In God We Trust: Religiosity as a Predictor of Perceptions of Media Trust, Factuality, and Privacy Invasion

Abstract

The current study brought together two important areas of scholarship in mass communications: media credibility, and religion and the media. Although both areas have been widely investigated by scholars, there have not been many empirical investigations that examine the potential impact of religion on individual perceptions of media credibility. The authors' data analysis revealed mixed evidence for an association between religiosity and perceived media credibility. Although the study did not find consistent and overwhelming evidence of a significant single association between religiosity and media credibility, the authors did find strong evidence of a significant association between some form of media credibility and the Internet. Although these associations were multidirectional, they were nevertheless numerous and significant.

Mediating Silence: The Media's Role in Silencing Religious Dialogue Among U.S. Muslims

“…While Golan and Day (2010) found that those who reported that religion guides their daily life activities are characterized by a distrust that the Internet disseminates factual news and a perception of online media as invading privacy, the authors also found some contradictions in their analysis when they looked at the overall importance of religion in their life. By examining religion from a multifaceted perspective, the authors concluded that one's religiosity is a greater predictor of the perception of the Internet as a disseminator of factual news than one's reliance on the Internet for news (Golan & Day).…”

“…It follows, then, that some mass communications researchers examine the role of religiosity in explaining how media affects society (Golan & Day, 2010;Armfield & Holbert, 2003;Golan, 2002). For example, Golan and Day (2010) found an inverse relationship between the degree to which religion provided guidance on a daily basis and trusting television and newspapers.…”

“…For example, Golan and Day (2010) found an inverse relationship between the degree to which religion provided guidance on a daily basis and trusting television and newspapers. Golan and Day (2010) also found that Americans who were guided by religion on a daily basis were more likely to perceive the Internet as a disseminator of factual news, as being conducive to a sense of community and as invading people's privacy. However, several measurements were used in this study to determine the role of religion in the lives of survey respondents.…”

“…For example, Golan and Day (2010) found that religiosity, an index which describes the degree of one's religious involvement, is 30 ALKAZEMI negatively correlated with the perception of the Internet as invading one's privacy. The study also found a positive correlation between religiosity and the perception of the Internet as being concerned with the community, and as a provider of factual news (Golan & Day, 2010).…”

Exploring Perspectives of Students Studying Communication Toward Media Access and Use: A Q Methodological Study

“…No single method determines how news consumers perceive news itself as credible (Golan & Day, 2010). However, several researchers have developed various criteria to gauge media credibility (Armstrong & Collins, 2009;Kiousis, 2001;Thorson, Vraga & Ekdale, 2010).…”