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God is not dead, after all

Hoover recalls that when he was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, the United States was trending secular.

鈥淚t was assumed at the time that religion was fading away and we, as scholars, didn鈥檛 need to pay as much attention to it. That has clearly not been the case.鈥�

In the aftermath of 9/11, interest in and coverage of world religions in the news media grew. And while there has been a decline in some institutionalized religious practices鈥攕uch as attending worship services鈥攎any people still report having a strong spiritual life. Nine in 10 believe in a 鈥渉igher power,鈥� 56 percent believe in God, and 27 percent describe themselves as 鈥渟piritual but not religious,鈥� up eight percentage points from five years ago, according to the Pew Research Center.

鈥淒igital media has allowed people to articulate their religion in new ways,鈥� Hoover says, noting that instead of going to a mosque, Muslims can use a digital prayer mat that recites daily prayers from the Koran. Can鈥檛 make it to confession? There鈥檚 an app for that.

Good or bad, the advent of new media technologies has also allowed extreme religious groups that had only a small audience to easily extend their reach.

And some religious leaders have complained that new technologies have diminished the community aspect of faith and the authority of clerical leaders.

鈥淚t used to be that your religious identity was something you got physically through your location, your church, your community,鈥� Hoover says. 鈥淣ow it is something you can make yourself online.鈥�

The convergence of religion and politics

At a time when communities are becoming more spiritually diverse and the intersection between religion and politics is increasingly the subject of public debate鈥攖he Masterpiece Cakeshop v. baby直播app Civil Rights Commission case; President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order promoting 鈥渇ree speech and religious liberty鈥濃�攊t鈥檚 more important than ever for communicators to be educated on religious matters, say Hoover and Echchaibi.

Yet, for many students, the subject remains taboo.

鈥淧eople try not to talk about it,鈥� says Erin Baptiste, an advertising major and history minor who took Hoover鈥檚 Media and Religion course last spring. She said the class made her realize how a basic understanding of religions can help communicators鈥攆rom journalists to advertisers鈥攁void miscommunications and misperceptions. 鈥淏eing able to sit down and have these discussions in an open way was eye-opening. It made us less afraid to bring it up.鈥�

With matters of faith infiltrating everything from our Facebook feeds to our favorite movies, educating the general public is also important.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 recognize that even if they were raised atheist or they are a nonbeliever, religion is so deeply embedded in our culture that it influences them,鈥� says media and religion PhD student Ashley Campbell. Her podcast,听Holy Media, explores the places鈥攆rom horror films to the presidential inauguration鈥攚here religion is hiding in plain sight.

Hoover and Echchaibi say students exposed to the center walk away with a unique skill set that can help them advise faith groups trying to navigate the changing media landscape, or report on the subject with more authority. It also opens the door for them to experience film, music, theater, dance and popular culture via a new lens.

鈥淭his thing called religion is going to be a more powerful and influential force in our culture and media in the coming decades,鈥� Hoover says. 鈥淚t is not going away, so it鈥檚 important for us all to try to understand it.鈥�

Echchaibi agrees: 鈥淩eligion remains intimately wrapped up in our daily life, our politics and our popular culture. If you have any doubts, just look at how faith was central in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, how religious beliefs are often invoked in our immigration policy, and how Colin Kaepernick鈥檚 protest and philanthropy are deeply animated by his spiritual convictions. Simply look at his tattoos.鈥澨�