Religion and Media 2007 Abstracts
Religion and Media Interest Group
Operation Lemonade: Opus Dei’s Public Relations Campaign in Response to the Da Vinci Code • Kirsten Biondich and Michael Mitrook, University of Florida • Through a textual analysis of campaign materials and broadcast media coverage, in addition to in-depth interviews with Opus Dei communications staff, this study works to examine whether Opus Dei’s communication efforts to portray “the real Opus Dei” were successful over the course of The Da Vinci Code crisis. In addition, this study hopes to provide an example to other religious and non-profit organizations on how to potentially combat rumors and establish beneficial relationships with media.
Subsidizing sacred cinema: A presumed media influence model of churchgoers’ enthusiasm for Gibson’s “Passion” • Ken Blake, Middle Tennessee State University and Robert O. Wyatt • Of the people who packed theaters in 2004 to see Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” most were already regular churchgoers. Using data from a Fall 2004 poll of a Southern state’s adult population, this study investigated the merits of explaining this phenomena using a presumed media influence model in which religious individuals chose to see the movie partly because they believed that the movie would promote religious faith and practice among others.
Adolescent Religiosity and Selective Exposure to Television • Piotr Bobkowski, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Relying on the Adolescents’ Media Practice Model (Steele & Brown, 1995), and selective exposure theory (Festinger, 1957; Klapper, 1960), this study investigates the hypothesis that religious adolescents watch less mature television programs than their less religious peers. Drawing on the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) Wave 2 survey data, results are based on responses from 1,317 16- to 18-year-olds.
Googling God: Religion and Internet Keyword Advertising • Brad Clark, Tom Dalton and Quint Randle, Brigham Young University • The Internet is increasingly important in people’s search for answers to religious and spiritual questions. Through a basic framework of social identity and realistic group conflict theory, this exploratory study presents a content analysis of the advertising and search keywords on Google associated with the most populous religious dominations in the USA.
From Back to the Future to Mean Girls: Religiosity in Popular Teen Movies from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s • Love Dawn, Jennifer Moore, Tom Robinson, Mark Callister and Quint Randle, Brigham Young University and Rebekah Paredes • Religion is often considered controversial and is thus generally avoided or treated in a superficial manner by the media, but studies have shown that recently the media have been increasingly willing to deal with this previously taboo topic. Also, studies show that religion is important to adults and teens in the U.S. and the overwhelming majority affiliate themselves with a religion and engage in religious practices.
Trademarks and Truths: The parallel processes of identity creation through product acquisition and religious appropriation • Mara Einstein, Queens College • The interaction between religion and marketing is less of a “culture war” than a cultural negotiation – a negotiation about meaning making and identity creation. In this paper I develop a theory of the parallel processes of religious conversion and product acceptance. I demonstrate the similarities in taking on religion and consumer products as part of personal identity using conversion career theory and the relationship marketing curve, which is based on the RM ladder.
In God We Trust: Religiosity as a predictor of perceptions of media trust, factuality and privacy invasion • Guy J Golan, Florida International University and Anita Day • The current study brought together two important areas of scholarship in mass communications: media credibility and religion and the media. While both areas have been widely investigated by scholars, there have not been many empirical investigations that examine the potential impact of religion on individual perceptions of media credibility.
God is Still Speaking, but Networks Aren’t Listening: United Church of Christ “Bouncer Ad” Controversy • Anthony Hatcher, Elon University • The UCC’s “Bouncer Ad” featured gays and minorities being turned away from church, and whites being allowed through a velvet rope. This and other United Church of Christ television ads have been rejected by the three major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – ostensibly for reasons such as violation of network policy concerning issue advocacy and religious advertising.
The Effects of a Gradual or Sudden Born-Again Conversion Experience on Religious Media Use • Barry Hollander, University of Georgia • The conversion experience is among the most studied concepts in the psychology of religion. National survey data is used to explore the role the sudden versus the gradual conversion experience may have on the use of religious mass media. Sudden converts differ significantly from gradual converts in a number of areas, although few differences are found in multivariate analyses on attitudes about the media or use of religious media.
Bridging the gaps virtually: Online interfaith dialogue and religious organizations • Ally Ostrowski, University of Colorado • Over one million religious congregations in the U.S. have established a presence in cyberspace and access to knowledge about other traditions has become much easier. With the diversity of religious traditions in the U.S., tolerance and understanding of different religious traditions is also more important than ever. This paper examines the presence of interfaith dialogue (IFD) resources online and ascertains why certain congregations and religiously oriented organizations use the internet to promote interreligious dialogue goals.
Evangelical Christians and the Media: A quantitative Analysis • Tayo Oyedeji; University of Missouri-Columbia • This study explores the similarities and differences between Evangelical Christians and three other distinct groups in society (Adherents of Other Religions (AOR), Non-Evangelical Christians (NEC), and Atheists/Agnostics) in four different areas—demographics/psychographics, media perceptions, media use, and media-related actions. The theoretical frameworks applied are the Hostile Media Effect and Interpretive Community. The “American Evangelicals” dataset was analyzed quantitatively and the implications of the results were discussed.
‘Goodness isn’t news’: The Sheldon Edition and the National Conversation Defining Journalism’s Responsibility to Society • Ronald Rodgers, University of Florida • This paper explores the national conversation in 1900 about press responsibility sparked by the Rev. Charles Sheldon’s week-long stint as editor of the Topeka Daily Capital. This conversation reveals the pulpit’s acknowledgment of its conferral of the role of agent of education and moral uplift to the press – the new arbiter of public opinion.
Not bishops but editors: The Gospel Advocate’s role in the 1906 Disciples of Christ schism • Jessica Smith, University of North Carolina • An American religious movement with autonomous congregations and no denominational authority faced divisive questions in the late nineteenth century. These Christians looked to religious newspapers for information and discussion of issues. One newspaper, the Gospel Advocate of Nashville, Tenn., supported Southern conservative voices within the movement and was a decisive influence when this conservative faction broke off from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and formed the Churches of Christ in 1906.
Correspondents and Correspondence from the “Axis of Evil”: Does Blogging Change News Framing of Religion? • Douglas Underwood, University of Washington/Dept. of Communication • A study of major western news outlets and blogging sites shows that – in the case of the letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to U.S. President George Bush – the well-documented tendency of American news correspondents to frame religious news in political terms and to miss the religious implications of a major political-diplomatic story held true for bloggers as well.
China’s Official Media Portrayal of Religion (1996-2005): Is a Significant Policy Change in an “Unsecularizing” Society Reflected • Qingjiang Yao, University of South Carolina, Daniel Stout, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Zhaoxi Liu • Previous studies implied the significant policy change toward religion in the “unsecularizing” Mainland China. Content analyzing religious coverage in the People’s Daily in ten years, this study found more positive tone toward religion after 2001 than that before late 2001. Number of articles about religion in the newspaper kept increasing. Underrepresentation of Christianity proposed by previous studies is not found, but certain religions and religions in certain areas were favored in tone over others.
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