Media portrayals of religion and the secular sacred: A longitudinal study of British newspaper and television representations and their reception

Unlike the subject of race in the media, which has been the focus of sustained academic interest, surprisingly little empirical research has been conducted in Britain on the media location and representation of religion. This is of particular concern given the potential importance of such research both for debates about the retreat and/or re-emergence of religion in public life, and for testing assumptions about media ignorance, neglect and bias regarding religion.

Addressing the programme theme of 'Religion, media and the arts', in this two-year project we will undertake a content analysis of current portrayals of popular religion and the secular sacred in a selection of British newspapers and terrestrial TV channels in order (a) to examine the ways in which the media currently represent religious issues, beliefs and practices, and (b) to uncover and interpret the values and interests inherent in these representations and the voices that constitute them. This quantitative and qualitative analysis will be complemented by two related studies, of people's reception and experience of religion in the media, and of the media treatment of a widely reported event involving religion. Replicating the research design and methods employed in an 18-month empirical research project undertaken in the 1980s at the University of Leeds, the new project will in part constitute a 're-study'. Such a longitudinal approach will enable a comparative analysis of the two datasets to be conducted, and changes in the representation of religion and its reception interpreted in light of theoretical debates about secularization, resacralization and the changing relationship of religion and secularity. The project will go further, however, by employing analytical and theoretical approaches which draw on the recent work of the applicants, and by delivering practical and engaged as well as scholarly outcomes.

Following the earlier study, the project will focus on four questions:

(1) How are religion - both conventional and common - and the secular sacred portrayed in selected newspapers and on terrestrial television channels? In what types of coverage is religion represented? What key themes emerge, and how are they treated?

(2) What does the portrayal of these themes reveal about the relationship between (a) religion and the media, and (b) religion and secularity?

(3) How are media portrayals of religion received and experienced by their audiences in light of their own religious/secular interests and everyday media practices?

(4) How do findings from the new research compare with those from the earlier study, and how can changes regarding the representation of religion and the secular sacred be explained with reference to historical developments and sociological theories?

The research will be conducted by Kim Knott, researcher on the 1982 project who has worked recently on the location and representation of religion in various secular contexts, such as a school, medical centre, academic disciplines and urban landscapes; Elizabeth Poole, who has researched extensively on media representations of British Muslims; Robert Towler, the sociologist of religion who directed the 1982 project and until 2002 was Head of Research at the Independent Television Commission; an RA, Teemu Taira, with experience of researching religion in news media; and an Advisory Board of scholars and media practitioners.

A co-authored monograph will be written drawing on material from both projects in the context of historical events and theoretical debates about the public re-emergence of religion and its relationship to secular worldview and context. In addition to two workshops, one for religion and media scholars, the other for journalists, religious correspondents and programme makers (in association with which a training pack will be developed), two information sessions will be held for community groups on how the media represent religion.