HarrisX and the Faith & Media Initiative published a ground breaking study of attitudes and perceptions regarding the state of faith and religion in the media.
Here are some of the findings:
82% of respondents globally define themselves are religious, spiritual or a person of faith.
74% affiliated with a specific religion or denomination.
72% believe in God or other deities
35% identified themselves as a person of faith.
31% identified as generally religious
27% identified as spiritual
Journalists feel that coverage of faith & religion is poor, inconsistent, and becoming more marginalised. They express fear around ’getting right’ religious coverage, particularly in largely secular newsrooms. Religious stories are not seen as a good fit for ‘hard’ news, easier to do ‘soft’ coverage and focus ‘hard’ news on times of controversy or scandal.
There is a growing gap between the coverage of religion and the needs of the faithful – global desire for better coverage, understanding and representation of faith in media.
53% of respondents say the media actively ignores religion as an aspect of society and culture today.
59% of respondents believe it’s important that the news media covers a diverse set of faith and religious perspectives or content.
63% of people globally said that high quality content on faith and religion is needed in their respective countries.
People want faith and religious stereotypes to be addressed:
61% say media perpetuates these stereotypes rather than protects against them
78% believe such stereotypes should get the same or more attention as race and gender stereotypes
8 in 10 believe faith and religious groups must provide more relevant spokespeople:
Over 85% want more diversity and lived experiences from these representatives (among those who feel faith and media groups must do more)
You can read and download the full study by clicking on the button below
