The Routledge Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media

Communication is at the heart of all religions. As an essential aspect of religion, communication occurs between believers, between religious leaders and followers, between proponents of different faiths, and even between practitioners and the deities. The desire to communicate with as well as convert others is also an aspect of some of the world's major religions.

The Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media explores all forms of religious communication worldwide and historically, with a special emphasis on oral and written forms of communication. This A-Z organized reference work analyzes how and why the world's religions have used different means of communications through topics dealing with:


theory and concepts in religious communication, including rhetoric, persuasion, performance, brainwashing, and more
forms of verbal communication, such as chanting, speaking in tongues, preaching, or praying
forms of written communication, such as religious texts, parables, mystical literature, and modern Christian publishing
other forms of communication, including art, film, and sculpture
religious communication in public life, from news coverage and political messages to media evangelism and the electronic church
communication processes and their effects on religious communication, including non-sexist language, communication competence, or interfaith dialogue
biographies of major religious communicators, including Muhammad, Jesus, Aristotle, Gandhi, and Martin Luther.


From the presence of religion on the internet to the effects of religious beliefs on popular advertising, communication and media are integral to religion and the expression of religious belief. With its international and multicultural coverage, this Encyclopedia is an essential and unique resource for scholars, students, as well as the general reader interested in religion, media, or communications.

Daniel A. Stout is Faculty Director in the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Dan Stout's research interests are in audience analysis and particularly the interface between media and religion. His books with Judith Buddenbaum, Religion and Mass Media: Audiences and Adaptations (Sage) and Religion and Popular Culture: Studies on the Interaction of Worldviews (Iowa State University Press) are considered foundational works in the field. He is also founding co-editor of the Journal of Media and Religion (Erlbaum) as well as the recent Encyclopedia of Religion, Communication, and Media (Routledge). Professor Stout has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters. He also teaches advertising and was Manager of Special Advertising Projects at the Houston Chronicle as well as Head of the Advertising Division of the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

Entries include: Advertising. Altars. Anabaptists. Angels. Apocrypha. Apparel. Art. Audicne. Bah’i. Bells. Black Spiritual Churches. Body decoration. Books. Bookstores. Boycotts. Buddhism. Calender. Canonization. Catholicism. Censorship. Chanting. Charisma. Choirs. Clock. Commemoration