Media As A Spiritual Conduit

When one considers the role of the preacher, the shaman, text upon Holy Scriptures, the Church, Temples and realistically any sacred place or person, their existence and actions are based entirely around the principle of channelling the divine. Meyer (2012) describes these scared places and beings as purely mediums for initiating an intimate experience within the divine. This is considered to have opened an immediate connection between the natural and the divine and is necessary in almost all instances for a fulfilling spiritual connection. Media and media forms have shown to be extensions of such connections, whereby through visual or aural stimulus and in the absence of a physical presence or encounter, an individual can initiate a wholly fulfilling spiritual experience with a holy presence (Meyer, 2012). It is easy to see how the role of religious media can be seen as a further extension upon this channel. Spiritual connections through media are considered to be as effective in initiating the desired response as their physical counterparts, showing that whilst physical separation between the individual and the medium may exist, spiritual separation can be avoided through such access. 

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Conversely, Meyer (2012) also makes mention of the renouncement of the compounding properties media holds over religious worship through the dismissal of religious media. Meyer (2012) states dismissal of religiously based media is evident within certain (mainly orthodox) religious communities. It can be assumed that opting out of such methods of worship is chosen with a move towards a more physical sense of worship and an assumed spiritual closeness that media is unable to elicit. There are of course certain aspects of religious worship that media cannot replicate. Touch, taste, smell, fellowship and community are but a few and whilst media-based worship would seldom be recommended for extended periods of time, it does serve its purpose in the absence of immediate access. 

References:

Meyer B. 2012. Religious Sensations: Media, Aesthetics, and the Study of Contemporary Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 159-170. London and New York: Routledge.

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