Engaging with Conflicts in Mediatized Religious Environments A Comparative Scandinavian Study (CoMRel)

This project studies the interaction between media and religion with regard to conflicts and tensions related to the presence of religion in the public sphere, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Three case studies analyze how religion is representation and thematized in public service-media and further negotiated through debates in social media, in public schools and in two religiously diverse local communities. The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council (SAMKUL) and hosted by the University of Oslo. The project runs between 2014 – 2017.

Web site for the CoMRel project

Project leaders:

Project leader CoMReL: Knut Lundby
Project leader Swedish case studies: Mia Lövheim

Three Swedish case studies are conducted within the Impact of religion programme:

• Two new formats for public service television that attempt to present a dialogue rather tha conflict oriented model for depicting religion – the programs Runda Bordet: religion (SVT2 November 2014) and Jag är muslim (SV2 October – November 2016).
• The representation of Muslims and Islam in the current affairs radio program Människor och tro (SR, P1), as expressed in choice of topics, guests and through the interactive formats of phone-in sessions and Facebook.
• Uses of media material about religion in Religious Education in a selection of Swedish secondary high schools. This case study is a cooperation with the project ”Teaching Religion in Late Modern Sweden”

• Publications

• Conference presentations

• Lectures

Publications:

Lundby, Knut, Hjarvard, Stig and Lövheim, Mia with Jernsletten, Hakkon (forthcoming Journal of Religion in Europe 2017) “Religion Between Politics and Media: Conflicting Attitudes to Islam in Scandinavia”.

Conference presentations:

Mia Lövheim and Linnea Jensdotter:  Mediatized Religious Dialogue: Runda Bordet: Religion in Swedish Public Service Television. NordMedia, Köpenhamn 13-15 August 2015.

Mia Lövheim: Representing and Discussing Islam in Public Service Radio. The case of “Människor och tro”. Paper presented for the “Media, Religion and Publics”, International Society for Media, Religion and Culture, Seoul 1-4 August 2016.

Mia Lövheim and Linnea Jensdotter: Negotiating Boundaries of Public Religion: Islam in Swedish Public Service Radio. Nordic Conference in Sociology of Religion, Helsingfors, 17-19 August  2016. 

Mia Lövheim and Linnea Jensdotter: Phone-in programs and Controversies: Islam in Swedish Public Service Radio. Researching Religious Controversies conference, Sigtuna, October 31st to November 2nd, 2016

Lectures:

Mia Lövheim: Religion, Media and Gender: Studying the New Visibility of Religion. Keynote lecture RVS annual Phd school seminar, Oslo November 7^th 2016

Mia Lövheim Bilden av islam i svenska medier (the Image of Islam in Swedish Media). Discrimination Ombudsman kunskapskonferens. Stockholm 11 November 2016.