Supermarket of meaningful offers
Guest commentary If private radio and TV stations advertise for free and national churches, SRG would soon also be allowed to broadcast spots with religious content. The consequence of such a dam breaking would be an aggressive flood of (meaningful) content.
Guest commentary If private radio and TV stations advertise for free and national churches, the SRG would soon also be allowed to broadcast spots with religious content. From mid-2005, Tom Cruise and John Travolta will be allowed to advertise Scientology in TV spots on TeleZüri and ProSieben. The loudly proselytizing lifestyle company ICF (International Christian Fellowship) will invite listeners to its party services on private radio stations from Aktuell to Zürisee and mock the uncool offerings of the churches. And other religious groups and organizations with enough money and the necessary pizzazz will follow suit. In short, the loudest on the market for religious beliefs and world views will set the tone, which is likely to be the case after the National Council has dealt with the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA). According to its plans, the ban on religious advertising - together with the restrictions on alcohol and political advertising - is to be lifted for private broadcasters. During the debate, the issue of alcohol advertising was discussed at length, that of political advertising briefly and that of religious advertising not at all. Apparently they were considered insignificant. The council members were probably still surprised.
To see how aggressive religion can be, you only need to look around the world or take a look at our own history. Switzerland's state order and everyday culture have tamed this potential danger over the past century and a half. The mainstream churches are democratically structured and controlled by public law, the denominations usually work together without any problems and non-Christian communities are also included.
This has become so normal that it is hardly noticed any more. But it is not a matter of course. Rather, it is the result of continuous efforts on many fronts. These were supported by the ban on religious advertising in the electronic media. But now it is coming. One can hope that destructive-aggressive appearances will take care of themselves because they go down badly with the public. But a risk remains, especially if religious identities become charged with political or ethnic tensions.
So now the churches are being maneuvered into a new freedom that they did not seek. Initially, they will be surprised at how quickly and with how much power small groups are making inroads into the public sphere. Free churches and similar communities are expansive; they are no strangers to advertising. Sooner or later, however, the national churches will also learn to take advantage of the opportunities offered by radio and television advertising. This will not be easy for them. The decentralized organization makes a joint presence more difficult. There is a danger that small-scale jekami advertising will waste energy and resources.
But perhaps the Council of States will set other priorities. There is a particular need for improvement in the advertising regulations. Why strive for an asymmetrical order to promote domestic private broadcasters by such means? The desired effect will fail to materialize, as the lion's share of the media money is likely to flow to the Swiss advertising windows of foreign TV stations. It will not be possible to enforce their exclusion from the privileged treatment. In addition, the SRG will seek (and achieve) a correction of the RTVA in its favor. They will argue that it makes no sense to maintain the restrictions solely for them and to give preference to foreign broadcasters in particular.
The Swiss market for religious advertising will eventually be completely liberalized. By then at the latest, the big churches will also be running campaigns. This will make religion more present in society, but also more aggressive. The supermarket of meaningful offers will no longer be a harmless metaphor, but a tangible reality.
At best, this makes religion more interesting and brings it closer to people today. At worst, the churches stumble into a new intolerance.
> Urs Meier is Managing Director of Reformed Media, the communications company of the Protestant Reformed Churches in German-speaking Switzerland.
To see how aggressive religion can be, you only need to look around the world or take a look at our own history. Switzerland's state order and everyday culture have tamed this potential danger over the past century and a half. The mainstream churches are democratically structured and controlled by public law, the denominations usually work together without any problems and non-Christian communities are also included.
This has become so normal that it is hardly noticed any more. But it is not a matter of course. Rather, it is the result of continuous efforts on many fronts. These were supported by the ban on religious advertising in the electronic media. But now it is coming. One can hope that destructive-aggressive appearances will take care of themselves because they go down badly with the public. But a risk remains, especially if religious identities become charged with political or ethnic tensions.
So now the churches are being maneuvered into a new freedom that they did not seek. Initially, they will be surprised at how quickly and with how much power small groups are making inroads into the public sphere. Free churches and similar communities are expansive; they are no strangers to advertising. Sooner or later, however, the national churches will also learn to take advantage of the opportunities offered by radio and television advertising. This will not be easy for them. The decentralized organization makes a joint presence more difficult. There is a danger that small-scale jekami advertising will waste energy and resources.
But perhaps the Council of States will set other priorities. There is a particular need for improvement in the advertising regulations. Why strive for an asymmetrical order to promote domestic private broadcasters by such means? The desired effect will fail to materialize, as the lion's share of the media money is likely to flow to the Swiss advertising windows of foreign TV stations. It will not be possible to enforce their exclusion from the privileged treatment. In addition, the SRG will seek (and achieve) a correction of the RTVA in its favor. They will argue that it makes no sense to maintain the restrictions solely for them and to give preference to foreign broadcasters in particular.
The Swiss market for religious advertising will eventually be completely liberalized. By then at the latest, the big churches will also be running campaigns. This will make religion more present in society, but also more aggressive. The supermarket of meaningful offers will no longer be a harmless metaphor, but a tangible reality.
At best, this makes religion more interesting and brings it closer to people today. At worst, the churches stumble into a new intolerance.
> Urs Meier is Managing Director of Reformed Media, the communications company of the Protestant Reformed Churches in German-speaking Switzerland.
