The Nexus Between Mass Communication And Religion

Abstract

This paper examines the link between mass communication and religion in society. However, because of the diversity and vastness of religion, it focuses on the Christian religion with emphasis on Nigeria. It adopts the discursive research approach to obtain data that form the basis of the discussion. The discourse explains how Christian missionaries during the early part of the 20^th century utilized the print media to propagate the gospel in Nigeria. Thereafter, it focuses on how Christian organizations are utilizing the mass media to preach the gospel in contemporary society. It concludes that there are historical, developmental and functional links between the mass media and the Christian religion. Furthermore, it asserts that that there is religion in mass communication and mass communication in religion. It recommends among others that researchers from Nigeria and other countries need to critically examine the relationship between the mass media and the Islamic faith.