Christian media

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"Christian TV" redirects here. For the singer, see Christian TV (musician).

Christian media, sometimes referred to as inspirational or faith-based content, is a genre and media format that features a Christian message or moral.[1] It can also refer to media primarily targeting Christian audiences and expanded demographic of the Abrahamic religions,[2] the term can also encompass Christians who work in media, or various associated genres such as country music, soul, and Westerns.[3][4][5]

It has been recognized as a popular film, music, broadcasting, and interactive media format alongside secular counterparts. Christian art has long been a tradition of the faith, dating back to early Christian art and architecture and it was a major part of the medieval and renaissance eras. Early Christian allegory in works of fiction, such as John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, made an impact on later works of fiction, including C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter.[6][7] Christian films date back to early cinema with adaptions of Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1907 and 1925, as well as Cecil B. DeMille's landmark religious film The Ten Commandments (1923), and their popular 1950s remakes The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959).[8] Other popular Christian film and television productions include the VeggieTales animated series (1993-ongoing), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Bruce Almighty (2003),[9] The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Chronicles of Narnia film series (2005-ongoing), God's Not Dead (2014), and reality TV show Duck Dynasty (2012-2017). Church music including hymns, such as "Ave Maria ... Virgo serena" and Handel's Messiah, have long been a part of Christian, gospel and worship music which have a history going back to the early days of recorded music, and Contemporary Christian music encompasses several popular music styles including Christian rock, Christian hip hop, contemporary worship music, and CEDM.[10] Broadway theatre productions like Jesus Christ Superstar,[11] recorded sermons by preachers such as Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr.,[12][13] and podcasts produced by the likes of Phil Vischer and Phil Robertson,[14][15] are also included in this genre.[16]

Themes[]

The Christian genre often portrays a focus on Christian virtues: love, forgiveness, courage, praise, and penitence as well as messages of resurrection. These codes are often played out through depictions of good and evil through conflicting virtues and vices,[17] or as in the evangelism of The Pilgrim's Progress with individuals seeking personal growth and redemption. This depiction of Christian theology, in the narrative, contrasts sharply with comparatively impersonal institutions leading to some form of moral understanding.

The narrative can be delivered through retelling Bible stories or sermons. It can also be in the form of allegory as in the religion in The Chronicles of Narnia, or through Christian mythology such as stories about King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table or El Cid and other knights, while others use a "Christian magic" that is "neither allegorical nor topical" such as the Christianity in Middle-earth.[18][19]

There is a misconception of Christian media being a form of proselytism, conversion therapy and extremism.[20] The concerns are taken very seriously within the field, as it is not the intent or goal of the genre, and the issues are combatted by those within both the Christian and secular media industries.[21][22] The common intent and goal behind most Christian media is often that "entertainment doesn't have to be shallow and devoid of meaning ... values-based media can still be entertaining and engaging."[23] According to the former head of Religion and Ethics for the BBC, Michael Wakelin, "journalists often assume that they understand Christianity simply because of its popularity. As a result, reporters are often more willing to ‘take swipes’ at Christianity in newspaper and television reports, while other religions are treated with more caution."[20]

Libraries such as the Library of Congress often categorize each media format under its own genre.[24][25][26][27][28]

Media formats[]

Books[]

Christian books are a segment of Christian media which typically communicates the core elements of the Christian faith to non-believers, or publishes books to help develop and inform the beliefs of adherents. Examples include Gospel Light, Concordia Publishing House and David C. Cook. Some traditional Christian publishers are converting to new media. As evangelicals don't have a central authority, publishers and bookstores are de facto gatekeepers of theology.[29]

Film[]

Main article: Christian film

Many forms of Christian films are now widespread, from full length, feature films to short and discussion orientated clips. Most major production houses have Christian oriented production studios including DreamWorks and Sony.

Magazines[]

Christian magazines are one of many special-interest categories within the magazine publishing industry. Christian magazines often focus on groups within Christianity, such as men or women, youth, or certain denominations. Many Christian magazines are published by denominations and independent ministries as an outreach to the unchurched or to the organization's supporters, frequently at no cost to the reader. One of the most well known is "Guideposts" magazine, published by Guideposts non-profit since 1945. Examples of denominational magazines include House to House Heart to Heart. Other Christian magazines are published commercially for a profit, and sold by subscription or by single copies through bookstores and other retailers. Examples include Christianity Today, Charisma, Relevant, and Spectrum.

Music[]

Main articles: Christian music, Gospel music, Church music, Contemporary Christian music, and Contemporary worship music

The American popular music industry first began with the distribution of Christian hymnals and gospel music. The contemporary Christian music of today is still rooted in Christian music and church music, but includes Christian rock and Christian hip hop music, including musicians such as Relient K and Lecrae.

Newspapers[]

Christian newspapers are a small segment of Christian media which typically communicates news to members of the denomination or group which publishes the paper. Such newspapers often published weekly, rarely more frequently and often less frequently (bi-weekly, monthly). Examples include the Southern Baptist Convention, whose various state conventions often publish weekly or bi-weekly newspapers, also Christian Examiner and The Christian Post. Sometimes individual congregations will publish newspapers; one example is Southeast Christian Church, a megachurch in Louisville, Kentucky which publishes a weekly newspaper distributed throughout the metro area. Independent publishers have also produced Christian newspapers, often aimed at a specific group such as Roman Catholics. For much the same reasons as commercial newspapers such as the high cost of production and distribution, some Christian newspapers are converting to online publishing.

Radio[]

Main article: Christian radio

Christian radio is a radio format of music and programming that, within itself, includes several sub-formats. These include Contemporary Christian music, Urban contemporary gospel, Southern Gospel, inspirational music, children's programming which include Adventures in Odyssey and Patch the Pirate, talk radio, and formats which include primarily preaching and/or instructional programming.

Television[]

Christian television which may include broadcast television or cable television channels whose entire broadcast programming schedule is television programs directly related to Christianity, such as Trinity Broadcasting Network (the world's largest religious television network),[30] God TV, Australian Christian Channel, SAT-7 and Emmanuel TV or individual shows including comedy, action, drama, reality, dramatizations and variety shows, movies and mini-series; which are part of the overall programming of a general-interest television station. See also Televangelism.

Video games[]

Main article: Christian video games

One of the first Christian video games was Bible Computer Games which first appeared on the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1982, it was ported in 1983 to Timex Sinclair and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, then released on the Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, and the Kaypro CP/M computer platforms in 1984, and finally on MS-DOS 1986 by PC Enterprises.[31]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Media Messages Matter: Christ, Truth, and the Media". Lausanne Movement. June 30, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. ^ Howard, Jay R. (1992). "Contemporary Christian Music: Where Rock Meets Religion". The Journal of Popular Culture. Wiley. 26 (1): 123–130. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1992.00123.x. ISSN 0022-3840.
  3. ^ "Brad Paisley – This Is Country Music Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Foust, Michael (August 10, 2021). "4 Things to Know about Respect, the Gospel-Centric Movie about Aretha Franklin". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Dallam, M.W. (2018). Cowboy Christians. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-085656-4. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Farmer, Joy (2001). "The Magician's Niece: The Kinship between J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis". Mythlore. Mythopoeic Society. 23 (2 (88)): 53–64. ISSN 0146-9339. JSTOR 26814627. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  7. ^ Adler, Shawn (October 17, 2007). "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery". MTV News. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "A recap of Hollywood's 6 most notable biblical films". Omaha.com. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Waterhouse, Anna (December 1, 2002). "Bruce Almighty". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Lucero, Mario J. (January 3, 2020). "Music streaming services mishandle our data—and our culture is paying for it". Quartz. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "What If Atheists Were Defined By Their Actions?". NPR.org. December 8, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (February 23, 2018). "What Is Billy Graham's Friendship with Martin Luther King Jr. Worth?". News & Reporting. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "A Tale of Two Preachers - American Experience". PBS. May 12, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  14. ^ Baer, Maria (June 21, 2021). "Patrons' Saints: Christians Turn to Patreon, Substack, and Kickstarter". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Postell, Marissa (July 8, 2021). "Over 3,300 Christian Communicators Gather for NRB 2021". NRB. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  16. ^ Karen, Carol (March 31, 2021). "Top Easter movies and cartoons for the whole family to enjoy". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Hourihane, Colum (2000). Virtue & vice : the personifications in the Index of Christian art. Princeton, N.J: Index of Christian Art, Dept. of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University in association with Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05037-9. OCLC 42823724.
  18. ^ Carpenter 1981, Letters #165 to Houghton Mifflin, 30 June 1955
  19. ^ Lord of the Rings, "Foreword to the Second Edition"
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Media Portrayals of Religion: Christianity". MediaSmarts. March 7, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Linda Kintz; Julia Lesage (April 1998), Media, Culture, and the Religious Right, U of Minnesota Press, p. 404, ISBN 978-0-8166-3085-1 ISBN 0-8166-3085-2, ISBN 978-0-8166-3085-1
  22. ^ Smietana, Bob (February 24, 2021). "VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer calls evangelicalism a 'hot mess.' He hasn't given up hope". Religion News Service. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  23. ^ Toone, Trent (December 8, 2011). "Entertaining and enduring: Quality storytelling can make values-based media both meaningful and enjoyable". Deseret News. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Christian radio programs - Library of Congress". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. February 22, 1999. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "Christian television programs - Library of Congress". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. February 22, 1999. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "Christian films - Library of Congress". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. February 22, 1999. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  27. ^ "Christian fiction - Library of Congress". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. February 22, 1999. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  28. ^ "Contemporary Christian music - Library of Congress". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. February 22, 1999. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  29. ^ Graham, Ruth (12 July 2019). "The Decline of the Christian Bookstore". Slate. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  30. ^ Elaine Woo (2 December 2013). "Paul Crouch dies at 79; founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 July 2014. He bought more television stations, then piled on cable channels and eventually satellites until he had built the world's largest Christian television system...
  31. ^ "About BibleBytes". Kidwaresoftware.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
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