Role of media on New Religious Movements
QUESTION
Write a critical essay on the role of the media in the public perceptions of New Religious Movements with special reference to groups where violence has occurred.
The media are significant actors in events leading to episodes of violence involving New Religious Movements since their emergence from the West in the 1960’s. The word cult has become associated with negative emotional connotations which made the public to have a general perception that it should be hated, feared or be avoided. The complexity of this subject has led scholars to abandon the popular term cult and agreed on a more neutral term New Religious Movements. In theology, cults are groups which deviate from traditional forms of Christian orthodoxy. Therefore, the writer is going to focus on the role of the media in public perceptions of New Religious Movements with special reference to some groups where violence has occurred.
In this twenty first century, very few people are interested in NRMs that they seek out knowledge about them unless they have a specific interest in that area. They also never read any literature from them and neither do they make contact with the movements directly in order to learn more about them. Lack of information leads to misunderstandings and conflicts that affect the NRMs and all other things religious as society becomes more and more secular. Therefore, the media plays an important role in informing the public and it relies on it the mostly. The journalists are found to be the greatest cheats imaginable, they will disassemble, lie, sniffle and if possible overreach and defraud all who deal with them in order to qualify their acts and to be more secure. Therefore, what is portrayed and how it is portrayed has a great influence on forming public opinion.
The NRMs quickly became controversial because they arrived at the same time and persuaded some people that a new invasion of the body snatchers had occurred. Secondly, the movements which
Write a critical essay on the role of the media in the public perceptions of New Religious Movements with special reference to groups where violence has occurred.
The media are significant actors in events leading to episodes of violence involving New Religious Movements since their emergence from the West in the 1960’s. The word cult has become associated with negative emotional connotations which made the public to have a general perception that it should be hated, feared or be avoided. The complexity of this subject has led scholars to abandon the popular term cult and agreed on a more neutral term New Religious Movements. In theology, cults are groups which deviate from traditional forms of Christian orthodoxy. Therefore, the writer is going to focus on the role of the media in public perceptions of New Religious Movements with special reference to some groups where violence has occurred.
In this twenty first century, very few people are interested in NRMs that they seek out knowledge about them unless they have a specific interest in that area. They also never read any literature from them and neither do they make contact with the movements directly in order to learn more about them. Lack of information leads to misunderstandings and conflicts that affect the NRMs and all other things religious as society becomes more and more secular. Therefore, the media plays an important role in informing the public and it relies on it the mostly. The journalists are found to be the greatest cheats imaginable, they will disassemble, lie, sniffle and if possible overreach and defraud all who deal with them in order to qualify their acts and to be more secure. Therefore, what is portrayed and how it is portrayed has a great influence on forming public opinion.
The NRMs quickly became controversial because they arrived at the same time and persuaded some people that a new invasion of the body snatchers had occurred. Secondly, the movements which
Bibliography: HC Steyn. The ‘’Cult” Controversy: A Reader. University of SA. Pretoria:Unisa Beckford, J.A. 1985. Cult controversies: the social response to new religious movements. London: Tavistock Media in Politics: http://www.allfreeesays.com/student/Media-in-Politics.html