Faith And Media

In the past, ideologies and religions had a real impact on the media. In the current era of mass media and communication strategies, perception takes priority over identity and new questions arise: how to introduce faith and religion in a pluralising and detraditionalising world? What possibilities are offered by the new media? How can technical innovations be incorporated in church communication? Following the conference Belief in the Media (April 2007), this publication focuses on the gap between the language of faith and the language of the general media. The different contributors analyse, from within - but also from outside - a church context, the historical changes and challenges the Catholic Church and other faiths and denominations face with regard to their social communication and media strategies. However it is not only the relationship of religious institutions with the media that is at stake, but also the way in which the media cover topics such as the Middle East, Muslim immigrant populations in Europe, and the World Youth Day. Journalists have to find new ways to get a grip on these issues too.

Whether you are a Catholic high school teacher of any discipline, a catechist, or a youth minister, feel confident that you can educate teens in one of the most difficult yet crucial areas of their growth in faith. Beware! Sister Media and Sister Catechist have written an information-packed resource that also shares their sense of fun and exploration. You and your students might consider this study of Media Mindfulness to be one of the most enjoyable and meaningful educational experiences in high school!

Through a series of fascinating case studies of faith brands, marketing insider Mara Einstein has produced a lively account of the book in the commercialization of religion.

Focusing on the crossover between the sacred and the secular, this volume gathers the work of media experts, religious historians, sociologists of religion, and authorities on American studies and art history.

Long before he left the television news industry, Mark Kelley was concerned about the trends he saw developing in the business. Commercial pressures (exacerbated by the relentless meddling of consultants) were making it increasingly difficult for professional news workers to do a competent job of delivering important information to readers, listeners, and viewers. He conceived the notion of writing a book that analyzed all news media, connecting it to the quest for truth that drives people of faith and spirituality. Engaging News Media explores the state of the news media and their audiences today, attempting to examine whether or not truth could be found there, and if so, how people of faith and people in general might be more successful in extracting it.

Filling a significant gap in the literature by offering a theoretical framework by which we can understand the issues of media, religion and politics Luis Mauro Sa Martino asks how can a religious denomination have any sort of influence on people in a secular age? The author presents data which suggests that the presence and influence of religion in public affairs around the world has been strongly supported by the use of media communication, and highlights the way some religions have adopted media communication and drawn on popular culture to build their message. The use of media enables a religion to reach more people, attract more members and generate more income but also increases religious influence on public matters. The book offers a number of case studies and contemporary examples to illustrate the theory, and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of media, politics and all those interested in the part religion plays in our society.

"The breadth of coverage given to different religious traditions in this volume is nothing short of astonishing. The reader is taken on a wide-ranging tour of religion, media, and markets across diverse social and cultural contexts."-John P. Bartkowski, author of The Promise Keepers: Servants, Soldiers, and Godly Men "The intersections of religion, media, and the global marketplace may well be the defining issue of the twenty-first century. This superb collection of essays challenges parochial notions of religion, asking readers to explore the tangled web of buying, belonging and believing in today's world."-Diane Winston, Knight Chair in Media and Religion, University of Southern California Religion is infiltrating the arena of consumer culture in increasingly visible ways. We see it in myriad forms-in movies, such as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, on Internet shrines and kitschy Web "altars," and in the recent advertising campaign that attacked fuel-guzzling SUVs by posing the question: What would Jesus drive? In Religion, Media, and the Marketplace, scholars in history, media studies, and sociology explore this intersection of the secular and the sacred. Topics include how religious leaders negotiate between the competing aims of the mainstream and the devout in the commercial marketplace, how politics and religious beliefs combine to shape public policy initiatives, how the religious "other" is represented in the media, and how consumer products help define the practice of different faiths. At a time when religious fundamentalism in the United States and throughout the world is inseparable from political aims, this interdisciplinary look at the mutual influences between religion and the media is essential reading for scholars from a wide variety of disciplines. Lynn Schofield Clark is an assistant professor and the director of the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the University of Denver's School of Communication.

Inspiring accounts of how professional communicators are guided by faith.