While the genre of reality television may not be considered as a new medium of communication, the way that some religious minorities found some innovative ways to use this kind of programming in the last 5 years is certainly of interest. In that regard, beginning in 2010 the members of various fundamentalist Mormon communities have chosen to open their lives to the cameras of reality television in an effort to spread a message close to their hearts : that polygamous families are in almost every way completely normal and share the struggles of the typical American family, and that since the scandals of Warren Jeffs, Tom Green and the Lafferty brothers made the news, the media depiction of plural marriage and those who practice it is not representative of the reality of the majority of practicing fundamentalists. The main message of these pro-polygamy activists is to convince the public of their inherent normalcy and they seem to work towards changing the minds of the American people by proving that most women enter freely and willingly into polygamous marriages and find great happiness living in plural families. In addition to disseminating their message through reality shows like Sister Wives (TLC 2010-), My Five Wives (TLC 2014) and Polygamy USA (National Geographic 2013), the families at the center the movement for decriminalization of plural marriage also use blogs to provide information about their unique lifestyle, and some turn to live tweeting during episodes as a way to interact directly with the public. This article describes the interactions between religious fundamentalisms, in this case in the form of polygamous Mormon culture, and information technology. Is also discussed the manner in which the various information transmission strategies used by advocates of plural marriage can lead to effective changes in laws and public policies.

This research explores the representations of two minority religions in United States, the Amish and the fundamentalist Mormons (FLDS), in two reality shows produced in 2013: Breaking Amish and Breaking the Faith. To which extent these reality shows contribute to reinforce stereotypes about these minority religions? The hypothesis postulates that there is a convergence in the representations of minority religions in these reality shows which contributes to the reproduction of stereotypes. Based on theories of identity construction and on the study of new religious movements, the analysis shows that the same guiding lines are recurrent in both reality shows.

Cet article aborde la manière dont sont construites les catégories de « déviance » et de « normalité » en lien avec la religion mormone (fondamentaliste et mainstream) dans la série de téléréalité Breaking the Faith. Cette série diffusée à la chaîne TLC en 2013 présente des jeunes membres de l’Église fondamentaliste de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours (FLDS) s’adaptant à la vie à l’extérieur de leur groupe d’origine, dans la capitale du mormonisme mainstream (LDS), Salt Lake City. Nous mettons à jour, en nous basant sur une perspective constructiviste de la déviance, plus particulièrement la théorie de l’étiquetage, la manière dont la religion (monogame) de l’Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours est représentée comme légitime et normale en contraste avec celle des groupes mormons polygames, présentés comme déviants. Pour ce faire, la trame narrative de la série est étudiée, ainsi que les modalités de mise en scène – teintées d’une rhétorique anti-sectes – dans lesquelles s’ancrent les représentations de ces nouveaux mouvements religieux.

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