1.
Introduction
Every new phase in the evolution of
Information Communication Technology (ICT) has witnessed rejuvenation and
increase on the debate on the impact of media on the society in general. This
debate has always been framed at multiple levels. From earliest advances in
communication technology some scholars on one hand have questioned if such
advancement has in anyway transformed the society and at another level some
have equally questioned if such development is good or bad for the society. Attempts
to map the force field of communication media in a more systematic glare in the
Western tradition was even articulated in the postulates of Plato and Aristotle
on the consequences of writing on the society. Media has revolutionized the
world and has become fundamental to the essence of culture and Religion. Therefore
the act of gathering, storing, and sharing information is an essential
component of our being. Religion like information drives on the wheels of
media. It is now more than ever acclaimed by many scholars to be the defining
way of life. In the aspect of religion, it is not only the environment and
market place where religious practices and activities find a home but it has
equally represent religious beliefs; change its contents and symbolic forms;
concepts and authority of religious institutions and alter the manner in which
people interact with each other in matters of faith and morals.
The article therefore aims at developing
a theoretical framework for the understanding of how media functions as an
agent of religious change. This framework introduces the concept of
mediatization of religion that articulates how religion is increasingly being
influenced by the logic of the media especially in areas of institutional
regulations, symbolic content and individual practice. With the media ecology
perspective, this study further looks not only to language, messages and
meaning, but also to technology and context as relevant developments, issues
and dares cladding the church in post revelation, post modern, epistemic environment.....
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