Mediatizing Secular State: Media, Religion and Politics in Contemporary Poland
Bern: Peter Lang (2019), 329 pp.
Series: Studies in Communication and Politics, 8
ISBN 978-3-631-77535-6 (print); 978-3-631-77866-1 (pdf)
"The book provides an empirically based analysis of changes on how various political and denominational actors seek to influence the Church and state relationship, as well as how we understand the idea of the secular state. A set of case studies shows how and why changes in the coverage of the secular state and Church-state relations have followed the dynamics of media logic. By establishing a grounded theory based on media content, legal regulations and political party programs in the years 1989–2015 as well as a current survey, the author throws new light on the theory of mediatization. The book demonstrates that the disseminated idea of the secular state is largely a result of the adaptation of both political and religious representatives to a dynamically changing media logic." (Publisher description)
PART I
1 State secularity in context, 31
2 The notion of mediatization, 55
3 Mediatization of religion and politics, 83
PART II
4 Methodological background, 107
5 Covering the secular and Church-state relationship, 123
6 On the way to the secular state, 167
7 In search of the mediatization effect, 215
Conclusion: Church-state issues seen through the prism of the mediatization theory, 245
1 State secularity in context, 31
2 The notion of mediatization, 55
3 Mediatization of religion and politics, 83
PART II
4 Methodological background, 107
5 Covering the secular and Church-state relationship, 123
6 On the way to the secular state, 167
7 In search of the mediatization effect, 215
Conclusion: Church-state issues seen through the prism of the mediatization theory, 245