Not that long ago, it was easy for journalists and editors to ignore religion. But the same trends and events that have brought renewed interest in the sociology of religion have driven media interest as well. The attacks of 11 September 2001, sometimes framed as a ‘media event’, made it clear that religion matters and religion makes good copy. We will discuss what makes religion both problematic and important for news coverage, assessing the frequent association of religion and violence. We will examine scholarship on how various religious traditions are covered in the news, paying particular attention to Islam and Christianity but encompassing all traditions, as well as more challenging concepts such as militant atheism and the so-called secular sacred. Students will evaluate this coverage themselves, critiquing news about religion. As we conclude the course, we will discuss the quality of religious literacy among journalists and what kinds of journalistic processes contribute to the coverage of religion in the news, at the same time asking whether and in what ways religious practitioners can be media literate.

On completion of the module a student will be able to:

• recognise religion as a social phenomenon and as a subject of news coverage
• discuss religion in relation to politics, culture, and ethnicity
• articulate news values and recognise their problematic quality
• identify religious themes in news texts and critically evaluate their representation
• distinguish between religious traditions as well as “religious-like” concepts such as civic religion and the secular sacred
• incorporate the process of news production and the subjectivity of journalists into their critique of journalism
• articulate a working understanding of religious literacy and media literacy

This module combines lectures and seminars.

Academic skills

• You will appreciate the diversity of sources that inform and shape contemporary issues (e.g. academic research, social and print media)
• An ability to observe, record, interpret, and present information to a range of audiences
• An ability to present academic work to peers, both formally and informally

Subject-specific skills

• You will have developed skills of critical judgement and evaluation relating to religious issues in public life
• An appreciation of the way in which religious issues intersect with legal, economic, political, or social questions

• An ability to critically read scholarly texts and news texts, such as articles and broadcast items
• An appreciation of the value of regular news consumption and evaluation

Employability skills

• Effective communication both orally and in writing
• An ability to appreciate the diverse perspectives that can surround an issue or standpoint
• An ability to articulate, critique, and defend arguments in a group setting

Assessment will be both formative and summative.

Lectures

Definitions – What Is the News, and What Is Religion?

Secularisation and Sacralisation – God is Dead and Back Again

What Brought God Back, or Journalism after September 11

Islam: The Exceptional Case

Christianity: The Default Assumption

Other Traditions: Also-Rans and As-They-Comes

And No Religion, Too: Atheism, Civil Religion, and the Secular Sacred

Covering Religious Violence

What Do Journalists Think? Looking at the Producers, not the Product

Religious Literacy, Media Literacy, and Conclusions/Review

Seminars

Seminars present an opportunity to take up questions more informally and discuss ideas between students. Each seminar will also begin with a short news quiz, inviting students to spot how religion makes the news in an ongoing capacity, as well as encouraging regular habits of news consumption.

Indicative Reading List:

Kim Knott, Elizabeth Poole, and Teemu Taira. Media Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred: Representation and Change, Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2013

Jolyon Mitchell and Owen Gower, eds. Religion and the News. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2012

Gordon Lynch, Jolyon Mitchell, and Anna Strhan, eds. Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2012

Paul Baker, Costas Gabrielatos, and Tom McEnery, Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes: The Representation of Islam in the British Press. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Barbie Zelizer and Stuart Allan, eds. Journalism after September 11. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Stewart Hoover. Religion in the Media Age, Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2006.

Gaye Tuchman. Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: The Free Press, 1978.

Daniel A. Stout. Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media. New York: Routledge, 2006.