In a study commissioned by a Christian broadcasting network, a third of the viewers polled who consider themselves evangelical Christians said they don’t like religious television.
The figure jumps to 60 percent for people who say they are religious but not evangelical.
The results led the Total Living Network, which commissioned the study, to conclude “religious television is not currently meeting the needs of viewers,” according to a summary provided to Religion News Service by TLN during the recent annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters. The meeting concluded Feb. 8.
The survey also looked beyond religious programming to television in general.
Among the additional findings are that 73 percent of adults believe that “a lot of TV is often violent, sexually explicit and even shocking,” the summary indicated.
For 54 percent, “today’s TV has very little redeeming value.”
The results don’t surprise some media experts.
They’re very consistent with everything I’ve read and studied,” said Ken Waters, who teaches media ethics at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
“It’s preaching to the choir,” Waters said of current Christian television programming.
“There’s not enough variety … How many preachers can you watch in a 24-hour period?”
For TLN President Jerry Rose, the study showed a mismatch between what many Americans want from religious programming and what it delivers.
TLN commissioned the study so it could be “intentional … In designing the format rather than letting the format just happen,” he said. (RNS)
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