Pushing boundaries and blurring categories in digital media and religion research

As religious identity and spiritual practices transform and expand in the digital media moment, this article advocates for more critical scholarship on media and religion that examines the complex ways that individuals make meaning in the digital age. First, I present an overview of foundational media and religion theories that analyze the interactions between these ever‐changing fields, such as the culturalist tradition, mediatization theory, and the social shaping of technology approach. Furthermore, this essay highlights insightful research trends that blur distinctions between media spaces and complicate definitions of religion. Finally, a discussion of gaps in the scholarship will justify an argument for more theories centered in international contexts, as well as analysis of the relationships between media technologies, aesthetics, affect, identity and religious expression. These emerging approaches provide more in‐depth discussions of how the fast‐changing and ever‐complex digital culture is deeply connected to the evolving nature of religion and human existence.     

Religion in the Television-mediated Public Sphere Transformations and paradoxes

This study suggests to look at the audiences of religious television programmes as a possible common field of interest for both the sociology of religion and communication research. The current visibility of religion on Italian television, amplified by the Jubilee 2000 and confirmed by the repeated successes of fictions dedicated to religious characters, put unusual questions to sociological theory. We argue here that such visibility must be interpreted within the ‘process of de-secularization’, i.e. one of the many processes which are currently de-constructing modernity and confusing the distinction between the public and the private sphere. The ‘mediated’ religion is the result of the ambiguous rediscovery of religion in the post-modern society. From this point of view, the Jubilee 2000 appears as a media event typical of the global media society, in that religion is spread throughout the world but within the limits of media (and especially television) formats.     

Requisite conditions for the formation and viability of a counter‐cultural community

Many scholars have noted that religion is essential for a counter‐culture or utopian community to survive. It has also frequently been maintained that any religion will do, that the content of the religion is inconsequential. This article focuses on the formation and viability of alternative societies and concludes that either harsh circumstances or a particular religious orientation is necessary. Three social conditions and four characteristics of the religious world‐view are specified as being necessary for the formation of an “intentional counter‐culture community.” Each of the predisposing structural factors and each of the characteristics of the world view must be present for the formation and viability of this type of alternative culture. In the “circumstantial counter‐culture community,” religion is much less important; oppressive conditions serve as a functional alternative to the specific religious outlook.     

How scientists and engineers use cultural resources to make controversies and selves meaningful

In this essay, I provide an overview of recent sociological studies of science, technology, religion, and spirituality; the ways they contribute to sociological theorizing; and make some recommendations for future research. There are two major themes in these studies. One of them analyzes religious and spiritual discourse as controversy practice, suggesting how religion and spirituality are used as cultural discourses to understand controversy, who the actors are or should be, how to act in a controversy, and how popular discourses inform, and are informed by, science and technology discourses. This theme contributes to theorizing by describing how forms of cultural talk organize understandings of controversies, interactions, and action. The second theme explores scientific and religious identities, and how they are made compatible with each other. This theme points sociological theory toward considering science and religion relations as intertextual relations.     

“A Community of Communities”– Catholic Communitarianism and Societal Crises in Ireland, 1890s–1950s1

Abstract This article argues that discourse on community as a socio‐political problem needs to be located within historical, institutional, and socio‐structural contexts if it is to be properly understood. In particular, it suggests that the role of religion in promoting forms of communitarian discourse and practice needs to be given greater attention than it has hitherto received within the social sciences. The article pursues this argument through examination of the religious discourse on community cultivated and promoted by the Catholic Church in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By providing an analysis of its role in Catholic responses to three major socio‐political crises in Ireland between the 1890s and 1960s, the paper suggests that not only does socio‐religious discourse on community constitute a powerful alternative to secular social‐scientific discourses, but that such discourse is particularly effective in helping to constitute specific groups as communities, given favourable sociological conditions.     

A New Approach to Religious Commitment

Abstract

The authors propose a new framework for studying religious commitment. Commitment is viewed as a general social process which occurs in various aspects of life (e.g., marriage, work, politics, and religion). It consists of subjective and behavioral components. Religious commitment is defined as the interaction between people's religious consciousness and religious participation. Other religious beliefs, feelings, and intellectual inclinations are considered to be parts of people's religious orientations, not aspects of commitment as other approaches have suggested. Data from members of six Christian denominations are used to explore this conceptualization and the relationships among these variables. Some determinants and consequences of commitment also are considered. The evidence yields several propositions regarding factors that affect commitment and the effects of religion on people's attitudes and behaviors. The paper's implications for future research on religious commitment in particular and commitment in general also are discussed.     

“Get to Know the Unknown”: Understanding Religion and Advertising

The relationship between religion and advertising has mostly been theorized in terms of “religion in advertising” or “advertising as religion.” This article pursues two goals: First, it offers a substantial critique of previous studies of advertising and religion in order to take stock and discern future directions of research. Second, it presents the results of an empirical qualitative study of print advertisements which responds to some of the open questions of previous research. It shows that advertising partially fulfills religious functions, focusing on those to do with self-actualization and meaning making within an immanent horizon, and less so on community-related functions. Based on these results, I argue that in the study of religion and advertising, “religion” cannot be limited to specific religious traditions, but has to be understood more broadly. Also, the conventional distinction between “religion in advertising” and “advertising as religion” has to be overcome in order to understand the phenomenon.     

Secularisation is an ecclesiastical regime of truth not a sociological event: a practical definition of religion re-visited

In a previous article, in this Journal (2011, 21.1) Steve Bruce put forward a practical definition of religion which he held out as offering considerable explanatory scope: religion consists of beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose. This article proposes that this definition holds dramatic explanatory scope that has yet to be realised by sociology. The element ‘moral purpose’ in that definition represents a not clearly acknowledged, but nevertheless substantial, agreement amongst sociologists that religion is a life-meaning-making enterprise defined by the imposition of moral order on a universe that is incomprehensible and indifferent to human existence. The full implication of that definition is the reversal of the conventional perspective on secularisation. If the placement of life within a meaningful sense of existence is the domain of religion, it follows that today's secular placing is just as much a religious enterprise of world building. The use of supernatural entities is only one method to anchor that placement: they are a dispensable adjunct to religion. The Gods are representatives of the truly sacred fact, which stands independent of them, that human existence has to make meaning for itself. To treat the supernatural entities as essential to the definition of religion is to adopt an ecclesiastical conceit from which a sociological perspective needs to free itself. The way forward for sociology is to deconstruct the present regime of truth through the recovery of the secular religion that comprises today's life-meaning-making enterprise. The article falls into two parts. The first identifies elements of consensus among sociological theorists that religion is defined by life-meaning-making and seeks to reinforce that consensus with a range of working examples that illustrate different ways in which religious life-meaning is constructed. The second part develops theory and a selection of research avenues in the new task to characterise today's secular religion.     

Religion News in Israel

In this study I examine the coverage of religion in the Israeli media. An analysis of religious content in newspapers, radio, and television over a 2-month period found that religion received relatively high coverage over other categories of news. However, when broken down by religion, the coverage was found to be limited almost entirely to the Jewish faith and to the Orthodox streams of Jewry. Religion news in the secular media was mostly limited to a handful of themes, notably religious political parties, religious public personalities, and rabbis. The centrality of secular–religious relations in the Israeli public arena resulted in the subject often being addressed in the media, particularly in discussive program formats in the electronic media. The heavy focus in religious content on the Orthodox communities, particularly the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community, produced a negative stereotype of the Orthodox, widening yet further the secular–religious divide.     

DEREGULATING RELIGION: THE ECONOMICS OF CHURCH AND STATE

Traditional religious research fails to recognize religion as a market phenomenon. It especially overlooks supply-side factors that shape the incentives and opportunities of religious firms, emphasizing instead demand-side shifts in the perceptions, tastes, and needs of consumers. This paper reviews the effects of government actions that alter religious supply. Our examples demonstrate that simple deregulation lies at the root of major religious trends and that the vitality of a religious market depends critically upon its competitiveness.     

Communicating mixed messages about religion through internet memes

This article investigates the dominant messages Internet memes communicate about religion. Internet memes about religion are defined as, ‘memes circulated on the Internet whose images and texts focus on a variety of religious themes and/or religious traditions’ (Bellar et al., 2013). By drawing on meme genres identified by Shifman (2012) and analyzing techniques used to frame ideas concerning religion in memes, this study identifies common genres found amongst religious Internet meme and core frames used to present messages and assumptions about religion online. This article further draws attention to the importance of studying religion in digital contexts, as it highlights trends, recognized by scholars toward ‘Lived Religion’ within digital culture (Campbell, 2012). Lived Religion argues that contemporary media and digital culture provide important resources for presenting popular beliefs about religion. This study also suggests that studying Internet memes about religion provides a useful lens for understanding popular conceptions about religion within mainstream culture.     

Navigating religious diversity: exploring young people’s lived religious citizenship in Indonesia

Against the backdrop of several concerning reports which have noted growing socio-religious conservatism and intolerance amongst Indonesia youth, this study examined how school-aged Indonesian young people navigate encounters with religious difference in their everyday lives. Recognising the significance of religious and citizenship education curricula, the research included classroom observations and interviews with 20 religiously-diverse Indonesian young people in three purposively selected high schools in Jakarta. The paper reveals that participants in all three schools agreed that religious studies and their personal religious frameworks were central to their approaches toward religious tolerance. However, their lived everyday experiences of rubbing shoulders with religious ‘others’, expanded upon and critiqued the narrowness and rigidity of these frameworks and showed greater religious inclusivity. Through this analysis the paper integrates prior work on ‘lived religion’ and ‘lived citizenship’ to fuse a ‘lived religious citizenship’ concept, arguing that this adds depth to both fields by recognising that religion cannot be separated from the experience of being a citizen. A focus on lived religious citizenship provides a deeper account of individual identity and highlights the importance of qualitative studies focused on the living out of religion and citizenship.     

Religion and progressive politics in the United States

In recent decades, scholars interested in the role of religion in American public life have largely focused on the Christian Right or the role of religion in civic life. Compared to these extensive literatures, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of religion in liberal/progressive politics. Progressive religious voices are more widespread and more racially, socioeconomically, and religiously diverse than is typically recognized. Moreover, while these actors seek influence within the most visible political realms of elections and policymaking, they also focus on shaping the cultural identities, narratives, and discourses that undergird democratic life. This article offers a framework through which to conceptualize the progressive religious field of action and reviews the growing body of research on the individuals and organizations that comprise this field. It begins by examining the prevalence of progressive religious views and activities among the general public; reviews research on three different types of progressive religious political organizations (social movements, national advocacy organizations, and faith‐based community organizations) as well as religious congregations' efforts to spur members to progressive political consciousness and mobilization; and evaluates the place of progressive religion in American political culture. Finally, it points to fruitful areas for future research.     

Religion,spirituality & chronic illness: A scoping review and implications for health care practitioners

ABSTRACT

While the influence of institutional religion has decreased over the last 40–50 years, research suggests that a substantial proportion of those not attending religious services continue to engage in religious and spiritual practices on their own and refer to religion as a very important aspect in their lives, and as linked to more positive health outcomes, particularly for those living with chronic conditions. This article provides a scoping review to not only highlight the research that views religion and spirituality as valuable tools for coping with chronic illness conditions, but also to highlight research that explores those who may experience some religious/spiritual doubts or a gradual loss of religiosity or spirituality with the diagnosis of chronic conditions. Regardless of a clinician’s beliefs, the authors argue that some awareness training of the value of religion and spirituality for some patients, can be beneficial. In a society facing an increasing plurality of faiths, this is deemed to be an invaluable discussion. In the end, clinical implications will be discussed.     

Religious Identity and Family Ideologies in the Transition to Adulthood

This article examines how religion shapes family ideologies in young adulthood. Using the 31‐year Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children (N= 909), we find relationships between mother’s religious characteristics when her child was born and the child’s own family ideologies in young adulthood. Further, multiple dimensions of young adults’ religious identities are independently related to their family ideologies, suggesting unique influences of both religious service attendance and the importance of religion. Our results vary across time and family ideologies in interesting patterns, but relationships between religion and attitudes are remarkably consistent. From early in life, mothers’ and children’s religious characteristics shape family ideologies in ways likely to help explain relationships found between religion and family behaviors.     

Digital media,ageing and faith: Older Sri Lankan migrants in Australia and their digital articulations of transnational religion

To date, older adults have received little attention in the newly emerging technological narratives of transnational religion. This is surprising, given the strong association of later life with spiritual and religious engagement, but it likely reflects the ongoing assumption that older adults are technophobic or technologically incompetent. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with older Sinhalese Buddhist migrants from Sri Lanka, living in Melbourne, this paper explores the digital articulations of transnational religion that arise from older migrants’ uses of digital media. We focus on how engagements with digital media enable older Sinhalese to respond to an urgent need to accumulate merit in later life, facilitating their temporal strategies for ageing as migrants. We argue that these digital articulations transform both the religious imaginary and the religious practices that validate and legitimize a life well-lived.     

Review of J. Hoberman and Jeffrey Shandler's Entertaining America: Jews,Movies, and Broadcasting

The impact of increasing religious diversity in U.S. society has taken on added significance in recent years. This study, the first broad-based examination of religion and public relations, explores the nature of religion in the United States, its role in local community relations, and its public relations dimensions. Phone and e-mail interviews, textual analysis of institutional media, and field observations were used to obtain data on religious diversity, place-of-worship activities, and public relations practices. The nature of the communication between select religious institutions and their publics, through different media channels, is also explored. Two case studies that are representative and illustrative are included. From a communication perspective, it is suggested that a key to fostering interreligious dialogue and civil discourse on religion may lie in expanding traditional definitions of diversity to include religion and moving beyond expertise and contractual models of public relations toward a model that is covenantal in nature.     

The Varieties of Religious Significance: An Idiographic Approach to Study Religion's Role in Adolescent Development

We present a rationale and method for taking an idiographic approach to study the role religion plays in adolescent development. We theorize that adolescents harness qualitatively different aspects of religion to address idiosyncratic developmental needs. Therefore, analyzing religion's role in adolescent development necessitates a case‐by‐case holistic analysis. We introduce a systematic method using narratives to identify the personal ways that individuals attribute meaning in general and regarding religion in particular. We present three detailed case studies from a sample of 20 religious Israeli Jewish Orthodox emerging‐adult women who provided retrospective narrative accounts of their general and religious development through adolescence. Systematic analysis reveals that religion was significant to these women in diverse and personal ways, addressing markedly different adolescent developmental needs.     

Religion as a Chronically Accessible Construct

Recent studies have examined religion in the context of a chronically accessible construct, one that colors how people attend to and recall information. A national survey is used to test whether religiosity and sharing the religious affiliation with a candidate is associated with more accuracy about that candidate's religion. In addition, the role of attention to the news media is examined in combination with religion. Although attention to the news is associated with more knowledge, it does not interact with religion. Overall religious variables are moderately associated with more accuracy about religion questions than nonreligion questions about political candidates.