Mediatisation of religion: A critical appraisal

Abstract

Media as a context for shaping religion in modern society has generally been overlooked in the mainstream sociology of religion. This article discusses the relevance of the thesis of a mediatisation of religion presented by Stig Hjarvard for studying religious transformation in a modern, Western society. Though the theory contributes to sociology of religion through its focus on how the characteristics of modern mass media relate to the processes of secularisation, the narrow approach to religion and to the interplay between modernisation and religion in the thesis so far limits its validity. This article suggests two starting points for the development of a theory to better grasp the implications of mediatisation of religion in the contemporary world; first, an understanding of religion that better acknowledges the complexities of modern religion and second, an understanding of mediatisation that also acknowledges the agency of religious actors to take part in the shaping of media as well as modern society.

Keywords:

• mediatisation
• secularisation
• modernisation
• mediation

Notes

1. As the theory of mediatisation involves several areas such as politics, law and the formation of social character, I will in this article refer to Stig Hjarvard's application of the theory to religion as the thesis of the mediatisation of religion.