Mediatization of religion in the context of religious transformation

In this paper the author tries to put the current mediatization thesis into the framework of theories that aim to explain position of religion and religiosity in the contemporary societies. Contemporary situation is explained within the context of religious transformation, and the author has made an attempt to analyze the influence of the mediatization on the aforementioned context. In that way, mediatization is conceptualized as a process that is influenced by the transformation of religion, but also at least partially as a process that advances the religious transformation by encouraging the development of spiritual pluralism and individualism of (post) modern Western societies wherein new and eclectic forms of religiosity begin to appear. In that sense, a particular effort has been made in order to explain the influence of mediatization on the religious authorities and to analyze the Internet as a new media that arguably has a strong effect on the transformation of religion and religious authorities. The author concludes that mediatization is a very complex and two-sided process whose influence and impact should not be over-emphasized since in many situations media-conveyed religion serves only as a magnifier of the existing territorial face-to-face religious communities, controlled by the formal religious authorities.