Abstract
Religious plurality is now one of the obvious features constituting modern societies in the world. It is the result of a continuous process of religious pluralization, which has significantly increased the diversity of religious affiliations in the formerly rather religiously homogenous states of Europe. The growing diversity of groups with a different subjective religiosity and religious identity has brought particular problems with it, in particular the subjective feeling of threat among certain groups with regard to other social groups, marked by their religion. Sometimes, this results in intergroup conflicts. In this process, the media play a significant role. The image people have of one particular religion, especially the Muslims in Europe, often depends upon reports in the media. In current debates about religion, the role of media, as well as the importance of religious affiliation and identity, should be studied more closely in the future.
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Notes
- 1.
It has been demonstrated empirically that families with a higher level of religiosity usually have higher birth rates. The reason for this is the existence of more conservative values, which imply a certain image of the family and promote processes of family building.
- 2.
Without doubt, it can also be noted critically here that the assessments made by the respondents do not do justice to the internal differentiation of these religions resulting from the sweeping classifications of “Islam” and “Christianity”. At the same time, it is very clear that such differentiations play virtually no role in the judgments made in the populations.
- 3.
Against this background, it is unfortunate that there is still only relatively limited empirical knowledge regarding how people receive media coverage of Islam and its effects. There remains a great need for further research here.
- 4.
This preponderance of negative reporting is not limited to Islam. For the present question, however, the focus is on the impact that coverage has on the view of religious pluralization and Islam.
- 5.
Reference is not being made here to a so-called dominant culture, which not infrequently tends to take profane characteristics in its formation in public discussion. More important is the fact that the democratic constitutions, their normative prescriptions, and the corresponding acceptance and tolerance of plurality under these conditions, are an indispensable requirement for all social and religious groups in society. This observation is ensured in turn by the state, as part of its executive duty.
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Pickel, G. (2020). The Perception and Political Significance of Religious Plurality and the Role of the Media. In: Körs, A., Weisse, W., Willaime, JP. (eds) Religious Diversity and Interreligious Dialogue. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31856-7_13
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