"The contemporary emphasis on written or academic theology obscures the long history in which people sought to understand and express their faith by way of various outlets and formats. Because historical Christianity has embraced every communication medium, the media ecology approach to communicatio
...
n study offers a powerful tool to examine that history and the affordances of the media for theological expression. Just so, the history of theology offers a variety of test cases to illustrate media ecology at work. In A Media Ecology of Theology Paul Soukup invites us to explore the interaction between communication media, broadly defined, and the Christian theological heritage. Soukup follows a media ecology methodology, moving from a description of a communication medium to an examination of its affordances to a discussion of how those affordances shape the faith-seeking-understanding practiced in each. He shows that, in some cases, different media support different theological conclusions, and different theological stances shape media. The case studies range from the first to the twenty-first centuries, with a limitation imposed by selection, language, and culture." (Publisher description)
more
"Este livro é uma introdução a alguns dos principais temas, conceitos e ideias para estudar as relações entre mídia e religião na sociedade contemporânea. O objetivo, mais do que discutir as teorias, é apresentar um panorama do que vem sendo pensado a respeito, mostrando, a partir de exempl
...
os, situações cotidianas e estudos de caso, como as relações entre mídia e religião se enquadram em questões políticas, históricas e sociais. Os pontos de vista teóricos apresentados são diferentes, às vezes até mesmo opostos: essa variedade é um convite ao diálogo entre as teorias, pensando que o conhecimento pode ter vários caminhos. Embora seja muitas vezes uma questão de fé individual, a religião é vivida em público – e isso a torna um tema para as Ciências Sociais, particularmente, para a Comunicação. O modo como a pessoa religiosa se veste, fala, vive com os outros, escolhe seus relacionamentos afetivos ou mesmo profissionais está, em alguma medida, ligado às suas crenças. Portanto, a religião neste livro é entendida como uma prática social, algo que acontece na relação entre as pessoas. E, fechando o foco, o estudo está nas práticas sociais religiosas ligadas à mídia e à comunicação." (Palavras iniciais, página 9)
more
"The list of critical terms selected and explicated in this book will signal many things to readers. It will certainly indicate that the study of media and religion is broadly interdisciplinary. Before the 1980s, the field, if it even was one, was largely the domain of historians of Christianity, Ch
...
ristian communicators, and seminary professors, geared toward the improvement of church communication policy and practice, education, evangelism, and preaching. Matters have changed since then. Though religious organizations scholarship has explored the subject. Anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, visual and material culture, film studies, and religious studies are among the next generation of disciplines drawn to the study of media and religion. The new paradigm that this book articulates has described itself under a triad of terms: religion, media, and culture. What the third term means will be considered in detail in the Introduction here and in several of the Key Word essays. For the time being, it is important to say that the religion, media, and culture approach is not limited to the tendency to focus on journalism and communication policy, which is the legacy of the older practice. The aim here is not to dismiss or ignore them but to expand the remit and to change some key assumptions about what “religion” and “media” are in academic study. The difference turns on the third term, culture. The dominant approach taken here is constructivist in nature." (Preface, page xii-xiii)
more
"This essay provides an overview of mediated religion in Brazil, focusing on people’s responses to the 'Life Network' (Rede Vida) in Porto Alegre. In addition to a general overview, a case study offers a glimpse into how countries and cultures outside of the U.S. experience the interaction of comm
...
unication and religious practices. Based on dissertation research (Sierra Gutiérrez, 2006), the text falls into six parts: the first part reviews past research in North and South America; the second explicates the context and the general problem encountered in this kind of study; the third part lists the central questions and objectives. Part 4 reviews the theoretical implications of mediated religion while Part 5 reviews methodology for studying the topic. Finally, the last section specifies some conclusions based on the investigation and some more general observations about televised religion and the post-modern challenge it presents." (Page 3)
more
"Em 2007, a Pastoral da Comunicação comemora 50 anos de atividades. Uma de suas maiores dificuldades é realizar uma comunicação eficiente com o povo, atendendo aos apelos de organização e planejamento por parte da Igreja. Para responder às necessidades de um trabalho sério de comunicação
...
que, além de formar o Povo de Deus, construa a civilização do amor, Joana T. Puntel e Helena Corazza uniram-se e, em retrospectiva, perceberam que muitas foram as iniciativas, mas também grande foi o descuido nessa área. Elaboraram, então, este subsídio, que lança o desafio de repensar a importância da Pastoral da Comunicação nas dioceses, paróquias e comunidades e de examinar a forma usada para a comunicação com a sociedade, levando em consideração aquilo que conceberam como o cerne da questão: uma plataforma na qual aconteça o diálogo entre fé e cultura. Na primeira parte, as autoras abordam a passagem conceitual que se faz necessária neste momento a respeito da comunicação, bem como a superação de expressões cristalizadas na Igreja. A seguir, apresentam um quadro geral sobre a insistência progressiva da Igreja para a formação à comunicação e propõem sugestões de planejamento estratégico para o desenvolvimento da Pascom. Finalizam o trabalho oferecendo elementos para a espiritualidade do agente de pastoral, bem como orações sobre a comunicação e os comunicadores." (Descrição da editora de livros)
more
"This volume breaks down disciplinary walls in numerous ways. First, it combines information about the intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and societal levels of communication into a single resource. At the intrapersonal level, new issues are raised about communication between individuals and deity
...
: Why is religious experience difficult to explain in rational terms? Why is silence more sacred than spoken prayer in some religious communities? What is the nature of “thought communication” in religious meditation? Why is the use of profanity justified in some religious circles? How does idolatry reinforce religious customs and values? Why was chanting one of the first forms of religious communication?
Religious information is also exchanged between individuals at the level of interpersonal communication. This volume identifies rituals that have not been adequately analyzed in terms of communication aspects: Why do some sects require public confession? Why is body decoration an acceptable form of worship in some religious groups, but not in others? How does dance communicate the sacred through metaphoric movement? What are the multiple forms of communication with the dead? Why are feasts a form of religious worship in all major religions? How does the study of organizational communication apply to religion?
This volume also aids study of mediated communication to larger groups both inside and outside religious denominations. Throughout history, technology has simultaneously aided and impeded communication processes; this also applies to religious culture: How did religion change during the historical transition from orality to literacy? How did printing contribute to the diffusion of religious values in the world? Why have religious novels grown in popularity? Is television considered a religious medium? How has the Internet affected religious congregations and communities? What is religious media literacy?
These are only a few of the questions addressed by this encyclopedia. Articles also deal with (1) concepts such as information, communication, and censorship, (2) denominations which exhibit different communication practices, and (3) the various media used in religious worship. Entries were contributed by scholars from various disciplines, including religious studies, communication, anthropology, sociology, ancient studies, religion and modern culture, theology, and many others." (Introduction, page xiii-xiv)
more
"The Blackwell Guide to Theology of Popular Culture outlines various general theories of popular culture, identifies theologians and theological concepts that are conducive to analyzing popular culture, and explores religious themes that are asserting themselves through popular movies, novels, music
...
, television shows and advertising. Includes information on apocalypticism, Augustine, Accenture, Apple, Google, McDonalds, MTV, Starbucks, bricolage, confession, Disney, Dogma (film), existentialism, commodity fetishism, God, the Gothic, guilt, the holy, idols and idolatry, Jesus Christ, Immanuel Kant, The Life of God (as Told by Himself), Friedrich Nietzsche, divine providence, Puritans and puritanism, religious symbols, sin, Six Feet Under (HBO series), Paul Tillich, tattoos, body piercings and scarification, simularum, etc." (Publisher description)
more
"Was wir denken, wer wir sind - Orientierungen darüber vermitteln allgegenwärtig die Medien. Zeitungen, Fernsehen und Internet bieten die Sinnhorizonte, in denen Menschen ihre Weltsicht und Lebensauffassungen bestimmen. Was bedeutet dies für Kirche und Theologie? Müssen sie verstummen in der Fü
...
lle des medialen Sinnangebotes? Ist Kirche eine Sinnagentur von gestern? In erfrischend klarer Analyse öffnet Wilhelm Gräb hier den Blick für den Wandel des Religiösen in der Mediengesellschaft und zeigt Möglichkeiten, wie die Praxis der Kirche, ihr Reden von Gott, der Welt und den Menschen darauf antworten kann." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
more