Identification of new religious movements in printed media in the Republic of Belarus

Authors

  • Vladimir A. Martinovich Minsk Spiritual Academy, 27 Zybizkaja Street, Minsk 220050, Belarus

Keywords:

unconventional religiosity, new religious movements, massmedia, identification of sectarianism, sects

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the analysis of the process of new religious movements identification in the printed media. The process plays a crucial role for the formation of selective perception of unconventional religiosity in contemporary society. Peculiar features of the process itself are thoroughly analyzed: massmedia as a subject of the process, criterions of the identification of different religious groups with new religious movements. Special attention is paid to the representation of the results of the longitudinal study of this process on example of Belarusian press from 1988 to 2015. The quantity of identified groups and their names are found and exposed on a representative sample of 521 press article. There was uncovered a specific terminology used during the process of new religious movements identification, as well as the geographical distribution of the groups, their specific structural and conceptual characteristics, and representation in the Republic of Belarus. The resulting image of new religious movements in Belarusian printed media is uncovered, and the degree of its divergence with the actual situation with unconventional religiosity in Belarus. The extent of the involvement of different types of printed massmedia in the process of new religious movements identification is uncovered.

Author Biography

  • Vladimir A. Martinovich, Minsk Spiritual Academy, 27 Zybizkaja Street, Minsk 220050, Belarus

    doctor of science (theology), PhD (sociology); head of the department of apologetics

References

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Published

2019-03-12

Issue

No. 4 (2017): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology

Section

To Know so that to Foresee...

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How to Cite

[1]
Martinovich, V.A. 2019. Identification of new religious movements in printed media in the Republic of Belarus. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology. 4 (Mar. 2019), 56–65.