Mediated religionacross time and space. A case study of Norwegian newspapers

Abstract

In this article, data on coverage of religion in secular newspaper is seen in relation to the theory of mediatization of religion as presented by Stig Hjarvard (2008b, 2011). He describes mediatization in general as a process through which core elements of a social or cultural activity assume media form. The suitability of Hjarvard's hypotheses on religion is discussed with the use of indices on mediatization across time as well as across space. Each index is applied to data from a study of Norwegian newspapers in the NOREL programme on religion in the public sphere. The exercise shows that we need to be distinct in both analysis and theoretical claims about changes in the public presence of religion. The article concludes that a dialogue between media studies and sociology of religion can be fruitful in order to further understand the presence of religion in the public sphere.