Religion & the Media

So I initially took the class thinking that religion and the media were two completely separate entities and that one had no influence or absolutely no connection to the other. Slowly but surely, as I began to think more about it and dive into the topic, I realized that the link between the two is certainly there. In the U.S., we have a society based upon the principles of freedom of speech and so forth and a definite separation between church and state. But, if we look closely, there is undoubtedly an influence of religion on not only how our lives are governed, but on the media and so forth. It's something we don't really expect from a democratic society such as America's. If we look at the Middle East, there is an obvious influence of religion and religious beliefs and ideologies on everyday life, including media coverage. Television networks such as Al Jazeera and other such examples portray the definite link between religion and the media and the tremendous influence that one plays on the other. In the United States, we tend to think that this does not exist. That freedoms and rights do not render a society influenced by any such ideologies, let alone religion. Interestingly enough... this is not true or at least I don't think so. The influence of religion seeps through every crevice of our lives, without us even noticing it. And so, this concludes the first of my posts. It should be an interesting quarter and an interesting experience and I look forward to further expanding on this very topic and to truly understand and grasp the concept of Religion and the Media...