"The process of communication between individuals and institutions was central to the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948. Yet communication is often taken for granted, being understood as a tool to advance the organizational objectives of ecumenical organizations. Only on occasions h
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as the ecumenical movement in its organized expressions engaged in intentional reflection on the theological, societal and ecumenical challenges posed by communication." (Abstract)
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"The age-old Coptic balancing act of proving that they are patriotic Egyptians while retaining a strong attachment to their religious and cultural identity has become harder in the globalization era, when specific individuals and groups based on another continent can affect the domestic political en
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vironment. While it is important not to overestimate the power of the Coptic diaspora lobby, both in the host and homeland societies, it is clear that in the twenty-first century it is one further factor to consider when addressing communal relations in Egypt. Yet this use of technology has not been one-way. The Coptic Orthodox Church has used the same aspects of globalization in its aim to maintain its predominant position in Church-State relations in Egypt. Hence, both groups are using the new media to reach out to the other constituency in a contest that has the long-term potential not only to cause divisions within the Coptic community but also to further heighten tension between the Egyptian state, Muslim public and their Christian compatriots." (Conclusion, page 97)
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"The author makes a serious discernment of the values and the dangers of the media or the virtual world developing as a result of the communication revolution in the last decades. He pleads for an effort on the part of the church to enter the secular media so as to be within it a seed that bears fru
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its for the Kingdom of God and a new egalitarian society." (Abstract)
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"Martin Dreyer, der 1965 geborene Gründer der Jesus Freaks, startete 2004 das Volxbibel-Projekt, dessen sprachlicher Duktus im oben angeführten Zitat ironisch aufgegriffen wird. Anders als bei kommunikativen Übersetzungen der letzten fünfzig Jahre (bspw. Hoffnung für alle 3 oder Gute Nachricht
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4) ging es ihm nicht nur um einen zeitgemäßen und allgemeinverständlichen Sprachstil. Die Volxbibel sollte von Jugendlichen für Jugendliche ›übersetzt‹ werden, was durch ein Open-Source-Modell im Internet verwirklicht wurde. Seit der Jahrtausendwende entstanden neben dem Volxbibel-Projekt drei weitere Bibelprojekte, die eng mit dem Medium Internet verknüpft sind und im Folgenden kurz vorgestellt werden sollen. Kurz nachdem das Volxbibel-Projekt konkrete Formen annahm, wurde in der Deutschen Bibelgesellschaft der Entschluss gefasst, eine neue, moderne Bibelübersetzung in Angriff zu nehmen. Es handelt sich bei der BasisBibel um eine von ausgebildeten Theologen und Philologen vorgenommene Übersetzung, bei deren Erstellung die Bedingungen der neuen Medien besondere Berücksichtigung fanden – sei es in der Distribution, der multimedialen Präsentation oder der Interaktion mit Lesern [...] Das Phänomen der LOLCats (›laughing-out-loud-cat‹) lässt sich bis ins Jahr 2006 zurückverfolgen. In diversen Foren wurden Fotos von Katzen mit witzigen Sprüchen versehen, die meist in einem orthographisch und grammatikalisch fehlerhaften Englisch verfasst waren, dem sogenannten Kitty-Pidgin. Bereits 2007 konnte eine kommerziell betriebene Webseite mit LOLCat-Bildern Gewinne erzielen. Im Herbst desselben Jahres gründete der College-Student Martin Grondin ein Projekt, bei dem Internetnutzer aufgerufen sind, auf der wiki-ähnlich strukturierten Seite www.lolcatbible.com die King-James-Übersetzung in Kitty-Pidgin umzuformulieren [...] Ähnlich spielerisch war der Rekordversuch, den die Redaktion des Internetportals www.evangelisch.de zum Kirchentag 2009 startete. Registrierte Nutzer des Portals und Besucher des Kirchentags sollten innerhalb von zehn Tagen die komplette Luther-Übersetzung in 140 Zeichen lange Twitter-Beiträge umformulieren. Das Ergebnis wurde im selben Jahr unter dem Titel … Und Gott chillte veröffentlicht, kann aber auch weiterhin im Internet eingesehen und kommentiert werden." (Seite 137-138)
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"The paper analyses the relation between media and the Eastern Orthodox religion - the dominant religion in Romania. We will examine three contexts: (1) the existing sociological theories on religion and their relevance for understanding the Orthodox world today, (2) the religious media and (3) the
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secular media in Romania. The paper argues that the relationship between media and religion in the Eastern Orthodox world is difficult to explain using the nowadays theoretical framework of the sociology of religion. Therefore, we choose to use the „religious publicization" hypothesis in our attempt to explain the increasing use of religious symbols and themes, in the Romanian public sphere." (Abstract)
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"This article addresses several fundamental questions about faith-based media literacy education in the United States, including how the assumptions, motivations, goals, and pedagogy of those Christians who are operating within a media literacy framework come together to create a unique approach to
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teaching media literacy. After briefly reviewing Christian engagement with media, as well as the history of faith-based media literacy education in this country, this paper examines the philosophical and theoretical assumptions of scholars and practitioners, identifies practical applications, and concludes by suggesting some ways in which this sub-field might develop in the years to come." (Abstract)
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"As primeiras cópias da Bíblia Sagrada chegaram ao Brasil no início do século XIX. Os missionários protestantes estabelecidos posteriormente somente implementaram a sua distribuição. Mas, até o final da Segunda Guerra Mundial, as bíblias eram impressas no exterior e sua distribuição depen
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dia dos esforços da Sociedade Bíblica Britânica Estrangeira ou da Sociedade Bíblica Americana. A Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil (SBB) foi fundada em 1948 após a junção das sociedades estrangeiras que operaram no País por mais de 100 anos. Porém, o boom de publicação de bíblias se deu após 1995, com o estabelecimento da “Gráfica da Bíblia”. Desde então, a SBB imprimiu 100 milhões de exemplares, os quais foram distribuídos no Brasil, em países de fala portuguesa, e exportados para outros 105 países. Nesse período, o mercado de bíblias se tornou crescentemente competitivo e diversificado. As editoras especializadas em bíblias passaram a usar as ferramentas do marketing no tratamento de seu principal e único produto - a Bíblia - submetendo-o às leis do mercado e as necessidades e demandas dos seus consumidores." (Resumo)
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"Erstmals bietet dieser Quellenband eine vergleichende Auswahl von Texten zur Christentumsgeschichte Asiens, Afrikas und Lateinamerikas von 1450 bis 1990. Damit wird das klassische Spektrum kirchengeschichtlicher Forschung um die globale Perspektive erweitert, die international immer stärker an Bed
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eutung gewinnt." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Churches in Africa began using tools of social communication from the very beginning of the evangelisation process and, in so doing, helped introduce the Western press model on the African continent. Later on, cinema, radio, and, more recently, television channels and the Internet have been used as
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a means of communication and propaganda by diversified religious groups. Among these tools, denominational radio is currently undergoing unprecedented development. The article focuses on the diversity of these radio broadcasters, the legal framework, the way they operate and their content. It underlines the role played by some of them in development and civil society issues, and sometimes in political debate, far beyond questions strictly related to religious concerns." (Abstract)
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"The case study of Station ELWA [ = Eternal Love Wins Africa] from 1954 to 1970 exemplifies how conservative evangelical radio missions operated worldwide during the postwar period. Radio missionaries with Station ELWA demonstrated a capacity for creativity in communication, forming part of an histo
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ric pattern among American evangelicals that dates back to the Great Awakening." (Conclusion)
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"The article deals with two recent Iranian films, al-Masih (Teh Messiah) by Nader Talebzadeh and Maryam al-Muqaddasah (Holy Mary) by Shahriar Bahrani. Both movies are about religious characters shared by Islam and Christianity: Zechariah, Mary and Jesus. The article explores the way the filmmakers h
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ave made use of both Islamic and non-Islamic sources to tell their story, and it analyses the stylistic and narrative means they have employed. Are these films contributing to the mutual religious understanding of Christians and Muslims? If so, how? And if not, why not?" (Abstract)
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"Twenty years after the fall of communism in Romania, there are two main pilgrimages that dominate the Orthodox religious environment: the pilgrimage to Saint Parascheva of Iasi and the pilgrimage to Saint Dumitru cel Nou, Basarabov in Bucharest. These two pilgrimages are practiced in old sacred cen
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tres with a long tradition and with their own unique identity. The objective of this article is focused on how the mass mass media understands and relates to the religious phenomenon and the way that journalists depict the image of the pilgrimages in the published articles. The study investigates the articles published in newspapers during the period 1990-2010 and frames the information according to the existing interest areas." (Abstract)
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