Religion in the Mediatized Public Spaces in Scandinavian Countries: Between Secular Neutrality and Nationalism

Abstract

The following article presents a systematic review of the studies of religion in the mediatized public sphere of Scandinavian countries. The mediatized public sphere is tackled as constituted by interrelated media spaces, those of mass media, the Internet, and religious media and media of popular culture which are specifically organized public spaces, each of which varies in their degree of openness to different publics. A review of the empirical research reveals the specificity of the public (re)presentations of religion in each media space. In the Scandinavian mass media, religious issues are covered within the political frame, and “banalized” (Hjavard, 2013), while religious organizations have few opportunities to influence the representation of religious content. Due to its’ non-strict “entrance fee” and the spread of horizontal links, religious issues are articulated by agents though different ideologies on the Internet. Religious media space is an environment where religious organizations seek to maintain an institutional version of the religious narrative. In the media of popular culture, religious themes as a part of popular culture are interpreted aesthetically, and thus, makes this space a repository of religious meanings and identities that can be used in the course of political and public discussions about religion. The variety of media spaces enables the public circulation of diverse representations of religion, and allows various groups to discuss their ideological articulations of religion. However, this results in the polarization of public debates about religion and the fragmentation of the audience. The proposed model of the media spheres’ division into political spaces can be used as a framework for the analysis of the (re)presentation of religion in the Russian media.