Religion and mass media

Daniel A. Stout, Judith Mitchell Buddenbaum

How do religious audiences react to and use the mass media? Religion and Mass Media is an audience-centered examination of the way a variety of Christian traditions experience media news and entertainment in the context of institutional religious influences and expectations. Drawing on social science theories and empirical research methodologies, the contributors explore responses from Roman catholics, Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Mormons, and other religious communities. In the first part, contributors set the framework by describing recent theoretical developments in the sociology of religion and communication theory. Part II provides an overview of certain religious beliefs; Part III looks at audience behavior; Part IV describes specific case studies (including one on rap music); and Part V looks at the changing information environment and the future.