Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia

Enqi Weng,Anna Halafoff

doi:10.3390/rel11070332

Abstract

Despite predictions of decline, religion has featured prominently in the public sphere and the media since the events of 11 September 2001. Previous research on media and religion in Australia post-September 11 has focused largely on its negative impacts, particularly on Muslim communities. This article, in contrast, examines media representations of religion, spirituality and non-religion on an ‘ordinary day’, of 17 September, over a three-year period in the city of Melbourne. Its findings reveal that religion, in its myriad forms, permeates many aspects of Australian public life, but in ways which do not always reflect the actual religious composition and lived experiences of worldview diversity in Australia.

Highlights

Since the events of 11 September 2001, reporting on religion, and on Islam, has gained new prominence in the media, globally and within Australia, despite the assertion of the secularisation thesis that it would fade from social and public significance (Hjelm 2015; Bouma et al 2007)
Recent research on religion in Australian media discourses has found that it tends to be presented primarily through dominant and narrow perspectives, frequently disconnected from everyday religious experiences (Bouma et al 2007; Weng 2019, 2020). This has highlighted the need for more educational programs focused on religious literacy, that include learning about diverse religions and worldviews and of their presence in society, in order to advance greater levels of understanding and respect for them (Halafoff et al 2019a, 2019b) and a need for journalists and journalism students to be better equipped in sensitively handling news reporting on religion (Weng 2020)
This paper focuses on newspaper coverage of religion in the city of Melbourne, The ‘Religion on an Ordinary Day’ project was co-funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Summary

Introduction

Since the events of 11 September 2001, reporting on religion, and on Islam, has gained new prominence in the media, globally and within Australia, despite the assertion of the secularisation thesis that it would fade from social and public significance (Hjelm 2015; Bouma et al 2007). Recent research on religion in Australian media discourses has found that it tends to be presented primarily through dominant and narrow perspectives, frequently disconnected from everyday religious experiences (Bouma et al 2007; Weng 2019, 2020) This has highlighted the need for more educational programs focused on religious literacy, that include learning about diverse religions and worldviews and of their presence in society, in order to advance greater levels of understanding and respect for them (Halafoff et al 2019a, 2019b) and a need for journalists and journalism students to be better equipped in sensitively handling news reporting on religion (Weng 2020). Scholars have argued that both media reporting and educational initiatives must better match the lived and complex non-religious, religious, and spiritual diversity of Australian society (Halafoff et al 2020; Weng 2019, 2020).

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion