It is impossible to avoid the influence of the media in modern life. It permeates every aspect of our day-to-day living, whether it be through television, radio, newspapers or the internet. In Western society, most people are free to express their views on anything and everything. Now that anybody can create a webpage, make a YouTube video or contribute to forums, does the media still have the power to support a belief in God? I am going to show that the media does support a belief in God by looking at how television and social media has an impact on religion in our lives. Television supports the belief in God by airing religious programmes, for instance Songs of Praise, which features people reading extracts from the Bible, encouraging others to convert to Christianity and singing hymns. Songs of Praise strengthens and supports a belief in God as it focuses on the positive aspects of Christianity.
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Eurobarometer Poll 2005 Percentage of those who ag...However, it is aimed at an older generation of believers, which may lead young people to think religion is outdated and irrelevant. There are also channels devoted to religion, such as Christian Now, with viewers tuning in from all around the world. This reaches out to a wider audience and is easily accessible. Although these channels attract millions of viewers, some would argue it is not necessarily because of these peoples' belief in God and is more a reflection of modern life where lonely and bored people turn to the media as a means of distraction. My personal experience of these channels is that the programmes are one-dimensional and evangelical, because they are just aimed at converting people to Christianity and do not explore any deeper issues. There are also many programmes that are not dedicated to religion, yet include religion in them. For...