, 126). both individual and collective religious imagination are created and maintained “by a series of experiences and representations in the media that may have little or no relationship with institutionalised religions” (Hjarvard, 128). Take for example the religion of the Jedi Knights (http://www.jedichurch.org/) that now has a place in the New Zealand Census. Popular Culture and Religion share a “nebulous relationship” (Journal of Religion and Pop Culture). Pop Culture media invent entirely new paradigms, or rather religiosities to convey religious
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions. 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 320-322. Print.
―"Religion in “Brave New World“." Religion in Brave New World. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Martin, Joel W.. Screening the sacred religion, myth, and ideology in popular American film. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995. Print.
Throughout the history of motion pictures, stories have impacted society through various means, but up until recently, these influences were usually limited to hobbies and interests. With the emergence of a deep psychological thriller dubbed The Matrix, cinematic influence on religion has become quite evident. The Matrix combines allegories of religious figures such as Jesus Christ and Buddha with a quasi-enlightenment concept that appears in many of the mystical Eastern religions. This amalgamation of religious ideas creates an amazing foundation for what many members of religious communities—online communities stand out as the most prominent example—have come to refine their core religions into over the last few years. Many of these communities consider their new faiths to be simple denominations of their core beliefs, finding that their refined religion fits not only theologically but logically and scholarly with their paternal religion. I consider myself one of these philosophical persons pushing provocatively within the religious community of Christianity towards the beliefs which I find so intriguing and bold.
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Valle, Carlos. "Religion and the Media." Religion-Online. World Association for Christian Communication, n.d. Web. 20 Mar 2014. .
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Sociological theorist have provided two broad insights as to what exactly the sociology of religion can refer to. One concept acknowledges that “the nature of religion is part of a human condition” (pg 652) while the other concept is an applied school that focuses more on the statistics of who populated the religion and is concerned more about more technical details such as age, gender and social class and how “these interacted with the host of social, social psychological and sociopolitical outcomes in societies” (pg 652). Despite the two approaches of studying religions most theorists took the applied route or did observational work at the beginning of their careers.
Mediation and mediatisation should be conceived of as two different concepts. Generally speaking, mediation refers to the acts of transmitting messages, intervening or reconciling between media institutions and other social actors or institutions (Mazzoleni & Schulz, 1999:249). In mediated political communication, the media become central for information inputs and outputs in...
Sociology, on the other hand, tends to view religion as a social construct, created by societal values, or expectations, in order to guide, “sustain and renew the group” (Datta & Milbrandt, 2014, p. 481). This concept, pioneered by Émile Durkheim (2008), argues that society creates its ideals and practices, such as religious
Throughout society today, religion and spirituality are greatly prominent and its importance of its role is no exception. Religion is a vital aspect of life for many people around the world. Perhaps some of those who are not religious thinks that it is important. This may be due to the fact that society needs religion. Collectively, we profit from our religious beliefs. Many could argue that religion would be a missing link in society and we would not function without it. Religion promotes critical virtues in which are important in society such as truth, love, non-violence and discipline. Those who follow a religion internalises these virtues and becomes a disciplined member in the modern society (Eva, 2016). “Religious instruction and belief
Geertz defines religion as ‘(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.’ In this essay, I will focus on the Geertz’s idea, and Asad’s subsequent critique, of symbols. (Geertz, Clifford, and Michael Banton. "Religion as a cultural system." (1966).)
John Thompson (1995, p4) argues that the “communication media” holds significant power. He argues that the media possesses considerable influence in modern society, therefore providing the media with significant agency (Thompson, 1995, p10). Thompson (1995, p5) argues that the communication media has been a powerful force behind social interaction and relationships, formulating new “ways of relating to others and to oneself” (Thompson, 1995, p4). Indeed, in the ‘Digital Age’, Thompson’s argument can be compared to the power of media in the world of the Internet, highlighting the formation of new social interactions in a place in which individuals do not have to be physically present to communicate and debate. Therefore, it is clear that elements of media and popular culture, such as social networking sites, obtain significant agency and power.
There are many institutions of technology that have influenced Christians to support or oppose the media as a whole. Even to this day, there are differing opinions of how Christians should approach media. Some say that we should avoid it all together, and some say that we need to be fully involved with the media. It ultimately comes down to one’s world view and their approach to being the light of the world that Christians are supposed to be.