Pentecostalism and media in Africa: Theoretical explorations of power and agency of media platforms and their users
This survey paper interrogates four theoretical frameworks often invoked to analyze intersections between media and religion: mediatization, mediation of meaning, mediation of the beyond, and religious social shaping of technology. The paper surveys several research works informed by the aforementio...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2023
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| In: |
Religion compass
Year: 2023, Volume: 17, Issue: 1 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Africa
/ Pentecostal churches
/ Medialization
/ Electronic media
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CD Christianity and Culture KBN Sub-Saharan Africa KDG Free church ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Literature report 1994-2023
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This survey paper interrogates four theoretical frameworks often invoked to analyze intersections between media and religion: mediatization, mediation of meaning, mediation of the beyond, and religious social shaping of technology. The paper surveys several research works informed by the aforementioned theories that study Pentecostals' engagement with different forms of media in Africa. This paper suggests that these theories need to be revised to provide a balanced assessment of Pentecostalism and media technologies. Advancements in technology, particularly sophisticated of algorithms, transformed media into an intelligent and dynamic space that enormously influences media consumers. The theory of mediatization gave power and agency to media logic. However, the other theories (mediation of meaning, mediation of the beyond, and religious social shaping of technology) focused on human agency and saw media as an inert space with many features that users can use as they see fit. To remedy this unbalanced relationship, the paper calls for a new theory that accounts for the agency of both the users and the media platforms. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-8171 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion compass
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/rec3.12452 |