Eistenstein argues that the advent of the printing press distanced people from the church in Western society. Before current events and foreign affairs were printed, sermons used to be the place that this information was given. She states "a communion with the Sunday paper replaced churchgoing" which is an attitude I had never heard presented when talking about the printing press' influence on society. Soon the church tried to use printing to attract people by creating their own newspapers, complete with a gossip column. This shows an effort being put forth in order to adapt with the changing media in the hopes of maintaining followers.
This was very interesting to me because I always heard that the printing press was a positive thing for the church because it accelerated the spreading of "the word of god." There are many questions that arise when thinking about the future of attending church. Since it can be said we are at another turning point (like the printing press but this time with digital technology,) what will this mean for the institution of the church? Will people be reading the bible off of their i-pads?
Interesting part of the Eisenstein to focus on, Gracie! I actually know a professor at NYU who is currently working on a project related to your questions, namely the impact of big media screens on contemporary religion/worship. As you say, media and religion have been intertwined since the Luther Bible... just think of televangelism! Could be an interesting paper topic?
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