Religions in Media: The Western Portrayal Religion in Media

International digital news websites such as BBC, TIME, and New York Times are often considered to be some of the most global, reliable, and accessible sources of information. However, with most of these sources being based in western countries, news stories about religious groups, such as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists, who are often minorities in the west, are less represented in comparison to those about the Christian majority. Therefore, the stories that are written about the minorities tend to be controversial or obscure in comparison to the more diverse tones of stories about religious majorities. Negative and violent portrayals are even more prevalent in stories about Muslims due to western relations with predominantly Muslim nations and societal bias. This brings us back to the loop we were talking about in which the media is impacted by the west’s societal bias against these religions, but it also furthers these same biases in society. So, let's jump in...