Kierra James

Final Research Paper

Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
The Negative Perceptions of Religious Groups Created by the Media
Religion, a topic like politics. A topic we are told never to discuss or bring up at work or
any type of social environment, is touchy to say the least. Everyone wants to avoid the awkward
conversations that arise when the word religion comes up in a room, and because of this many
people do not see how religion is changing every day. Look around and it is obvious to see how
much technology has altered religion. From the idea that a simple retweet can fulfill a
relationship with God or reposting a Facebook post in thirty seconds and sending it to five
friends will make a miracle from God appear are just some ways that technology has impacted
religion. Even more specifically, technology in relation to the media (the conveying of
information to the public) has impacted how we perceive religious groups. Media ranging from
the major news broadcast to movies to news journals are all types of media encountered
everyday shaping the views of religious groups. Media portrayal of various religious groups to
show the most extremist ideals shows how the media has affected religion and the religious
world. From turning on CNN and seeing the Westboro Baptist Church at rally protest
proclaiming God hates Fags or seeing a radical group of Muslims shooting up a village are
some ways the media depicts religious groups in a negative light. The media has altered how
people perceive different religions creating negative stereotypes, stigmas, and biases about
various religious groups. Although this paper will primarily focus on the big two religions: Islam
and Christianity.

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
In todays society it is not hard to see the negative stereotypes associated with religious
groups from the portrayal of extremist groups in the media. A major event that changed how
religious groups were perceived in the media was 9/11. The attacks that took place on September
11, 2001 shaped how religious groups were perceived in the media, and most definitely a turning
point in how Muslims were viewed in media (MEDIA and RELIGION). The thing that the media
failed to portray was that this was an attack pulled off by a group of extremist that actually
deviate from the beliefs of Muslims. Fourteen years after the traumatic events of 9/11 Muslims
are still seen as terrorist, and outcast, and Muslims still suffer every day from negative stigma the
media labeled the religion with (MEDIA and RELIGION). The negative stereotypes the media
created even caused changes to the law system in America. Even the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), an administration under Homeland Security, has been accused of
discriminating against Muslims and using racial profiling in U.S. airports (Kleiner, Yevgenia S).
The news also has a way of depicting Christians in a negative light by showing the most radical
groups. The Westboro Baptist Church is a very popular group that has been seen in the news.
This church is known for its hate of homosexual individuals, and protest outside of U.S soldiers
funerals. By showing this group in the media the individuals viewing such news create an idea
of what Christian values and beliefs are which is contradicting to the Christian faith.
The media portrayal of religious groups does not stop with news broadcast but continues
into movies and television. For example take the popular Disney movie Aladdin, and how it
depicts Muslims in a negative way. In the opening scene of Aladdin the princess is seen trying to
give an apple to a poor boy, and the merchant of the apple stand threatens to cut off her hand for

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
stealing once she admits she doesnt have the money for the apple at the time. A whole idea
which is completely contradictory to the Muslim faith due to the fact that in Islam individuals are
obliged to feed the hungry and devout Muslim merchants seek to help and feed the poor (Reel
Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People). Another example of how religious groups are
viewed on the big screen is the ABC television series entitled GCB, first meaning Good
Christian Bitches and then changed to Good Christian Belles. The show depicted five
Christian women who would go to church on Sunday trying to portray the perfect Christian life
while partaking in adultery, gossip, lies, and creating drama. The show was cancelled right after
its first season for ridiculing Christians and being seen as controversial. Even though it was
cancelled it was too late to reverse the biases and stereotypes individuals already created from
the show who viewed, and put more fuel to the fire of negative stereotypes associated with
Christianity.
Media has altered the views of individuals in specific groups. For instance most people
when they think of what a Muslim looks like or what a Christian looks like the picture that is
drawn is similar among most people (Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological
Imagination). Most Westerners would picture a Muslim couple as brown skin, dark features,
with a female wearing a hijad with long dark colored clothes and the man wearing clothes that
cover his body with some type of headdress. The majority of Westerners would see the women
as being oppressed and being reserved as to being outspoken, and would see the man as stern and
outspoken (Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological Imagination). The truth is that most
Islamic women do not feel oppressed but value the hijab and dressing in clothes that cover their

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
body. They feel that covering their bodies making it unable to seduce others with the female
body parts makes them equal to men instead of feeling that their feminism is being oppressed
(Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological Imagination). Most Middle Eastern individuals
would have the same stereotypes towards Christians, as painting a very stereotypical picture with
stereotypical attitudes toward the Christian. The real question here is Why do Westerners have
this view of the Islam culture? and Why do Middle Easterners have these views about
Christians? The answer falls right back to media, and how each group is portrayed in the
various region/ country. So a Middle Easterner would only see mainstream media from America
which would be a show like GCB, or reality television. These outlets show Christians as
individuals who party and go wild Monday through Saturday only to go to church on Sunday to
repent and repeat all over again. When all the media that a Westerner see is radical Muslims like
Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the bombing and wars associated with radical Muslims occurring in
the Middle East it is not hard to see where the negative stereotypes come from.
This leads to how do the certain biases about religious groups somehow encounter the
mind. More importantly it raises the question of how individuals let technology as in the media
alter their views of a religious group in such a negative way. When the media is the only means
of viewing a specific group for many, it is not irrational to think where these biases develop.
These biases develop every day through the millions of media elements the human eyes see
every day. Since the day we were born the brain and the sub consciousness mind is being altered
through various media elements causing biases (Gladwell, Malcolm). When all the media

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
individuals encounter depicts negative stereotypes of certain groups these ideas and biases
eventually become the way of thinking for an individual.
The main goal of the media is to make money, and therefore the various elements we
encounter from the media are there to sell (MEDIA and RELIGION). The media needs publicity
to sell, and to make publicity things have to be interesting. To make things look interesting and
to draw audiences the media shows things that are exciting, and stimulate the human mind. The
media shows corruption, misdeeds, and injustice in each religion because most individuals love a
head turning news headline or a new juicy television series (MEDIA and RELIGION). The
media shows what individuals want, so the news is not going to show devout Muslims praying in
temple or make of movie about devout Muslims changing the world because they know that will
not sell. Instead the media will show the news headline with radical Muslims shooting up a
village not mentioning the fact they are radicals and deviate completely from Muslims faith. The
same goes for portraying Christians in the media as homosexual hating, hypocritical individuals
who twist he words of the Bible to support their argument. In this day and age most individuals
crave violence madness, and craziness. This is all because we find this media more interesting,
and at the end of the day what is interesting sells.
With all this being said it is obvious to see the way the media has created negative
stereotypes of religious groups by portraying the most radical/extremist ideals. By shining this
negative light on specific religious groups it causes individuals to create biases about religious
groups that are not true. These negative biases that seep into the brains of individuals looking at

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
the media that depicts religious groups in a negative way leads to a harsh label being put on a
specific group. These harsh labels have very harmful effects on that religious group, and can lead
to an array of problems in society. The media has a negative effect on how individuals perceive
religious groups by creating negative stereotypes, biases, and altering what the true ideals of
what a religion believes.
The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the
innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds
of the masses.
Malcolm X

Kierra James
Final Research Paper
Professor Padgett
13 April 2015
Works Cited
1. Kleiner, Yevgenia S. "Racial Profiling in the Name of National Security: Protecting
Minority Travelers' Civil Liberties in the Age of Terrorism." Boston College Third World
Law Journal. 30.1 (2010). Print.
2. Hoover, Stewart M., PH. D Director. MEDIA and RELIGION (A White Paper from The
Center for Media, Religion, and Culture. USA: University of Colorado at Boulder.
(2008): n. pag. Print.
3. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People . Prod. Sut Hally, Jerm Earp Earp,
Andrew Killoy, and Mary Patinero. Media Education Foundation, 2006. Educational
Film.
4. Department, New York University Sociology. Sociology Project: Introducing the
Sociological Imagination, Books a La Carte Edition. Place of Publication Not Identified:
Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
5. Gladwell, Malcolm. "1,3,6." Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking. New York:
Little, Brown, 2005. N. pag. Print.