The Image of Christian Leaders in Fictional Television Programs

Abstract

This investigation attempts to analyze how Christian leaders are portrayed on television by calculating their frequency of appearance, identifying the types of behaviors in which they engage, and establishing the dispositional traits of these characters in two contexts. The findings do not suggest that Christian leaclers are presented as pillars of goodness oras cloaked villains. Instead, Christian leaders are infrequently seen, but very often engaged in nonreligjous and frequently unlawful activities. While these predominately white, male and Catholic leaders are sincere and humble, they are not particularly loving, compassionate or caring. When contrasted with nonreli~ous characters, Christian leaders tend not to have personal lives filled with family and friends, and they lack richness in their occupational lives as well. It appears that Christian leaders are little more than a convenient mechanism for moving a story around other more interesting, attractive, ancl nonreli~ous characters.

Religious Practices and Conversations in American and Israeli Prime-Time Television Programming

“…Overall, the tone in conversations regarding religion is more positive in American TV than it is in Israeli TV. This result is not dissimilar from the Skill et al (1994) finding that the portrayal of religion on US TV was more inclined to be positive, but albeit to a lesser extent than in our study.…”

“…Most research on media and religion has been undertaken in the US context (Chesebro, 1991;Clarke, 2005;Gerbner et al, 1984;Hamilton & Rubin, 1992;Hoover, 2006;Skill & Robinson, 1994;Skill, Robinson, Lyons, & Larson, 1994). Israel and the USA provide a constructive case for comparison from a number of perspectives.…”

“…Clarke (2005) found that religious characters do not appear frequently on US network TV programming, and that much more religious content is found on independent stations like PAX that focus on family values. Skill et al (1994) found that the religious side of characters was not typically presented on television, and when it was presented it was rarely a central theme. Another study by Skill and Robinson (1994) examined the image of Christian clergy in fictional TV programs and found that they are infrequently depicted, but that when they are portrayed they are often engaged in non-religious or even unlawful activities.…”

“…Skill et al (1994) found that the religious side of characters was not typically presented on television, and when it was presented it was rarely a central theme. Another study by Skill and Robinson (1994) examined the image of Christian clergy in fictional TV programs and found that they are infrequently depicted, but that when they are portrayed they are often engaged in non-religious or even unlawful activities. This portrayal echoed real-life sexual scandals involving Catholic clergy that often appear in the news.…”

“…This classification is based on research about Judeo-Christian religious practices (Neusner, 2000;Rahner, 1978). A similar coding scheme was used by Skill et al (1994) in their analysis of religious behavior on American TV two decades ago. Any identified religious practice (131 overall) was coded also for religious or spiritual fulfillment experienced by the main character/s who take part in the practice (yes/no) determined by positive or negative adjectives uttered by the character/s when describing the experience i.e.…”