Religious broadcasting


Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some countries, religious broadcasting developed primarily within the context of public service provision, whilst in others, it has been driven more by religious organisations themselves. Across Europe and in the US and Canada, religious broadcasting began in the earliest days of radio, usually with the transmission of religious worship, preaching or "talks". Over time, formats evolved to include a broad range of styles and approaches, including radio and television drama, documentary, and chat show formats, as well as more traditional devotional content. Today, many religious organizations record sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their own web-based IP channels.
Religious broadcasting can be funded commercially or through some sort of public broadcasting-style arrangement. Donations from listeners and viewers, often tax-deductible, are solicited by some broadcasters. In the US, 42 percent of non-commercial radio stations currently have a religious format where on the other hand about 80 percent of the 2,400 Christian radio stations and 100 full-power Christian TV stations throughout the entire United States are considered non-profit.
In some countries, particularly those with an established state religion, broadcasting related to one particular religion only is allowed, or in some cases required. For example, a function of the state-owned Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation is by law "to broadcast such programmes as may promote Islamic ideology, national unity and principles of democracy, freedom equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam..." ).
Broadcasting in both radio and TV has taken on a new look with the development of the internet and mobile devices. Internet radio stations and internet TV stations have been on the rise over the last few years. The main reason for the increase is that the cost to set up and operate is significantly less than traditional radio and TV stations. This is huge for religious organisations as it allows them to put their religious content to a world wide audience at a fraction of the cost.

Radio

Australia

Religious radio stations include
Religious broadcasting in the UK was established on 30 July 1922, a Sunday, when the first radio sermon was transmitted by J. Boon of the Peckham Christian Union, from the Burdette Aerial Works at Blackheath, to the congregation at Christ Church, Peckham, and listeners up to 100 miles distant.
The religious ethos of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the importance attributed to the place of its religious output is predominantly due to the distinctive and formative role played by the BBC's first director-general, John Reith. Reith was the son of a Presbyterian minister. Although opposed to narrow dogmatism, he strongly believed that it was a public service duty of the BBC to actively promote religion. The pattern established by Reith in the early days, and the advisory system that he established, continued to exert a strong influence on the corporation's religious output through the war years and beyond, and eventually extend from radio into television.
British broadcasting laws prohibit religious organizations, political parties, local government, and trade unions from running national analog terrestrial stations. Some religious radio stations are available in certain areas on the MW or VHF wavebands; others transmit using other methods, some of them nationally.
Premier Radio is available on MW in the London area and also nationally on DAB. United Christian Broadcasters is available in both the London and Stoke-on-Trent areas, and nationally as well via DAB. TWR-UK is available on Sky, Freeview, Freesat and online. There are several UK-based radio stations that serve a genre group or locality, such as Cross Rhythms based in Stoke-on-Trent, a contemporary music station with a local FM community radio license. Branch FM operates across West Yorkshire and is a volunteer-run community Christian radio station. Like most other local Christian stations, they also use the Internet to gain national coverage. There are other UK-based radio channels which apply for regular temporary licenses, such as Flame FM on the Wirral, Cheshire which applies for two months of local FM broadcasting per year via a Restricted Service Licence, and Refresh FM, which regularly broadcasts in Manchester for 3 or 4 weeks over the Easter period.
Also, there are religious broadcasters that transmit to the UK from outside on medium wave at night by buying airtime on commercial stations such as Manx Radio and Trans World Radio.
Although there are tight restrictions on religious groups setting up their own radio and TV stations, there is a legal requirement for the BBC and ITV to broadcast a certain amount of religious programming. Some commercial local radio stations carry a limited amount of religious programming, particularly in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

United States

The United States does not have a state religion or established church, and religious broadcasts most commonly feature various Christian sects. Although originally provided by independently operated stations, it currently is mainly provided by local or regional networks. Most stations hold non-commercial educational broadcast licenses. Although religious radio began with individual stations, because of the deregulation in the 1996 Telecommunications act it has become more consolidated with local affiliates under a national radio company.
Religious broadcasts began before a formal broadcasting station category was established. Beginning in May 1920, the sermons of Rev. Clayton B. Wells, pastor of Fairmont Congregational Church of Wichita, Kansas, were read on Sunday evenings over an amateur radio station, 9BW, operated by C. A. Stanley. After the development of organized broadcasting, the first full worship service, originating from the Calvary Episcopal Church, took place on 2 January 1921, over KDKA in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On 22 December 1921, the first broadcasting station license assigned to a religious institution was issued for WDM, operated by the Church of the Covenant in Washington, D.C. Other prominent early religious stations included KFSG, the Foursquare Gospel Church in Los Angeles, KFUO, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, serving St. Louis, WLWL, the Paulist Fathers, and WBBR, Jehovah's Witnesses, both in New York City, WMBI, Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and WBBL, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. However, the cost of operating a radio station on a non-commercial basis, plus generally restricted hours of operation, led to most of the early stations either shutting down or selling out to secular commercial operators.
The development of radio networks made national broadcasts possible, although the networks preferred non-controversial and non-denominational broadcasts. In April 1938, Time magazine described the Columbia Broadcasting System's interdenominational Church of the Air as "innocuous".
Also, in December 1938, Lenox R. Lohr, president of the National Broadcasting Company, which at this time operated two nationwide networks, stated that NBC did not sell airtime for religious broadcasts; instead, it maintained a policy "to provide time, without monetary recompense, to the three great types of religious faiths prevailing in America — the Protestants, the Jews, and the Catholics — as distinguished from individual churches, or small group movements." Lohr said that NBC "turned to the most representative religious groups in the country to aid us in determining what religious programs are broadcast. All our regular Protestant programs are scheduled through the Federal Council of Churches; in the field of Catholicism, the National Council of Catholic Men acts in a like capacity, and, for the Jewish programs, the United Jewish Laymen's League." The one national network at this time that was willing to accept commercial religious broadcasts was the Mutual Broadcasting System, which carried the Lutheran Hour.
In the late 1930s, a Roman Catholic priest, Father Charles Coughlin, had a popular. although controversial, weekly broadcast carried by an independent commercial network. Coughlin was accused of being both pro-fascist and anti-semitic. Neville Miller, the head of the National Association of Broadcasters, called for the elimination of broadcasts that play "on religious bigotry... religious or racial prejudice or hatred". In 1939, largely in response to Coughlin, the NAB Code was updated to ban member stations from broadcasting commercial programs which featured controversial issues.
In 1938 the Federal Council of Churches petitioned the National Association of Broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission formally requesting that paid religious programs be barred from the air. The oouncil represented about thirty more liberal "mainstream" denominations, which was less than half of American Protestantism. In 1929, the council's general secretary had stated that, "in the future, no denomination or individual church will be able to secure any time whatever on the air unless they are willing to pay prohibitively high prices...."
The Moody Bible Institute was the first religious organization to use satellite radio to reach a larger audience than before, and was also one of the first religious broadcasting networks to receive a non-commercial educational FM license from the FCC, allowing them to open other stations.
Several national networks exist, including:
  • Air1
  • American Family Radio
  • EWTN Radio
  • Family Radio
  • K-LOVE
  • LifeTalk Radio
  • Northwestern Media
  • Radio 74 Internationale
  • Relevant Radio
  • Salem Radio Network
  • 3ABN Radio
  • VCY America