Week 2 - On the Mediatization of Religion

Religion is more often being thrown into the media spotlight, and not just in light of a new Pope or turmoil in the Middle East. It is the mediatization of religion and ritual that is being seen. Meyer talks about this in terms of the aesthetics that mediums provide to religious projection in Religious Sensation Media, Aesthetics, and the Study of Contemporary Religion (2012). Meyer (2012) distinguishes a new meaning for the word 'sensation' [that of feeling something] in a religious context. The new 'sensation' is about the creation of an excited feeling towards something, in this case religious rituals, and it is the media which help to permeate these 'sensations' (Meyer 2012,160). This can be seen in the form of not only religious news, but in the rituals that are now televised, like Hillsong on a Sunday morning. In this way the media and the denominations that use this media are appealing to a wider and younger audience through television. It is not only providing a platform for religions to expand their horizons but as Meyer put it, the sensational forms of religion "make it possible to sense the transcendental" (Meyer 2012, 160). 

Hillsong United Conference: http://wallpaper4god.com/wallpapers/hillsong-united-show_60_1280x960.jpg

Hjarvard, on the other hand, shows a different perspective on media and the religion by coining the term 'banal' religion. Traditionally, banal means lacking originality or boring (Banal 2013). He uses this banal from Billig's definition of 'banal nationalism' which describes the use of mundane items as national symbols. In the same way, Hjarvard pronounces that the banal elements of religion, like superstitions about death, can be much more enlightening because they allow the use of the imagination whereas traditional religious texts are the hard facts (Hjarvard 2006, 15). Some of these banal elements can also be considered in terms of 're-enchanting' post modern religion. Influenced by Weber, it is clear that new religious movements provide a way of 'finding' oneself in a meaningful way in an increasingly busy and lonely world. These new religious movements do this through the media. Hjarvard says that the media add a magical element to current religious states (Hjarvard 2006, 16).

Considering both of these perspectives, it is evident that the media play a crucial role in promoting and engaging with religion in the world today. The media don't care about the institutions they are writing about, but they do care about the people they are writing to. Hence, the media will increasingly be used to convey the 'religious imagination' of religions in order to appeal to the masses. 


References:

Meyer B. 2012. Religious Sensation Media, Aesthetics, and the Study of Contemporary Religion. In G. Lynch and J. Mitchell with A Strhan Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. London and New York: Roultledge. (159-170). 

Banal. Retrieved March 15, 2013. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/banal?s=t 

Hjarvard S. 2006. The Mediatization of Religion. Northern Lights Volume 6. Intellect Ltd.