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Rabbis in Israel, Public Relations and Advertising

Yoel Cohen

Religion and Social Communication, volume 23, issue 2 (2025), pp. 303-321

"This article discusses public relations (PR) and advertising in the work of the rabbi in Israel. The rabbi's influence is felt within the religious population such as through the Sabbath sermon from the synagogue pulpit to congregants, but the media is an additional channel to spreading the rabbi's ... more

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The Handbook on Religion and Communication
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Yoel Cohen, Paul A. Soukup (eds.)

Newark: Wiley Blackwell (2023), 571 pp.

"Divided into five parts, the Handbook opens with a state-of-the-art overview of the subject’s intellectual landscape, introducing the historical background, theoretical foundations, and major academic approaches to communication, media, and religion. Subsequent sections focus on institutional and ... more

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Religion and Development Communication

Robert A. White

In: The Handbook on Religion and Communication

Yoel Cohen; Paul A. Soukup (eds.)

Wiley (2023), pp. 487-502

"The central question of this chapter addresses how major religious traditions have used media to contribute to socioeconomic development and improve access to the basic necessities of life. The Judeo-Christian tradition has perhaps the most explicit emphasis on socioeconomic development in its use ... of media because of its priority of seeking the well-being of the poor and marginal people of the society and because of its traditional emphasis on media beginning with its written gospels and letters. Christian Churches, together, now have more than 500 educational radio and television stations in Latin America, Africa, and other areas such the Philippines. The fastest growing sector of Christianity, the evangelicals, in addition to their use of radio, video cassettes, and television, are expanding their use of social media, computers, and mobile phones, emphasizing small business, entrepreneurial promotion. Islam also emphasizes putting religious teaching in publications and other forms of media. With a long scientific and socioeconomic development tradition, Islam has a tradition of concern for the poor and less developed parts of its societies. The expectation that individual adherents of Islam will give away part of their economic success for the benefit of the poor and less fortunate provides added motivation. One of the most notable contributions to development from an Islamic background is the system of credit to the poor, the Grameen Bank, initiated by Mohammed Yunus in Bangladesh. Buddhism emphasizes heightened inner consciousness of well-being, reconciliation, compassion, and the overcoming of hate and selfishness. Buddhism communicates its message through the plastic arts, especially the ubiquitous images of Buddha. Where Buddhism is the dominant religious tradition (as in Thailand), the Buddhist temples and monks are centers promoting socioeconomic improvement at the local community level and national radio has programs for development purposes. Hinduism, located largely in India, is essentially a social worldview that assigns one’s socioeconomic status in life. Wealth and entrepreneurial initiative are part of the culture of the higher castes, and people of the higher castes are often leaders in development initiatives in India. Although religious communications and development involvement are still a matter of household deities, Indian holy gurus now sponsor television programs that attract an upwardly mobile technological class with tips on getting ahead in business, personal wealth, and upper class styles." (Conclusion, pages 498-499) more

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Israeli Information Policy, COVID-19 and the Ultra-Orthodox Haredim

Yoel Cohen, Ahuva Spitz

Religion and Social Communication, volume 20, issue 1 (2022), pp. 45-67

"Against the background of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel, the country’s ultra-orthodox population, the Haredim, were faced with seemingly insuperable dilemmas of compromising their religious standards for the sake of dealing with the virus. The government launched a public relations campaign to pe ... more

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The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Journalism

Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, Xenia Zeiler (eds.)

Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge (2021), xv, 441 pp.

"The handbook is divided into five parts, each taking global developments in the field into account: Theoretical Reflections, Power and Authority Conflict, Radicalization and Populism, Dialogue and Peacebuilding, Trends. Within these sections, central issues, debates and developments are examined, i ... more

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It Happened on Tinder: Reflections and Studies on Internet-Infused Dating

Amir Hetsroni, Meric Tuncez (eds.)

Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures (2019), 219 pp.

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Spiritual News: Reporting Religion Around the World
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Yoel Cohen (ed.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2018), vii, 418 pp.

"The media's coverage of religion is an important question, given the central role which news media play in ensuring that people are up-to-date with religion news developments. The book examines it in different countries. After an introductory section looking at trends in religion news in print, on- ... more

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Internet News, Media Technologies, and Islam: The Case of Shafaqna

Babak Rahimi

In: Spiritual News: Reporting Religion Around the World

Yoel Cohen (ed.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2018), pp. 367-381

"The study examines the case of a Shia online news agency, Shafaqna, to argue that Internet news production by different Muslim organizations has not been limited to propagation nor circulation of religiously sanctioned news but has also been utilized as a way of building interactive identity with r ... more

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The Catholic Church and Twitter

Daniel Arasa, Lorenzo Cantoni, Juan Narbona

In: Spiritual News: Reporting Religion Around the World

Yoel Cohen (ed.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2018), pp. 325-346

"The arrival of digital media has brought new challenges to the Roman Catholic Church. While the Church coped mostly successfully with the web 1.0, it has experienced greater difficulty in encountering the world of social media and web 2.0. Examining the role of Twitter in the 2015 Synod of Bishops ... more

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Speech and Society in Turbulent Times: Freedom of Expression in Comparative Perspective

Monroe Price, Nicole Stremlau (eds.)

Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press (2018), xix, 334 pp.

"This volume explores how societies are addressing challenging questions about the relationship between expression, traditional and societal values, and the transformations introduced by new information communications technologies. It seeks to identify alternative approaches to the role of speech an ... more

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Digital Judaism: Jewish Negotiations with Digital Media and Culture

Heidi A. Campbell (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2017), vi, 213 pp.

"In this volume, contributors consider the ways that Jewish communities and users of new media negotiate their uses of digital technologies in light of issues related to religious identity, community and authority. Digital Judaism presents a broad analysis of how and why various Jewish groups negoti ... more

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Changing Cultures and Religious Practices in Asia

Binod C. Agrawal (ed.)

Manila: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House (2015), 162 pp.

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Jewish Cyber-Theology

Yoel Cohen

Communication Research Trends, volume 31, issue 1 (2012), pp. 4-14

"This article attempts to extrapolate from the Jewish Tradition a Jewish view on the Internet. To be contrasted are the Orthodox stream, itself broken into the ultra-Orthodox Haredi and Modern Orthodox (dati leumi), and the non-Orthodox streams, the Reform and Conservative [...] This essay will exam ... more

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Social Communication in Religious Traditions of Asia
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Franz-Josef Eilers (ed.)

Manila: Logos (Divine Word) Publications (2006), 195 pp.

"This book contains the presentations of a Roundtable of invited scholars organized by the FABC-Office of Social Communication (FABC-OSC) October 3-7, 2005 at Assumption University Huamak campus in Bangkok, in cooperation with the Graduate School of Philisophy and Religion of Assumption University a ... more

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Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media
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Daniel A. Stout (ed.)

New York: Routledge (2006), xx, 467 pp.

"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 Handbook on Religion and Communication Top Insights

Spiritual News: Reporting Religion Around the World Top Insights

Social Communication in Religious Traditions of Asia Top Insights

Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media Top Insights

The Handbook on Religion and Communication
Top Insights

Spiritual News: Reporting Religion Around the World
Top Insights

Social Communication in Religious Traditions of Asia
Top Insights

Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media
Top Insights