Page - 19 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

Using Media to Teach Religious Studies | 19www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 17–35 gion”. I then look at the possible objectives of teaching religious studies as well as its limitations. After the reflection on the above-mentioned questions and their reduction, in the two preceding sections, to issues of teaching religious studies, a possible resolution of the raised tensions in facets of the concept of “competence acquisition” follows. i then describe concrete examples to dem- onstrate the possible use of media in the teaching of religious studies. the essay concludes with a short consideration of a possible outlook for religious media studies. this essay cannot provide any universal answers. My intention is to sharpen the discipline’s vision, to specify issues and to highlight what i feel should be considered in the design and implementation of religious studies teaching strat- egies. assUMPtioNs: reLiGioUs stUdies aNd reLiGioN as Mediatised “sPaCes of PerCePtioN” Our preconceptions as lecturers about the subject, purpose and style of reli- gious studies have implicit and direct consequences for our teaching.2 aware of their impact, we need to address and reflect on such preconceptions before we can turn to our teaching objectives, which should also be addressed and for- mulated in advance. in this context i suggest religions be considered culturally specific “spaces of perception” that influence humans sensually and cognitively as mediated phenomena that are in turn influenced by humans.3 Humans are born into a world that is objectified inter-subjectively by other members of the group in communication and institutionalisation processes. this world and this particular reality are socially constructed and are constantly reconfigured by members of respective groups. This reality exists for humans in symbolic systems encoded in various media4 that structure whole “spaces of perception”: the human sensory system is exposed to a cultivated environment that can be highly artificial and highly complex. As one such possible “space 2 Cf. silverman 2013, 11. 3 on the following remarks see Knoblauch 1995, Meyer 2011, Mohn 2012, Mohr 2005, Morgan 2016, Prohl 2012. 4 Because of its ubiquitous prevalence, the notion of media is blurred. The first step commonly taken in systematisation is to distinguish primary, secondary and tertiary media: primary media of perception (related to the senses); secondary media of understanding (verbal and non-verbal semiotic systems, e.g. languages); tertiary media of dissemination in space and time (books, tapes, tV etc.). Cf. Malik/ Rüpke/Wobbe 2007, 7–8. Religious traditions use media that can be categorised in this manner for theological reflection and for creating public images. However, when it comes to media usage in rituals for representing the extraordinary, these media differ from everyday media. (See “Outlook” section of this article.) in terms of communication theory, beyond their semantic dimensions media have a mate- rial substratum that is part of the material aspects of communication. this materiality is an important factor with respect to the media as a tool and instrument: in constituting communication situations, coordinating communication processes, modifying semiotic systems and constructing social realities. Cf. Sandbothe 2011, 120–121.