Media plays a central role in the lives of religious individuals, institutions and movements, and public media has become a key site for religious debates and conflicts. Understanding how we might study the role and significance of media is therefore an important task for research on religion, and opens up the possibility of approaches which break down artificial distinctions between religion and media (i.e. theories of religious mediation).

Discussion paper

Key reading

Arthur Asa Berger (2011) Media and Communication Research Methods: An Introduction to Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. 2nd edition. London: Sage.

This major textbook for media research covers a range of widely used methods including content analysis, surveys, historical analysis, different methods of textual analysis and participant observation.

(ed.) David Morgan (2008) Keywords in Religion, Media and Culture. London: Routledge.

(eds.) Gordon Lynch, Jolyon Mitchell and Anna Strhan (2012) Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. London: Routledge.

These two books provide a good overview of key concepts informing the question and design of studies in media and religion.

Note: there is also a range of more specialised literature on conducting research on the internet and other new media. The current pace of technological change is such that whilst some key texts in this area remain useful, they also struggle to keep up with the emerging technologies and uses of such digital media. To keep in touch with current developments in this area, use the links in the online resources section of this page.

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A PDF version of this bibliography can also be downloaded.

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Discussion questions

• Are all forms of religion and the sacred mediated? What are the implications of this for the ways in which religious life and practice might be studied?
• Why might it be important to think about the significance of media in relation to your particular area of research interest?
• In what ways might the nature of contemporary media change or affect religion in particular ways? To what extent is this wholly new, or does it reflect patterns of relationship between religion and media in other historical contexts?

Further online resources