Religion and the Media

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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...

... middle of paper ...

...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.

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