The mediatization of religion: A theory of the media as agents of religious change

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical framework for the understanding of how media work as an agent of religious change. At the center of the theory is the concept of mediatization: religion is increasingly being subsumed to the logic of the media, both in terms of institutional regulation, symbolic content and individual practices. As a channel of communication the media have become the primary source of religious ideas, and as a language the media mould religious imagination in accordance with the genres of popular culture. Inspired by Michael Billig’s (1995) concept of “Banal Nationalism”, a concept of “banal religion” is developed to understand how media provide a constant backdrop of religious imagination in society. The media as a cultural environment have taken over many of the social functions of the institutionalized religions, providing both moral and spiritual guidance and a sense of community. As a consequence, institutionalized religion in modern, Western societies plays a less prominent role in the communication of religious beliefs, and instead the banal religious elements of the media move to the front stage of society’s religious imagination.