Media Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred

... surveys with intelligence the changing media landscape in relation to religion... Church Times For us researchers in the Nordic Region, the dimensions of this programme are the stuff of dreams. Its time to make more space on the bookshelf! Olav Hovdelien, Notater Om Religion Og Samfunn What the authors show - tellingly, and with great skill - is that there is a new story emerging. Religion is being reclaimed in the secular sphere and in public life. It is being wrestled out of the hands of religious leaders, and debated, commented upon and refracted in new ways that appeal to the wider public. Modern Believing 'Recommended.' Choice 'Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred, which examines the British media, is therefore a useful and welcome addition to the few such studies in Britain.' Communication Research Trends Media Portrayals is well presented account of some carefully conducted research. Readers may especially enjoy the chapter on media representations of Christianity in public life, which exposes the biases and agendas of the media outlets studied...a stimulating read for those interested in how religious beliefs of all sorts are represented within the media. Anvil

Kim Knott is Professor of Religious and Secular Studies at Lancaster University. She has published five academic books, including The Location of Religion: A Spatial Analysis and Diasporas: Concepts, Intersections, Identities, and a popular book and website, Moving People, Changing Places. Elizabeth Poole is Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Keele University. She is the author of Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Islam and co-editor of Muslims and the News Media. Teemu Taira is Research Fellow in Comparative Religion at the University of Turku, Finland. He has published articles (in English and Finnish) on religion, discourse and culture, including on the Finnish and British media.

Introduction; Chapter 1 Media, Religion and Society: Terrain and Debates; Chapter 2 Changing Media Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred; Chapter 3 Media Representations of Christianity in Public Life; Chapter 4 The Reporting of Islam and Other Religious Traditions; Chapter 5 Media Representations of Atheism and Secularism; Chapter 6 Popular Belief and Ritual Practice, and their Media Representations; Chapter 7 The Case of Geert Wilders, Multiculturalism and Identity; Chapter 8 Reclaiming Religion in Secular Public Life: The Media on the Papal Visit; conclusion Conclusion:Religion, Media and Society Revisited; appendix1 Appendix 1:Main Categories and Subcategories used in Coding References to Religion and the Secular Sacred in 20082009; appendix2 Appendix 2:Percentages of Newspaper References to Main Categories of Conventional Religion, Common Religion and the Secular Sacred, 1982 and 2008; appendix3 Appendix 3:Percentages of Television References to Main Categories of Conventional Religion, Common Religion and the Secular Sacred, 1982 and 2009;