From Lutheran Dominance to Diversity
This article examines religion in Finnish newspapers, arguing that religion-related discourses have changed from one of Lutheran dominance to one of diversity. The main data consists of a longitudinal sample (1946-2016) of the most popular Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, and especially of its...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2019]
|
| In: |
Temenos
Year: 2019, Volume: 55, Issue: 2, Pages: 225-247 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Finland
/ Press
/ Religion
/ Lutheran Church
/ Religious pluralism
/ History 1946-2016
|
| RelBib Classification: | AA Study of religion AD Sociology of religion; religious policy KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia |
| Further subjects: | B
Helsingin Sanomat
B Newspaper B Finland B Diversity B quantitative content analysis B Media B Religion B Secularism B the Lutheran Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article examines religion in Finnish newspapers, arguing that religion-related discourses have changed from one of Lutheran dominance to one of diversity. The main data consists of a longitudinal sample (1946-2016) of the most popular Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, and especially of its editorials and readers' letters. Additional data covers a wider variety of newspapers from the 1990s to 2018. The data is analysed using quantitative content analysis and a discursive approach. It will be suggested that it is possible to discuss diversity both as an emergent discourse and a theme in the Finnish media since the mid-1990s, thereby overcoming earlier frameworks that took Lutheranism for granted or gave it a special role in the private sphere.The analysis shows that these shifts do not provide clear support forthe idea that newspapers and journalism are anti-religious; rather, it suggests that they may be understood as having a liberalizing' effect, especially when religious values are not seen as compatible with those of journalists and newspapers. |
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| ISSN: | 2342-7256 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Temenos
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.33356/temenos.87827 |
