Religion and the Media Essay -- Papers

Religion and the Media In the world we live in today people have revolutionized the image of religion, so that it is now regarded as a pastime instead of it solely being about God. In today's world media has evolved to be much more powerful than religion, and therefore some say that media is taken more seriously. After observation of the TV channels broadcasting specific religious programmes, I saw that all terrestrial TV channels had at least one hour a week of religious programmes. The government issues the license enabling TV companies to broadcast, and has a significant role in deciding on what has to be shown. In each TV channels broadcasting charter it is stated that they must "provide an average of at least two hours a week of religious programmes." This means that if a TV channel does not show this minimum amount their license could be evoked. It is very obvious why the government is concerned about religion in the UK since only 48 per cent of UK residents claim to belong to a religion, compared to 89 per cent in the United States and 92 per cent in Italy. Also two-thirds of 18-24 year olds in the UK, say that they have no religious affiliation compared to just a quarter in Spain. Nearly all religious programmes are aired at non-prime time slots, with the exception only being Songs of Praise on Sundays from 17.45-18.15. This suggests that the TV companies see broadcasting religious programmes as something they must to do, and not something they wish to do. We see further evidence of this by Reverend Ernest Rea words, who was the head of religion and ethics at the BBC. Revd Ernest Rea explains that "religion is... ...e put more thought on deciding how to end this moral issue, so there is a fair equilibrium on what the Soap represents. I am not suggesting that they should exalt religion and not take into consideration the moral side of things, but what I am saying is that there has to be a fine balance. Christians believe that life is sacred and that no one has the right to take away this gift that God has given us. The sanctity of life is first described in Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them". From this biblical quote we can conclude that if God has created us in the image of Himself, then therefore each human exists as an expression of God and his character. Then this would surely mean that human beings cannot destroy this sacred image in anyway.