A Democratic Approach to Religion News Christianity and Islam in the British and Turkish Press

The results of framing analysis, conducted through content analysis of 1,022 news articles, reveal that, in both countries, alongside the contrasting portrayals of the minority religions, even the dominant religions had a disproportioned employment of the four dimensions – spiritual, world life, political, and conflict.

“[…] solidifies religion as an essential topic for journalism studies, an invaluable contribution to scholars of both religion and journalism.”

—Associate Professor Gregory P. Perreault, Zimmerman School, University of South Florida, USA

“[…] illuminates how, in differing national contexts, state and private sector interests interface with varied media representations of religious majorities and minorities.”

—Dr. Paul Weller, Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford, and Emeritus Professor, University of Derby, UK

“[…] a useful, significant, original and unique contribution to the scholarly discourse on religion in the news.”

—Research Professor Ihsan Yilmaz, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

“This empirical study, I believe, will have a significant impact both on researchers and journalists willing to rethink their approaches and revise their practices.”

—Associate Professor Victor Khroul, Catholic University in Ružomberok, Slovakia

This book introduces the first systematic and unified four-dimension democratic approach to newspaper religion reporting. It explores the coverage of faith, with a particular focus on Christianity and Islam, in the British and Turkish national press. The results of framing analysis, conducted through content analysis of 1,022 news articles, reveal that, in both countries, alongside the contrasting portrayals of the minority religions, even the dominant religions had a disproportioned employment of the four dimensions – spiritual, world life, political, and conflict. It contributes to scholarship not only empirically but also theoretically and methodologically, with its theoretical and methodological contribution surpassing its empirical findings. As such, it will transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, making it appealing and relevant to an international audience of academics, professionals, and students in the fields of journalism, religion, democracy, media, communication, society, and culture, as well as individuals from various backgrounds.

Dr Ahmed Topkev is a university teacher at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture.