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US television portraying religion in a negative light: Study
MUMBAI: Television entertainment programmes in the US mention God more often than they did in the mid-1990s but tend to depict organised religion negatively
This information is contained in a study conducted by the Parents Television Council (PTC) and the National Religious Broadcasters. PTC claims to be America’s most influential advocacy organisation protecting children against sex, violence and profanity in entertainment
Faith in a Box: Entertainment Television and Religion found that television’s treatment of religion has become increasingly negative and doesn’t reflect the viewpoints of a majority of Americans. The study also found that US broadcaster NBC by far leads the other major networks in terms of the number of negative depictions of faith.
2,385 hours of primetime entertainment programming on the seven commercial broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Pax, UPN, WB) were analysed. They contained 2,344 treatments of religion. In the PTC’s last study on religion, done in 1997, the PTC found only 551 treatments of religion in 1,800 hours of programming.
NBC programming had 9.5 negative treatments for every positive treatment of faith. Fox followed with 2.4 negative depictions for each one that was positive. WB and ABC tied with 1.2 negative for each positive.
Negativity toward religion grew steadily with each passing hour of prime time. During the 7 pm hour, religious content was negative 16.9 per cent of the time. In the 8 pm hour, 20.8 per cent of instances were negative. In the 9 pm hour, 27.5 per cent of instances were negative, and in the 10 pm hour, 28.2 per cent were negative.
The treatment of religion in an institutional or doctrinal context (such as a reference to a church service, a particular denomination, or to Scripture) was strikingly negative. More than 32 per cent of TV’s treatments of religious institutions and doctrine were negative while only 11.7 percent of such treatments were positive.
Negative depictions of the clergy were more than twice as frequent as positive depictions – 36.2 per cent negative compared to 14.6 per cent positive. Representations of devout laity tended to be negative more than positive, but to a lesser degree than in the past – 33.3 per cent negative compared to 20.4 percent positive. In the 1997 study, only 7.9 per cent of the treatments were positive, whereas a staggering 78.9 per cent were negative.
Among the positive examples, the PTC cites a Jag episode where a character prays to God to say hello to her dead mother, and an American Dreams episode where an actor playing a medical student says a surgery is partially in God’s hands. In India Jag airs on Star World.
PTC president L. Brent Bozell said, ” Religion and the public expression of faith is a crucial element in the lives of most Americans. Our findings should challenge Hollywood to accurately reflect this in television content. I am not suggesting that all television programming ought to be about St. Teresa or even be all positive about religion. However Hollywood should keep in mind the overall picture it presents to viewers.”
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
