News coverage of Christian churches and other religious bodies dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of newspapers in German and English

Abstract This paper analyses how selected representatives of the German- and English-language opinion-based press have portrayed the role of Christian churches and other religious bodies in dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic through examining the use of quantitative and qualitative content, framing, and natural and cultural commonplaces. The results show that secular press publications present an image of Christian churches and other religious authorities as institutions collaborating with state authorities in combating the coronavirus pandemic. There is, however, a noted lack of press attention regarding the involvement of religious bodies in combating the pandemic effects through charity, solidarity, and even worship, however, limited or modified. These findings concern issues that are vital for the image analysis of religious bodies, since the results of press analysis can be used to assess the impact of a crisis situation on the image of Christian churches in the media as well as the relationship between political leaders and church leaders.