JRFM JOURNAL 2025 11/01 RELIGION FILM MEDIA JRFM JOURNAL FOR RELIGION, FILM AND MEDIA 2025 11/01 Philippe Bornet and Stefanie Knauss (eds.) Current Trends in the Study of Religion, Film and Media Celebrating Ten Years of JRFM Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC JRFM JOURNAL FOR RELIGION, FILM AND MEDIA CHIEF EDITORS Stefanie Knauss Alexander D. Ornella Villanova University University of Hull Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati Christian Wessely University of Munich (LMU) University of Graz EDITORIAL BOARD Martina Bär Philippe Bornet University of Graz University of Lausanne Natalie Fritz Theresia Heimerl University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, Chur University of Graz Anna-Katharina Höpflinger Marie-Therese Mäder University of Munich (LMU) University of Munich (LMU) Sofia Sjö Åbo Akademi University ADVISORY BOARD Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler Chris Deacy University of Marburg University of Kent Cristiana Facchini Yara González-Justiniano University of Bologna Vanderbilt University Julia Helmke Syed Adnan Hussain University of Erlangen Saint Mary’s University of Halifax Athina Karatzogianni Markus Leniger University of Leicester Catholic Academy Schwerte Walter Lesch Marek Lis Université Catholique de Louvain University of Opole Charles Martig Marcello Neri SIGNIS Switzerland, Bern University of Flensburg Margaret Olin Florence Pasche Guignard Yale University Université Laval, Quebec City Jessica Piccinini Teemu Taira University of Macerata University of Helsinki Joachim Valentin Mirna Vohnsen University of Frankfurt Technological University Dublin Franz Winter Paola von Wyss-Giacosa University of Graz University of Zurich Elie Yazbek Irene Zwiep Saint-Joseph University of Beirut University of Amsterdam Reinhold Zwick University of Münster CONTACT Institut für Systematische Theologie und Liturgiewissenschaft / JRFM Heinrichstrasse 78/B/1, A-8010 Graz, Austria e-mail: jrfm@uni-graz.at • www.jrfm.eu www.jrfm.eu JRFM JOURNAL FOR RELIGION, FILM AND MEDIA JRFM is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication. It offers a platform for scholarly research in the broad field of religion and media, with a particular interest in audiovisual and interactive forms of communication. It engages with the challenges arising from the dynamic development of media technologies and their interaction with religion. JRFM publishes peer-reviewed articles in English that focus on visual and audiovisual media, feature film, documentary, advertising, interactive internet-based media and other forms of communication in their interdependencies with contemporary or his- torical forms of religion. It critically reflects on theories and methods, studies on inter- mediality, phenomenological and comparative approaches to media and religion across different cultures and periods. The main focus lies on contemporary phenomena, but diachronic analysis of the interaction between religion, film and media is also promoted as an essential facet of study. JRFM is edited by a network of international film, media and religion experts from dif- ferent countries and with professional experience in research, teaching and publishing in an interdisciplinary setting, linking perspectives from the study of religion and theol- ogy, film, media, visual and cultural studies, and sociology. It was founded in coopera- tion between different institutions in Europe, particularly the University of Graz and the University of Zurich, and is published in cooperation with Schüren publishing house, Marburg (Germany). It is an online, open-access publication with print-on-demand as an option. It appears twice a year in May and November and encompasses generally 4–6 articles. If you are interested in publishing in JRFM, please visit our website www.jrfm.eu. You will find detailed information about submission, review process and publication. We encourage papers that deepen the questions addressed by the calls for papers and free contributions within the wider profile of the journal. JRFM thanks the following institutions for their support: University of Graz, Austria University of Munich (LMU), Germany Villanova University, USA Das Land Steiermark, Austria Schüren Verlag, Marburg, Germany www.jrfm.eu. Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Die deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet unter http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar. Cover: Photograph © Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati JRFM is grateful for being supported by This issue is partially funded by the ‘Open Success!?’ JRFM anniversary conference held in Graz. www.jrfm.eu ISSN 2414-0201 ISBN 978-3-7410-0509-1 Print on demand service: Schüren Verlag GmbH Universitätsstr. 55 | D-35037 Marburg www.schueren-verlag.de Design: Christian Wessely / Erik Schüßler Titelgrafik: Wolfgang Diemer Proofreading: Rona Johnston Gordon Contents | 5www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 5–6 Contents Philippe Bornet and Stefanie Knauss The Study of Religion, Film and Media Trends and Future Directions Editorial� 7 Christian Wessely Not for Free at All Open Access Publishing and European Academia� 11 Alexander Darius Ornella To Study Religion and Media, We Need to Teach Religion and Media Economic Realities, Challenges, and Future Directions� 27 Marie-Therese Mäder A Variety of Reading Modes Researching the Consumption/Reception of Media and Religion� 49 Philippe Bornet Exploring the History of Cultural Interactions through Visual Material Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Age� 63 Yara González-Justiniano A Flor de Piel Exploring Latin American Decolonial Aesthetics for Religious Studies: Sensing Puerto Rican Media� 81 Sofia Sjö Young Adults, Digital Media, and Religion Broadening the Scope� 95 Mirna Vohnsen Trends, Challenges and Developments in Jewish Latin American Film� 105 6 | Contents www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 5–6 Giulia Evolvi Ten Years of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media Methods, Theories, and Current Trends� 119 Open Section Robert K. Johnston The Meaningful Meaninglessness of Multiverse Movies Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniel Kwan / Daniel Scheinert, US 2022), Camus, and Qoheleth� 129 Media Reviews Edgar Edel Animated Film Review The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki, JP 2023)� 151 Anna-Katharina Höpflinger Song Review The Beatles, “Now and Then”� 155 Jochen Mündlein Book Review Jesse Russell, The Political Christopher Nolan Liberalism and the Anglo-American Vision� 160 Maximilian Rosin Series Review The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 2 (Amazon Studios, US 2024)� 164 Editorial | 7www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 7–10 DOI: 10.25364/05.11:2025.1.1 Philippe Bornet and Stefanie Knauss The Study of Religion, Film and Media Trends and Future Directions Editorial Congratulations, JRFM! With this issue we celebrate the ten-year anni- versary of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media (JRFM), which has been published in cooperation with scholars and institutions in Europe and the United States since 2015. We are using this moment to take stock of current trends and consider future developments in the study of religion and media. These themes were discussed at the conference “Open Success!? Research and Publishing in Religion, Film and Media”, held in Graz, Austria, in Septem- ber 2023. The conference considered two topics that are shaping the work of JRFM: (1) the possibilities and challenges of Open Access (OA) publica- tion (i. e. a journal that does not charge readers or authors) and (2) issues influencing research in this field. In its Thematic Section, this issue collects contributions in which scholars involved in the work of the journal as mem- bers of the editorial or advisory board reflect on aspects they consider to be of significance to the field in this moment and their potential to influence its future direction. The response by Giulia Evolvi places the articles in the larger context of what she identifies as current trends and challenges in the field. It is our great pleasure that the Open Section includes an article by Robert K. Johnston, whose research in theology and film has greatly influ- enced the field. The journey of JRFM began in 2014 with Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati and Chris- tian Wessely’s initiative to develop and launch a diamond Open Access as a platform for research on religion and media that is intentionally inter- disciplinary and while primarily focused on audio-visual media is open to analysis of how other media (bodies, clothes, books and more) interact with religion. Today, scholars from fourteen countries and with a broad range of research interests and expertise are involved in the production of two issues per year. They are published on the journal’s webpage (jrfm.eu) and in the https://jrfm.eu/ 8 | Philippe Bornet and Stefanie Knauss www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 7–10 permanent repository at the University Library at Graz (http://unipub.uni- graz.at/jrfm/) and are available as print-on-demand through a collaboration with Schüren publishing house, Marburg, Germany. Research on religion and media is conducted by scholars affiliated with a range of disciplines, including religious studies, theology, media and com- munication studies, history, sociology, and others, and scattered across many universities and institutions. The highly interdisciplinary character of this research area can make it difficult to find a publication venue given the often rigid disciplinary boundaries shaping the profiles of many jour- nals. Thus, from the very beginning JRFM was conceived as a platform for promoting exchanges among researchers in this field and for highlighting the relevance of media for the study of religion in all spheres of society and culture, and from many perspectives. Over the last decade, the journal has been received by a broad audience of readers and authors worldwide, a readership made possible not least by its OA policy. After ten years, JRFM is at the center of a vibrant interdisciplinary network of researchers. As a diamond OA journal, JRFM has participated in the discussions around OA publishing in the humanities. The pros and cons of this (r)evolution are a regular topic for members of the editorial and advisory boards, together with stakeholders from different sectors of OA, including libraries, pub- lishing houses, academic institutions, public research funds, and political authorities. As Christian Wessely discusses in his contribution to this is- sue, Open Access is not simply a tool for providing free access to research results but it also influences the way research projects are organized and documented, and is part of a broader transformation of research paradigms in the context of mediatization and digitalization in the humanities and in academic scholarship. The first issue of JRFM, published in November 2015, offered a reflection on the range of approaches and methods used to conceptualize and analyze the multi-layered and multi-faceted interactions between religion and me- dia. As Marie-Therese Mäder’s contribution for this issue shows, the ques- tion of method (focusing here specifically on how to study the reception of media) is still relevant and will continue to occupy a field that is integrating an ever-broader range of disciplines along with their respective concepts, theories and methods. Since that first issue, media technologies have changed dramatically. New technologies such as generative AI, increasingly pervasive social media, and media tools such as Zoom, which are all used regularly by large numbers http://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm http://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm Editorial | 9www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 7–10 of individuals, will continue to influence interactions between media and religion and their study. Philippe Bornet’s contribution to this issue provides an example of such developments in pointing to both the historical and the transnational circulation of images and to new connections made possible by the digitization of primary sources and research results. In these last ten years, the institutional context for the study of religion has also changed, not least because of the elimination of some religion- related degree programs and departments of religious studies, the primary (although not exclusive) home of scholars researching religion and media. As Alexander D. Ornella’s contribution shows, these changes in institutional conditions have to be taken into consideration when reflecting on the fu- ture of the field. He also points out, however, that the study of media and re- ligion can create awareness of the importance of religion in social dynamics in the global context and could thus in turn increase enrollment numbers in relevant programs. Another significant development in recent years that will shape the fu- ture direction of the field is the internationalization of research in religion and media with regard to the media studied and the scholars involved. Here OA publishing makes a crucial contribution. The contribution by Mirna Vohnsen explores the exciting work being done in the field of Latin Ameri- can Jewish film studies, showing how religion and media studies can bring together marginalized fields, in this instance, the study of Latin American media products (which can be expanded to material from the Global South more broadly) and non-Christian religious traditions. That such work will have to grapple with the ways in which media (and their study) are involved in power dynamics is reflected in Yara González-Justiniano’s contribution, which proposes a toolset for analyzing decolonial aesthetics. While ap- plied here to examples of Puerto Rican artists and media producers, this approach can be used to study a wide range of cases. The need for diver- sity, within the scholarly community and among its subjects of study, is also one of the insights shared by Sofia Sjö in her consideration of a large international study of youth and religion, where she focuses on the results pertaining to interactions with media. Emphasizing the specific cultural and political contexts which shape how young people perceive and use media in the context of religion, Sjö notes that diversity amongst research subjects should not only be recognized but also actively fostered. In her response to the articles in this anniversary issue, Giulia Evolvi first insists on methods, advocating for global and integrated perspectives 10 | Philippe Bornet and Stefanie Knauss www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 7–10 rooted in the study of contexts. The digital age has brought not only new methodological challenges and opportunities but also new topics for re- search, such as the relationship between religion and AI. She then highlights three themes that run through the contributions and suggest fruitful direc- tions for future research: power dynamics that allow media to be used to promote or silence a particular worldview; decoloniality, which attends to the mediatized voice of underrepresented groups; and the reconfiguration of religion in a post-secular world, a phenomenon that often involves spe- cific mediatization practices. JRFM is a vital platform for exploring the relationships between religion, media and society, both in the present and in the past. Questions investi- gated in this field are arguably key to ensuring that the study of religion remains relevant to both students and stakeholders in the contemporary academic world. In addition, JRFM’s aim to bring together an interdiscipli- nary community of scholars willing to cultivate a collegial spirit remains a crucial objective for the study of religion and media in general, even though it is perhaps the exception rather than the rule in today’s segmented aca- demic world. Finally, as a peer-reviewed, Open Access publication, JRFM is positioned to promote the internationalization of the field and to bring high quality discussions on religion and media to a widening audience beyond Europe. We look forward to the next ten years of exciting research published in JRFM. Not for Free at All | 11www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 Christian Wessely Not for Free at All Open Access Publishing and European Academia Abstract The political demand that all results of university research be available through Open Access was a strategic decision that stakeholders have been required to embrace. However, Open Access is cost-free only for consumers, not for producers. Authors now need to not only produce excellent content but also secure financial support. Specific interest groups, in the interest of fair access to quality-assured publication, are establishing their own Open Access publication opportunities. This article sketch- es the emergence of the Open Access concept, its impact on the pressure to publish and career planning for young scholars, and the effort required to operate an Open Access journal (using the Journal of Religion, Film and Media as an example), focusing in particular on the workload associated with publishing one year’s output and the input/output relationship under current academic conditions. Keywords Open Access, JRFM, Publish or Perish, COARA, DIAMAS Biography Christian Wessely has been publishing articles on media and theology since 1994. After completing his doctorate in theology with a dissertation on mythological structures in the entertainment industry, published by Lang in 1995, he pursued his postdoctoral qualification. In 2004 he completed his habilitation in fundamental the- ology with a thesis entitled “Gekommen, um zu dienen” (Come to Serve), published by Pustet in 2005. Together with Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati, he founded the Journal for Religion, Film and Media in 2015. A Brief History of Open Access Publishing Open Access (OA) publication plays a crucial role in the dissemination of academic research by making scholarly works freely accessible to a global audience. This model of publishing promotes the democratization of know DOI: 10.25364/05.11:2025.1.2 ϭϮ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 ledge, allowing researchers, students, and the general public to access and benefit from the latest scientific findings without financial or legal barriers. OA publication also enhances the visibility and impact of research, enabling greater collaboration, innovation, and exchange of ideas within the aca- demic community. Furthermore, it can facilitate socio-economic develop- ment by providing policymakers, practitioners, and entrepreneurs with information valuable for addressing pressing global challenges. As a result, the importance of OA publication extends beyond academia, influencing aspects of society and contributing to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of all.1 At least, that’s the honourable and well-meaning theory which dates back to the late 1990s. Yet it was only in 2001 that sixteen individuals representing their respective organizations signed a declaration on the importance of the free distribution of knowledge, the so-called “Budapest Open Access Initiative” (BOAI).2 Based on the documents created by BOAI, the Berlin Declaration on Open Access in Sciences and Humanities was de- veloped in 2003. Initiated by the Max Planck Society and the European Cul- tural Heritage Online project, the Berlin declaration defines the goal of OA publishing. As of June 2024 it had been signed by almost 800 international institutions.3 In 2018, Plan S was launched by the national research councils of twelve European countries. The “cOAlition S”, which is supported by the European Commission and has national research funds as its most important mem- bers, requires scholars to publish their results in an OA mode as a condition for receiving public funding. Plan S also defines a minimum of rights that are to be granted to the author, such as copyright, standardized and transpar- ent publication fees, and certain incentives.4 OA publishing can have a remarkable impact on academic career pos- sibilities. Given that in Germany (or Austria), for example, around 80 per cent of the academic staff are on temporary contracts, that job security 1 See the statement of the European Commission concerning the OA policy at https://t1p.de/ omcl1 [accessed 17 July 2024]. 2 See Budapest Open Access Initiative 2002. It is remarkable that the European Commission has made Open Access mandatory for all Horizon 2020 projects and beyond; national funding agencies largely follow that example, e. g. the Austrian FWF, see Förderrichtlinien für Einzelprojekte, Version 4, 25, https://t1p.de/q0coc [accessed 17 July 2024]. 3 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities 2003. 4 Plan S Principles 2019. https://t1p.de/omcl1 https://t1p.de/omcl1 https://t1p.de/q0coc Not for Free at All | 13www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 helps create healthy working conditions,5 and that the number and quality of published articles is a key factor in gaining one of those rare permanent positions, the increasing number of OA journals offers opportunities for academics to advance their career. This article discusses the pressures resulting from the imperative to pub- lish Open Access on both young scholars and those institutions and organi- zations which produce OA journals, reflecting critically on developments in the publication market since the establishment of an OA publication requirement. It uses as an example the Journal for Religion, Film and Media to illustrate the costs of the OA model in terms of the financial and human resources required to produce a journal as well as the benefits of publishing OA, for example in terms of visibility. The Pressure to Publish and Financial Burdens on Authors OA publishing sounds like a positive and equitable model. To evaluate this model, we need, however, to take account of a number of factors. An impor- tant contextual element is that if they are to be offered one of those scarce permanent positions in academia, young scholars are increasingly required to have produced a high number of excellent publications, which in turn require research for which they may have had to secure third-party funding. Such third-party funding has become necessary because in most public uni- versities the regular budget covers only the most urgent requirements such as teaching, staff, and materials. The cOAlition S, whose members happen to be the main sources of third-party funding, have tied grants to OA publication of the results of the research they fund, bundling together the requirements to publish in high- quality journals and secure external grants. While grants generally cover at least some of the publication costs, they are difficult to obtain, even for good and, indeed, excellent researchers. As Stephan Pühringer points out, the universities and young scholars have to pay a price for this highly competitive set-up in the scholarly com- munity, not least in financial terms since they are now often responsible for covering publication fees. A young scholar in need of publications to secure a permanent position will find themselves either bound to publish in jour- 5 Reitz 2024, 7. ϭϰ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 nals with which their host institution has some sort of relationship (mem- bership etc.) or required to raise money to pay publication fees.6 According to Pühringer, the prevalent narrative of a fair competition within the scien- tific community based solely on scholarly excellence is a myth.7 The costs of this competition are not only economic but also social, psychological, and epistemological, and, last but not least, it is detrimental to innovation.8 This accords with a selection process tailored to the needs of the contemporary university system, with its focus on a small group of resilient experts who support the politically desired, and hence politically supported, university system. Susanne Pernicka and colleagues see a close connection between the criteria of excellence used in the competition for academic positions and the scarcity of permanent positions: “‘Few permanent positions’ sits well with the broad approval of the idea of ‘selecting the best’ and upholding ‘meritocratic principles.’”9 Scholars who do not publish in high volume in highly rated journals may face disadvantages or even the termination of their contract. Together with the increased pressure to publish, expectations regarding where scholars publish have dramatically changed. Today, the standard is to publish arti- cles in renowned journals, and not, as previously, to publish monographs. A publication format is highly rated if it is peer-reviewed (for quality), in English (for dissemination), and indexed (e. g. in SCOPUS, Web of Science, ATLA, ERIH). And in addition, given the requirements of funding agencies, the publication also has to be Open Access. At this point, it is necessary to distinguish between different standards in the OA culture. The model embraced by for-profit publishers is the gold standard: articles are freely available to readers but the authors are usually charged an article processing fee if the submitted article is accepted. The size of these fees varies: they typically range from around €1,000 (PLOS One 6 Cf. Pühringer 2024. 7 The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), https://sfdora.org/ [accessed 1 December 2024], and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (COARA), https://coara.eu [accessed 1 December 2024], serve as examples of a different and I think better approach. Nevertheless, the decision about a candidate for a permanent position still largely depends on the candidate’s publications and network. 8 Pühringer notes the significant increase in precarious employment conditions, the high rate of dropping-out at the first opportunity among the best, opaque career prospects, and social selection. Cf. Pühringer 2024. 9 Pernicka/Reichel/Hefler 2017, 292 (translation: Wessely). https://sfdora.org/ https://coara.eu/ Not for Free at All | 15www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 registered report article)10 to €5,000 and more (Wiley Advanced Science).11 Although a number of gold standard OA journals offer reduced fees for scholars from, for example, Africa or Southeast Asia, these discounts are often insufficient given the funding situation of the scholars’ institutions.12 A journal meeting the higher diamond (or platinum) standard focuses solely on scholarly quality, disregarding economic aspects, at least in that it does not charge authors. These journals are financially dependent on in- stitutions like libraries, universities, scholarly societies, or funding associa- tions, which may influence the general direction of the journal. Diamond standard journals are the exception rather than the rule, even though pro- jects like DIAMAS13 are doing their best to change that. The standard easiest to achieve but least recognized is the green stand- ard, which requires the author to store their paper in a publicly available permanent repository after its publication in a traditional journal. Such repositories may be institutional (e. g. at a university), topic-centred, or a webspace provided by the author.14 The journal in which the work was origi- nally published may set an embargo period, so although the repository can be freely accessed, it is usually not current. Access may become a problem in the long term if the repository is not maintained. Adding complexity to the OA environment, predatory journals capitalize on the publication strategies developed in the wake of the public commit- 10 https://plos.org/publish/fees/ [accessed 17 July 2024]. PLOS fees vary widely, depending on topic; they can be as high as €6,000 in PLOS Medicine when the author’s institution is not a member of the “journals collective action community”. In this way, institutions are encouraged to join this community. 11 https://t1p.de/soiia [accessed 17 July 2024]. Wiley provides an excel file at this page which can be downloaded freely; it shows that the publisher has a portfolio of about 580 journals with a range of publication fees. Like PLOS, Wiley provides APC discounts and membership deductions. 12 Some institutions, mostly educational, provide support for individual researchers who need to publish in these journals. Several journals have contracts with institutions which ensure special conditions or even free publishing for its affiliates. 13 The DIAMAS (Developing Institutional Open Access Publishing Models to Advance Scholarly Communication) initiative, founded in 2022, seeks to address this issue by coordinating quality standards and promoting greater efficiency amongst institutional publishers; cf. https://diamasproject.eu/ [accessed 1 October 2024]. The EU-funded project will run until 2025; it is to be hoped that its results will lead to a sustainable implementation of the diamond standard. However, the great diversity of funding models is not conducive to this. 14 A self-provided webspace, however, would not be compliant with Plan S, which requires a trusted repository. https://plos.org/publish/fees/ https://t1p.de/soiia https://diamasproject.eu/ ϭϲ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 ment to OA publication. They offer publication venues at cost to authors, but without providing services such as quality management, peer review, or distribution, unlike reputable gold standard journals. As a result, their model is effectively fraudulent,15 for scholars who have used a journal with a negative reputation may be ill advised to include a potentially decisive publication on their CV. Unsurprisingly, larger for-profit academic publishers have recognized the new environment as a business opportunity, a means not just to survive but also to thrive. In his article on author fees for OA publishing, Ángel Borrego states that “[d]espite praise for diamond OA journals, which charge no fees, most OA articles are published by commercial publishers that charge APCs 15 Cf. https://t1p.de/nz4wc [accessed 17 July 2024]. To identify a predatory journal, one should consult the database of OA journals (https://doaj.org/) and check whether a previously unknown journal offering a publishing opportunity is listed there. Nevertheless, the principle that an author should “publish only in already established journals” is in my opinion inadequate, as it channels research trends and overly restricts the space for meaningful innovations. New journals with potential in all conceivable areas of research continue to emerge, and they certainly deserve a chance. FŎłۖٹܜ۝�£ƿĚŦŎƪʼnĩƢƪ܇�ƪʼnþƢĩ�ŻŁ�ƟƿĚŦŎěþƷŎŻűƪ�þűĢ�ƷŻƷþŦ�ĩǡƟĩűĢŎƷƿƢĩ�Ŏű�ƟĩƢěĩűƷþłĩƪ�ŁŻƢ�Ʒʼnĩ�ǢĩþƢۗٻٺٸٺ�� ®ŻƿƢěĩۖ�dDžŦŎěʼn�FŻƢƪěʼnƿűłƪǬĩűƷƢƿů�ðĩűƷƢþŦĚŎĚŦŎŻƷʼnĩţۗ��Ɵĩű��ěěĩƪƪ��þƢŻůĩƷĩƢ۝ٻٺٸٺ� https://t1p.de/nz4wc https://doaj.org/ Not for Free at All | 17www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 [article processing charges].”16 Given that the OA movement aims to reduce overall costs and increase accessibility, the disproportionate number of profit-oriented journals charging author fees which dominate the market can hardly be called a satisfactory development. The OA Barometer of the Central Library of the Research Center Jülich shows that as of 2024, the big players amongst the publishing houses share 89 per cent of scholarly pub- lications (fig. 1), which generates a significant narrowing and distortion of the market. Open Access and Publishing Houses Generally, the OA principle stands for unhindered reader access to any published content, be it in the form of a monograph or, more frequently, an article.17 As we noted, the vast majority of OA journals are published by for-profit companies, with a few prominent major players (fig. 1). All gold and diamond standard OA journals do provide some or all of the services a publishing house provides, amongst which (hopefully) are: • Office management and correspondence • Peer review (at least by an editor, in the best case by one or several peers) • Feedback for the author • Copyediting and proofreading of the finished manuscript • Typesetting and the organization of galley proofing • Printing, if print or print-on-demand versions are made available • PR and advertising • Inventory management and distribution • Management of contacts with libraries, bookstores, download opportu- nities • Enforcement of copyright and, if applicable, billing of royalties • Digital infrastructure to make a manuscript available online, and related maintenance 16 Borrego 2023, 359. 17 The industry and other commercial stakeholders are thus able to access any results easily. Unfortunately, this is not true in the reverse direction – publicly funded science does not always have access, let alone free access, to the results of “private” research (e. g. industry- funded), even though they may have been achieved with the support of (indirect) public funding, such as tax relief. ϭϴ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 These services do incur labour and other costs. Consequently, outside the OA market (and at least in most European countries), while the publication of an article is usually free for the author (with the costs incurred by the publisher covered by subscription fees), for the publication of a book, the author will be charged a printing subvention fee. The amount of the fee de- pends on the efforts the publisher will put into the publication and, to some extent, on the reputation of the author or the publishing house.18 In the case of both monographs and articles, a reputable publisher will insist on having the submitted manuscript peer reviewed, even if the author is particularly well-known or the project extremely promising. Since OA journals do not charge subscription fees or sell individual issues, the production costs have to be covered by other means, for example through au- thor fees, as mentioned above. This problem arises for non-profit and for-profit publishers equally. And so we are left with a central question: Is it possible to produce a diamond standard OA journal that offers authors cost-free publica- tion while also upholding rigorous quality controls and delivering comprehen- sive publisher services? And a follow-up question: Is the investment worth it? Case Study: The Journal for Religion, Film and Media To answer these questions, I will explore here the publishing process of one particular journal and consider the costs and benefits. Having collaborated in planning and publishing the diamond standard OA Journal for Religion, Film and Media (JRFM)19 since 2013, I have gathered some knowledge of the intri- cate procedures required to establish and manage an OA journal. Founded in 2014, JRFM is a cooperation between the universities of Graz (Austria), Munich (Germany), Hull (United Kingdom), Villanova (USA), Laus- anne (Switzerland), and Åbo (Finland). It is published twice a year (May and November) and specializes in articles that focus on visual and audio-visual media, feature films, documentaries, advertising, interactive internet-based 18 If, for example, Scrooge McDuck wanted to publish a book titled How to Make Money and Keep It, he would probably have a choice between publishers eager to pay him to publish with them; however, if Ottilia Averagy would like to publish her thesis on The History of the Toenail Relic of Saint Dionysius of Latrinia, she is likely to be less fortunate, even though the scholarly quality of her work might be significantly higher than that of Uncle Scrooge’s book. 19 https://www.jrfm.eu (production and main server) and https://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm (permanent repository) [accessed 17 July 2024]; ISSN 2617-3697. https://www.jrfm.eu/ https://unipub.uni-graz.at/jrfm Not for Free at All | 19www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 media and other media of communication and their interaction with con- temporary or historical forms of religion.20 The technical infrastructure and required support are provided by the University of Graz; this includes the main server and the permanent re- pository. The complete production workflow is handled on the main server through the Open Journal Software by PKP.21 The four chief editors and eight members of the editorial board consider their work for the journal part of their scholarly vocation. Usually, at least one member of the editorial board is involved in any given issue as one of the issue editors; sometimes a mem- ber of the advisory board or an external scholar with expertise in the issue’s main theme may also be involved as a co-editor. The scholarly expertise of its editors and its advisory board is the main resource required for the production of a high-quality journal. In addition, the journal production requires services and material which have to be out- sourced and funded, such as professional design, backup media, hardware used by the managing editor, and the (almost, but not totally negligible) domain fees. It is also desirable that the editorial board meets regularly in person to allow for a free and dynamic exchange of ideas, which is not pos- sible to the same degree through video conferences, although those do have their merits, especially for an international team of collaborators. The journal collaborates with various institutions to secure funding, which is provided by the hosting institution, the Faculty for Catholic Theology at the Uni- versity of Graz, as well as the Department for Religious Studies at the Faculty for Protestant Theology at LMU Munich, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University, and the significant support of the Styrian Regional Govern- ment, Department of Science and Research. In addition, the cooperation with Schüren publishing house in Marburg, Germany, covers the print-on-demand version as well as most of the advertising and PR for the online version. A considerable effort goes into producing an issue, in terms of direct and indirect expenses and also work hours. Beyond the costs for material and services mentioned above, the substantial labour hours required for production (fig. 2)22 highlight the extensive investment of time and human resources required to produce an issue of an OA journal. 20 https://jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/about [accessed 17 July 2024]. 21 https://pkp.sfu.ca/software/ojs/ [accessed 17 July 2024]. 22 The numbers in fig. 2 represent the average calculated from the responses of individuals involved in the publication of the journal as requested by the author of this article in July 2024. Based on these responses, the overall work hours were estimated. https://jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/about https://pkp.sfu.ca/software/ojs/ ϮϬ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 Importantly, the table only includes the work hours that are directly related to the production process. Not included are “optional” hours, such as for cover design, archive and backup management, or applications to be included in subject-specific indexes and databases, which are crucial for the reputation of an OA journal. The effort required for such applications varies greatly: for instance, while being listed in the DOAJ only requires demonstrating basic facts, an application for inclusion in SCOPUS requires measuring networking and, most importantly, reception (e. g. citations of the journal’s contributions in other scholarly publications). Meeting these requirements, or at least creating the conditions for meeting them, de- mands a considerable amount of time. Another factor which adds to the work hours involved in the production of an issue is searching for qualified and cooperative peer reviewers. With the proliferation of publishing platforms such as OA journals and with peer review now widely considered the standard for scholarly quality, the demand for peer reviewers has grown, and they, too, are under increasing pressure. Thus, substantial efforts are often required to recruit the necessary number of reviewers for each issue, especially since writing (double-blind) peer re- FŎłۖٺܜ۝�¼ʼnĩ�ĩƪƷŎůþƷĩĢ�ƷŻƷþŦ�ǜŻƢţ�ʼnŻƿƢƪ�ƢĩơƿŎƢĩĢ�ƷŻ�ƟƢŻĢƿěĩ�ƷǜŻ�Ŏƪƪƿĩƪ�ŻŁܝ�d¦Frۮ�Żűĩ�ǢĩþƢ܇ƪ� ƟƢŻĢƿěƷŎŻű۝ۯ�¼ʼnĩ�ʼnŻƿƢƪ�Ŏű�ĚŻŦĢ�þƢĩ�ƟƢŻǛŎĢĩĢ�ŁƢĩĩ�ŻŁ�ěʼnþƢłĩ�ĚǢ�ƪěʼnŻŦþƢƪ۝� Not for Free at All | 21www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 views, while central to academic responsibilities, is unpaid and lacks public recognition (although it might be recognized as a service to the profession). Consequently, all OA journals grapple with the enduring challenge of securing funding to support their operations in the long term and achieve financial stability – a problem to which a perfect solution remains elusive, given that currently, funding agencies for example might finance the foun- dation of a journal or particular projects to improve its operations but not its long-term production. And the Output? The dissemination of articles from OA journals cannot be controlled after their publication. They are downloaded, included in other repositories, cir- culated as email attachments among professionals, read online, etc. As for JRFM, in addition to its main server, there are repositories at the authors’ re- spective universities and a number of other free repositories which include material from each issue (select articles or the whole issue). Download numbers thus provide only limited information about the distribution and reception of the published articles and issues.23 The following numbers, which only include the downloads from the main server at www.jrfm.eu (rounded for the reader’s convenience), show a clear tendency. The first issue, published in November 2015, generated approxi- mately 300 downloads in the first month. Currently, the average download of 2,500–3,000 articles in the publication months (May and November) and 1,500–2,000 in each of the months in between is relatively stable. The year 2023 saw a total of 17,897 downloads of abstracts (fig. 3) and 26,043 down- loads of individual article files (fig. 4), adjusted for the statistical outlier in November.24 According to internal statistics, the journal’s “bestseller” was downloaded more than 5,250 times, while other articles hover around a few hundred or fewer downloads. However, this statement is misleading, as the downloads are calculated over the entire publication period and therefore 23 The main server at https://www.jrfm.eu has maintained detailed statistics since the system update in 2017. Thus, even though the diffusion of JRFM articles cannot be reconstructed precisely, it is possible to make an educated guess about tendencies and the journal’s general development. 24 The unadjusted numbers are 25,015 abstracts and 27,916 articles downloaded. Adjustment by adding the average of the months without November as the November value. http://www.jrfm.eu/ https://www.jrfm.eu/ ϮϮ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 it is difficult to compare data from the latest issue with those from, for ex- ample, 2017. The increase in download numbers undoubtedly reflects the growing ten- dency to use OA publication, a trend also indicative of reading behaviour. Ad- ditionally, it indicates the expanding dissemination of JRFM. The noticeable increases in download numbers occurred in close temporal proximity to the journal’s inclusion in prominent indexes; a correlation is therefore likely. The fact that the journal is Open Access has not only contributed to its increased dissemination but is also connected to its visibility beyond the Anglo-European sphere, as the geographical diversity of readers and authors has significantly increased over time. Depending on the issue topic, up to 40 per cent of the downloads are initiated outside the Anglo-European area. As for authors, in 2017 JRFM published ten articles in the thematic section, one of which was authored by a non-Anglo-European; in 2023, five of fifteen 25 The articles’ statistics were only implemented with the update in May 2018, so these numbers correspond to the period between May 2018 and May 2024. FŎłۖٻܜ۝�d¦Fr�ĢŻǜűŦŻþĢ�ƪƷþƷŎƪƷŎěƪۮ�þĚƪƷƢþěƷƪٽٺ۝ۯ FŎłۖټܜ۝�d¦Fr�ĢŻǜűŦŻþĢ�ƪƷþƷŎƪƷŎěƪۮ�þƢƷŎěŦĩ�ǽŦĩƪ۝ۯ Not for Free at All | 23www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 articles in the thematic section were written by authors with a non-Anglo- European cultural background. Thus, while the publication of an independent OA journal such as JRFM requires considerable investment in terms of finances and human resources without long-term financial stability, the fact that it is freely accessible both to readers and to authors results in a broad international dissemination, sig- nificant reception (as indicated by download numbers), and diversity both in the scholars who publish in the journal and in its readership. Conclusion The realm of Open Access publishing is multi-faceted, with both challenges and benefits for the academic community. While Open Access does lead to a substantial increase in dissemination and visibility for authors and their scholarship, sustaining such platforms often relies on assistance from insti tutions like universities and their libraries, which provide server support and technical resources, and on funding by the same institutions, public or private research funds, or other institutions interested in supporting the lo- cal academic community and its research. The main advantage of founding an independent OA journal is certainly sole control over all aspects of the journal, from the determination of edito- rial direction to the identification of strategic objectives and maintaining financial responsibility. However, this final aspect is also a disadvantage, be- cause significant financial resources must be raised for production process- es that have to be outsourced. Hence, it is important to create awareness of the importance of the publication at the institutional level and to convince relevant stakeholders of its unique selling points. Only as long as the institu- tion fully supports the project and as long as basic funding is secured can such a project be operated professionally. Also, the risk of relying on the co- operation of specific individuals within the academic community should not be underestimated. Processes that work well with a particular constellation of collaborators may have to be reorganized when other individuals become involved. Thus, advantages and disadvantages must be carefully weighed up when considering OA publication as a model in general, and a specific OA journal in particular. In some sense, the example of JRFM reflects the broader current devel- opments of OA. The general tendency towards OA publishing is a blessing Ϯϰ�ͮ��ŚƌŝƐƟĂŶ�tĞƐƐĞůLJ www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 especially for a research field that is international and intercultural, such as religious studies and theology. Providing a publication opportunity without financial barriers for scholars from all regions of the world is an essential component of an open academic culture. However, while Open Access is a noble goal and has the potential to democratize the spread of information and foster scientific advancement, it also presents numerous logistical and financial challenges that need constant attention. Initiatives such as DIAMAS play a crucial role in guiding this development in the right direction. How- ever, the long-term success depends on the political will to permanently implement these structures. Therefore, it is essential to enhance network- ing and lobbying on a supranational level among the networks of diamond standard OA journals if the ideals of Open Access are to be achieved. Off the Record If you, dear reader, are asked to provide a peer review for an OA journal, es- pecially one that relies on a business model that does not seek profits, we en- courage you to think twice before turning down the request. Our experience indicates that it has become more challenging to find suitable peer reviewers than to find good authors, and a good journal is in urgent need of both. Bibliography Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, 2003, https://openaccess.mpg.de/Berlin-Declaration [accessed 17 July 2024]. Borrego, Ángel, 2023, Article Processing Charges for Open Access Journal Publishing. A Review, Learned Publishing 36, 3, 359–378. Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2002, https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative. org/ [accessed 17 July 2024]. Jülich Forschungszentrum Zentralbibliothek, Open-Access-Barometer, 2023, https:// t1p.de/5c2lr [accessed 17 July 2024]. Pernicka, Susanne / Reichel, Astrid / Hefler, Günter, 2017, Wissenschaftskarrieren an österreichischen Universitäten. Zur Bedeutung von neuen Steuerungsmodellen, institutionalisierten Leitbildern und Praktiken, in: Holst, Hajo (ed.), Fragmentierte Belegschaften. Leiharbeit, Informalität und Soloselbständigkeit in globaler Perspek- tive, Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 269–304. Plan S Principles, 2019, https://www.coalition-s.org/plan_s_principles/ [accessed 17 July 2024]. Pühringer, Stephan, 2024, Wie viel Wettbewerb wollen wir (uns leisten)? Die Kosten kompetitiver Drittmittelvergabe an österreichischen Unis. Presentation given at https://openaccess.mpg.de/Berlin-Declaration https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/ https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/ https://t1p.de/5c2lr https://t1p.de/5c2lr https://www.coalition-s.org/plan_s_principles/ Not for Free at All | 25www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 11–25 the conference “Universitätspersonalrechtliche Gespräche”, Linz, 29 May 2024, https://t1p.de/ybotr [accessed 3 December 2024]. Reitz, Tilman, 2024, Veraltete Modernisierung, mögliche Neuanfänge. Die Zukunft der Universität, in: UniLex. Informationen zu universitätsrechtlicher Theorie und Praxis, 7–12, https://t1p.de/73ll4 [accessed 30 November 2024]. https://t1p.de/ybotr https://t1p.de/73ll4 dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�Ϯϳwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 Alexander Darius Ornella To Study Religion and Media, We Need to Teach Religion and Media Economic Realities, Challenges, and Future Directions Abstract Universities in the United Kingdom, and also in the United States, Austria, and Ger- many, are facing increased financial pressures. This has already led to the closure of religious studies departments and courses. Course closures impact not only the study choices of students but also the opportunities for the faculty to study religion and media. In this essay, written from a UK perspective, I argue that healthy recruitment into religious studies and related degrees is a necessary foundation for consideration of future directions in the study of religion and media. Given precarious funding, it is essential to consider the value that the study of religion offers the tax-paying public and how scholars in the study of religion can demonstrate how religion shapes socio- cultural and political transformations. I argue that scholars of religion and media can do much to renew public interest in the study of religion. Keywords Recruitment, Funding, Future Directions, Skills, Religion and Media Biography Alexander Darius Ornella, Dr. theol., is Senior Lecturer in Religion at the University of Hull. His research interests include technology and religion, sports and religion, and religion and visual practices. Currently he is exploring how the use of police robots might impact faith communities. He is also working on a project that explores the links between sex work and religion. Introduction To speculate about future directions in the study of religion and media is itself almost a religious practice, akin to divination in antiquity. Given the financial challenges many universities in countries such as the United DOI: 10.25364/05.11:2025.1.3 28 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Austria (to name just a few) are facing, any such divination needs to consider the institutional and budget- ary context of the study of religion and media, that is, adequate student numbers as foundation for the funding of both teaching and research. The study of religion and media faces a double burden of precarious- ness. The first burden comes from the institutional reality of how and where “religion and media” is taught. At least at an undergraduate level, the study of religion and media is often limited to select courses within a religious studies, theology, or social sciences degree. Such embedded- ness means that the future of the study of religion and media is linked to the future of the courses, disciplines, or departments it sits in. The second burden is shared with many other non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) courses or courses that do not have a clear vocational trajectory. Such courses are at the mercy of ever-changing governmental policies, expectations about career paths and the “value for money” that a degree offers, and last but not least, often-questionable university senior administrator decisions. This second burden might hit the study of religion and media especially hard: why should a university spend its already scarce resources to fund the teaching and the study of religion and media? To speculate about future directions in the study of religion and me- dia, then, means first and foremost to reflect on the question why? Why study religion at all? Anyone who attempts to answer this question will need to venture beyond personal interests and the stubborn pervasive- ness of religion in contemporary societies. In addition, they will need to keep at least two different audiences and their concerns and agendas in mind. Understandably, students will be looking for convincing reasons to justify their financial and time commitment. University managers will want to be convinced that a continued investment in the study of religion will reap a financial return, will come with a high financial “contribution to center”, and will increase their institution’s student market share. In other words: perceptions of growth are slowly becoming almost exclu- sive drivers in university administrators’ decisions about which courses to cut and which areas to label “growth areas” and funnel university resources to. This essay is to a large extent based on my own experience of the higher education landscape in the United Kingdom and the discussions around sustainability when the study of religion was wound down at my own dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�Ϯϵwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 institution over ten years ago, as well as similar discussions at UK univer- sities that are currently facing course closures. The UK higher education sector is under immense pressure that affects a range of disciplines, in- cluding the study of religion, humanities, and social sciences, and at some institutions even “safe” STEM subjects. At the time of writing, around 70 universities in the United Kingdom have announced voluntary and/or compulsory redundancies, with some universities having (or wanting) to save up to £100 million over the next couple of years.1 The University of Kent’s theology and religious studies provision is one of the latest victims of these pressures.2 While the perspective of this article is grounded in my experiences in England, the recruitment challenges I will discuss in more detail in the next section reflect broader issues the study of religion faces across and beyond Europe. Those issues are linked to the value, or lack of value, both the tax-paying public and academia itself see in the study of religion. Sam- uel L. Perry addresses the challenging position the study of religion finds itself in: There is a curiously persistent mismatch between religion’s relevance in human social life and its place in the academy. And that situation is wors- ening. Today, religious studies departments are fighting for their lives. Social science advisors practically (and sometimes explicitly) forbid their graduate students from studying religion for fear that it will make their employment prospects even dimmer than they already are.3 I argue that any speculation about future directions in the study of religion and media needs to have as its foundation a solid understanding of the study of religion’s two-fold precariousness, the biases the study of religion faces from the public and within academia, and the recruitment challenges faced by the subjects and departments that are home to the study of religion and media, i. e. religious studies, theology, humanities, or social sciences. The viability of research around religion and media very much depends on the viability of the study of religion more broadly as well as the viability of those disciplines that feature classes or courses related to religion and media. An- 1 Sandiford 2023; Mitchell 2024; UCU Queen Mary 2024. 2 University of Kent 2024. 3 Perry 2024, xv. 30 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 ecdotally, the Vice-Chancellor of one of the UK universities that announced compulsory redundancies in June 2024 stated bluntly at an all-faculty meet- ing that the only thing that will save universities is bums on seats, because research is mostly a loss-making business. The success of any attempts to reinvigorate interest in the study of religion and drive up student numbers to enable research will ultimately depend on how compelling the answer is to the questions of what students can learn about society that they cannot learn elsewhere, and how that knowledge translates into clear career paths and practical and actional knowledge. I argue that as scholars of religion and media (and readers of JRFM) col- lectively we have the resources, knowledge, and expertise to take back control over contemporary narratives of the decline and irrelevance of the study of religion. Rather than presenting a single answer to this complex question, this article aims to initiate a conversation on how the study of religion and media can demonstrate its value for money and justify its con- tinued funding. Before proceeding to the next section, I should clarify who I consider to be scholars of religion and media. I do not see the study of religion and media as the exclusive territory of – or a subfield restricted to – “religious studies”. I know many scholars in religion and media whose background is in theology, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, or media and com- munication studies. This clarification matters, because rather than presume there is competition between “home” disciplines (and there often is such competition, much to everyone’s detriment!), we must recognize that the study of religion and media – and thus ultimately the study of religion – is enriched by its interdisciplinarity. “Follow the Money”: Recruitment Challenges While the study of religion and media is not exclusively dependent on the financial health of religious studies (or theology for that matter), I focus on recruitment numbers for religious studies and theology, as these are prob- ably its main financial homes. Mapping recruitment patterns for religious studies relies on publicly available data that might be inaccurate. In the United Kingdom, for example, a report by the British Association for the Study of Religions highlighted that inconsistencies when coding for religious dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϯϭwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 studies courses sometimes skewed numbers between religious studies and theology. Tracking major/minor combinations involving religious studies can be equally challenging.4 The raising of tuition fees in England to £9,000 in 2012 had a major nega- tive impact on the UK-wide statistics of student numbers enrolling in a course in V6 (theology and religious studies; fig. 1). A British Academy report attributed the dip mostly to a decrease in recruitment in England and stated that in Scotland, where Scottish students did not pay tuition fees, enroll- ment remained largely stable.5 To date, intake numbers in Scotland remain small but stable, with overall numbers in 2022/23 similar to 2019/20 (fig. 2). Due to the relatively small cohort in Scotland and the fact that students from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland do pay tuition fees in Scotland – meaning tuition fees are not an incentive for these students to relocate for a religious studies programme – I will not continue to separate Scottish and English numbers in the remainder of this essay. At the same time as tuition fees were raised and university recruitment significantly declined in England, pupils’ interest in religion in secondary education in England/Wales/Northern Ireland continued to grow. The num- 4 Robertson/Tuckett/Schmidt 2021, 13. 5 British Academy 2019, 15. FŎłۖٹܜ۝�FŎƢƪƷ�ǢĩþƢ�ƪƷƿĢĩűƷƪ�Ŏű�ƟʼnŎŦŻƪŻƟʼnǢ�þűĢ�ƷʼnĩŻŦŻłǢ�þűĢ�ƢĩŦŎłŎŻƿƪ�ƪƷƿĢŎĩƪ�Ŏű�Ʒʼnĩ�Ãf۝ 32 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 ber of pupils taking religious studies at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)6 and A-Level7 saw a steady increase until 2016 but then started to drop off significantly in 2018 (fig. 3). The increase in numbers up until 2016 contributed to a popular narrative that religious studies enjoys a growing interest which universities simply failed to harness.8 Not only did the spike in A-Levels in religious studies in England not translate into increased student numbers at university level, but in light of the dramatic drop in the study of religion at secondary school since 2017/18, it is clear that religious studies has proved not to be the feeder subject universities had hoped for.9 Tracking recruitment patterns and generating reliable and comparable data is also complicated by the realities of the institutional “home” of reli- gious studies degrees and their entanglement with other degree programs.10 In some universities, religious studies is offered alongside, with and in the same department as theology programs. In other universities, religious 6 Taken in the United Kingdom (excl. Scotland) at the age of 16. 7 Taken in the United Kingdom (excl. Scotland) at the age of 18. A-Level qualifications are used by universities as an entry qualification. 8 Religious Education Council 2021; Benoit/Hutchings 2023, 319. 9 Ofsted 2024. 10 Robertson/Tuckett/Schmidt 2021, 1–2; British Academy 2019. FŎłۖٺܜ۝�FŎƢƪƷ�ǢĩþƢ�ƪƷƿĢĩűƷƪ�ŁŻƢ�ƢĩŦŎłŎŻƿƪ�ƪƷƿĢŎĩƪ�þűĢ�ƷʼnĩŻŦŻłǢ�ƟƢŻłƢþůůĩƪ�Ŏű�®ěŻƷŦþűĢ۝ dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϯϯwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 studies sits under the umbrella of philosophy, humanities, or social sciences. Yet other institutions, for example in Germany, feature two flavors of reli- gious studies in the same university: one in the religious studies department within a faculty of theology and another in a faculty of humanities or social sciences. Degree program coding is also complicated by how degrees in theology and degrees in the study of religion are advertised. For example, the Univer- sity of Oxford markets their theology and religion degree as a program that combines the study of theology and the study of religion.11 The complexity and diversity of the “home” of religious studies and its entanglement with theology is important. While the drop in student numbers in the combined V6 theology and religious studies category seems driven by a noticeable decrease in theology entrants, religious studies did not seem to be able to convert this drop into an increase in religious studies entrants. In fact, in 2022/23, theology entrants saw a slight uptick again (from 490 to 510) while religious studies entrants dropped (from 275 to 210; fig. 4). However, while religious studies and theology numbers declined, philoso- phy entrants have remained largely stable (fig. 4). Maybe religious studies can learn something from philosophy, and perhaps even benefit from a 11 University of Oxford 2024. FŎłۖٻܜ۝�¦ĩŦŎłŎŻƿƪ�®ƷƿĢŎĩƪ��۹hĩǛĩŦ�ĩǡþůƪۗۮ�ټٺٸٺ۶ټٹٸٺ�Ãf�ĩǡěŦƿĢŎűł�®ěŻƷŦþűĢ۝ۯ 34 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 renewed engagement with philosophy.12 For the purposes of this article, the relatively stable numbers in philosophy matter because the ways in which philosophy, religious studies, and theology degrees are advertised by universities overlap: marketing material for all three degrees revolves around questions about the meaning of life, opportunities to explore and understand different worldviews, or the skills to think critically and chal- lenge one’s own biases. As religious studies draws on a range of disciplines, this commonality is not surprising, but it is not helpful for finding and com- municating a unique selling point (USP) that sets religious studies programs apart from other degree programs. In a competitive recruitment environ- ment in which university marketing people look for flashy USPs, the idea that religious studies students leave the university with a similar skillset to philosophy or sociology graduates, i. e. the ability to understand diverse worldviews and a range of analytical skills, might not be sufficient to per- suade students to study religions and to justify the existence of religious studies degrees at universities. Religious studies provisions are under pressure not only in England but also in some continental European countries. Germany, for example, has 12 Porcher 2024; De Jong 2024. FŎłۖټܜ۝�¼ŻƷþŦ�űƿůĚĩƢ�ŻŁ�ǽƢƪƷ�ǢĩþƢ�ƪƷƿĢĩűƷƪ�Żű�þ�ƟʼnŎŦŻƪŻƟʼnǢ�ŻƢ�¼¦®�ĢĩłƢĩĩ�ƟƢŻłƢþů�þěƢŻƪƪ�Ʒʼnĩ� ÃűŎƷĩĢ�fŎűłĢŻů۝ dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϯϱwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 seen a similarly significant drop in theology entrants and a slight decrease in student numbers for religious studies degree programs (fig. 5). At first sight, numbers for religious studies in Austria seem to go against the trend in the United Kingdom and in Germany (fig. 6). In Austria, religious studies has seen a recent increase in student numbers. However, the spike in religious studies might be linked to a relatively stable intake of students through the University of Vienna, whereas Salzburg’s BA program in reli- gious studies is currently not being advertised on the university’s website. If current recruitment trends continue, more programs and departments will be at risk of closure. Lower student numbers will mean fewer scholars in the field at fewer institutions, likely limited to “elite” universities. How, where, and by whom the study of religion will be taught impacts the study of religion and media. Given its interdisciplinarity, the study of religion and media is already fragmented, with scholars of religion and media dispersed across disciplines or departments, e. g. film and media studies, history, philosophy, politics, sociology, law, or an (often ill-defined) humanities de- partment. One might argue that the study of religion and media is then in a better position to survive the culling of programs and departments and that the study of religion and media is then not necessarily dependent for its survival on a distinct religious studies department as its anchor. But such FŎłۖٽܜ۝�tƿůĚĩƢ�ŻŁ�ǽƢƪƷ�ǢĩþƢ�ƪƷƿĢĩűƷƪ�Żű�þ�ƢĩŦŎłŎŻƿƪ�ƪƷƿĢŎĩƪ�ŻƢ�ƷʼnĩŻŦŻłǢ�ĢĩłƢĩĩ�Ŏű�GĩƢůþűǢ۝ 36 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 “embeddedness for survival” might not be survival at all. Samuel L. Perry argues that the study of religion continues to be marginalized in secular academia and consistently receives low interest and low relevance ratings.13 Without the visibility a distinct department – or subject group – brings (and the institutional currency attached to official structures), the study of religion and media may be at risk of even greater marginalization. This marginalization might not even be exclusively due to personal biases held by decision makers; it could be a product of the very perception of the lack of relevance Perry speaks of. The perceived lack of relevance of the study of religion extends to how its insights are taken up by other disciplines, or as Adam J. Powell puts it, “The 13 Perry 2024, 131–139. FŎłۖپܜ۝�tƿůĚĩƢ�ŻŁ�ǽƢƪƷ�ǢĩþƢ�ƪƷƿĢĩűƷƪ�Żű�þ�ƢĩŦŎłŎŻƿƪ�ƪƷƿĢŎĩƪ�ŻƢ�ƷʼnĩŻŦŻłǢ�ĢĩłƢĩĩ�Ŏű��ƿƪƷƢŎþ۝ dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϯϳwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 sociology of religion may have something to say to religious studies, but I am not sure what religious studies has to say to the sociology of religion.”14 Powell’s argument makes clear that scholars of religion and media cannot evade the question of what they have to say to scholars in other disciplines and, beyond academia, to the general public or policy and decision mak- ers. Individual scholars are indeed engaged in public debates, such as Chris Deacy or Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati as cinema experts, or Robert M. Geraci who is heavily involved in the AI and ethics discourse. In current university fund- ing models, however, student numbers are seen as directly indicative of the perception of what the field has to contribute to the wider society, and vice versa. One of my former colleagues at the University of Hull, Dr. Bev Orton, of- ten told students to “follow the money” when thinking about the “why” of social phenomena, social structures, or socio-political and cultural changes. A similar logic can be applied when reflecting on recruitment numbers and trends affecting religious studies: • What are governments, taxpayers, and students willing to pay for in money and/or time? • What is the value of studying religion?15 • Why is religious studies perceived as a low-value degree? • Who has a vested interest in the disappearance of religious studies? • Where is the money that is saved by closing religious studies programs spent? • Does higher education need to reinvent itself, and to what extent can and should religious studies be a part of such reinvention?16 • Can the study of religion and media contribute to – or even spearhead – the reinvention of the study of religion more broadly? Although the study of religion is under pressure at many institutions, the study of religion and media can provide a strong contribution to any at- tempts to make the study of religion more relevant and exciting again. 14 Powell 2016. 15 Berkwitz/Wallace 2020. 16 McClymond 2020, 107. 38 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 Potentials of the Study of Religion and Media Whether we like it or not, today student recruitment is increasingly com- petitive, not only between universities but also within institutions. USPs are intended to persuade potential students to choose one institution over another, or one degree program (an area labelled for investment) over an- other. As admissions tutor in my School, I have been involved in many con- versations about the USPs of my institution and our degree programs. As Michael Stausberg argues, scholars studying religion need to become better at marketing their interest in religion to prospective students: We tend to think that religion (“religion”) [the controversial concept] is of interest per se, but probably we must make it more interesting than it really is. (Isn’t religion, or for that matter “religion,” often a tedious mat- ter?) It is not by accident that some independent scholars, who live off the sale of their books, the ticket sales for their talks, or advertisements for their podcasts, do a better job in this business of how TO MAKE RELIGION INTERESTING AGAIN.17 I contend that the work of the field of religion and media can make unique contributions to these efforts by unveiling the hidden presence of religion in societies and by encouraging the shift beyond the Western paradigm in teaching and research. The Hidden Visibility Religion (broadly understood) occupies an ambiguous and very diverse posi- tion in Western societies. In the United States, religion is highly visible and omnipresent in public life and political debates. In a number of European countries, religion is deemed mostly irrelevant (and thus often ignored and rendered invisible), and yet it continues to creep back into broader public and social discourses. With “creeping back” I do not necessarily mean that religion simply re-enters public discourse after having left it or having been pushed out, although that is one aspect of what I refer to. Rather, I mean that religion creeps back into public discourse after having been wished away and ignored – without really having gone away completely. This re- 17 Stausberg 2024, 27. dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϯϵwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 turn, or reemergence, of religion is largely ignored unless it happens more forcefully, for example in times of conflict. In the context of current crises, the polarization of politics, supremacist thinking, and a sense of being left behind by a failed state, pockets of religion are becoming increasingly visible and find their way into public and political discourses across Europe. This reemergence is carried by means of communication, mediation, and mate- rial practices, with this “hidden visibility” of religion a particularly suitable subject for scholars of religion and media. They have the tools to trace these visibilities and their social impact – and thus demonstrate that there is value in funding the study of religion. Political discourse in Europe, for example, is ripe with religious under- tones, communicated through visual images and reliance on religious imagi- naries. The right-wing Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni frequently draws on the image of the heterosexual family promoted especially by the Catholic Church when conveying her political messages. Given the power and political success of such references, scholars of religion and media can demonstrate how visual-religious traditions continue to matter, not in an abstract way but very concretely, by breathing life into ideas of family, marriage, and identity with the power to shape social and legal discourses.18 In Austria, the right- wing FPÖ promotes values it claims are based in a cultural Christianity.19 That claim did not prevent a controversy around the election campaign slogan “Euer Wille geschehe” (“Your will be done”), which was held to be mocking the Lord’s Prayer.20 Representatives of Christian churches stated that the FPÖ was violating religious sensibilities. This example shows the remarkable capacity of right-wing parties to create narratives around sovereignty, self- determination, identity, and morality and to critique the “establishment” using religious norms, language, and images. With the recent successes of right-wing parties across Europe, the entanglement of politics and religious narratives provides religion and media scholars with plenty of opportunities for critical analysis of contemporary socio-political landscapes. Campaign slogans are not the only opportunity for scholars of religion and media to unpack the hidden visibility of religion in political discourses. Across Europe, right-wing parties have become some of the most outspoken and vocal supporters of Israel in the ongoing Israel–Palestine conflict, sup- 18 Fritz 2018. 19 FPÖ 2024a. 20 Rauscher 2024; Religion ORF 2024. 40 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 port that is communicated through social media, blogs, websites, and press photography.21 For scholars of religion and media, these discourses provide opportunities to explore how identities, communities, and events outside national borders impact everyday domestic politics. Scholars of religion and media also have analytical tools to detect the presence of religion when it is more hidden from the public eye, for example when US debates about religion and politics quietly spill over into Europe, as in the case of increased lobbying of UK politicians by US anti-abortion groups.22 Lobbying relies not only on hidden (from the public eye) communi- cation with decision makers but also sometimes on a carefully orchestrated public media presence and strategies for engagement with the public, pro- viding religion and media scholars with traces of how religion continues to shape policies.23 Government-commissioned reports, too, provide religion and media scholars with material that enables them to demonstrate that how governments interact with religious groups impacts societies more broadly, i. e. beyond “the religious sphere”. The Bloom Review, a report on how the UK government ought to engage with faith communities that was published under the Sunak Conservative government, is a vehicle for con- sidering why such a review was commissioned, for what purpose, and for whose benefit (politically or otherwise), and for exploring how faith com- munities are labelled and which imaginaries governments use in including/ excluding people of faith.24 European popular culture is full of visual material that blurs the lines be- tween religion, politics, and mythology. For example, the visually rich open- ing ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 featured an extravagant Dionysius, but the background scenery of drag queens was interpreted by some Chris- tians as a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. A scholar of religion and media could analyze this example from a variety of perspectives, with regard to (a) the extent to which religious and mythological visual literacy is being lost to the general public, (b) the possible overlaps between visual representations of various mythological and religious narratives, and (c) the role that mythological and religious narratives still play in attempts by Euro- pean societies to explain their place in and connection to history. 21 FPÖ 2024b. 22 Das 2024. 23 Vesa/Binderkrantz 2023. 24 Bloom 2020, 11. dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϰϭwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 Advancements in technology, too, are an area of high social relevance with which scholars of religion and media are engaging. For example, while AI has become popular for its ability to generate texts, it is also quickly expanding into the audio-visual space, with image and video creation. This raises questions around issues of trust, authority, authenticity, and bias. Scholars of religion and media who already have expertise in deconstruct- ing the power of images and challenging visual authorities can contribute to broader academic and public discussions around the status and use of AI in society. As these examples show, scholarship in religion and media has multiple opportunities to speak to the wider public on relevant questions and thus also illustrate its importance as a field of study, together with that of the study of religion more broadly. Scholars in the field can discuss topics that the general public has encountered, relates to, and has seen or heard about. In embracing this opportunity, they can help make the study of religion it- self more tangible, relatable, and relevant. Beyond the Western Paradigm and Visual/Narrative Traditions The attentive reader will have realized that I have focused on recruitment challenges in European countries and ignored discussions of challenges that colleagues in other regions might face.25 On the one hand, I have done so because the western European context is my more immediate (institutional) work environment. On the other hand, I have done so to illuminate an is- sue that persists in the teaching of religious studies: a deeply ingrained and normalized Western (European) perspective, which is hard to overcome. A colleague recently shared an anecdote from a 2024 conference on decolo- nizing the curriculum in the humanities and social sciences in UK higher education. Some participants felt that decolonizing teaching was too time consuming, with time already devoured by the various pressures of UK aca- demia, workload requirements, threats of redundancies, course closures, and university management mandated savings. I have been in the fortunate position of being able to teach cohorts of international students from Africa and Hong Kong, albeit in non-religious studies courses. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity, which I have found humbling and insightful. And with this experience in mind, I need to 25 Fujiwara 2005; Banda 2024. 42 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 recalibrate my comments on the state of the study of religion and media (and religion more generally): • Religious practice continues to be pervasive on a global scale. This is nothing new, but (abstract) studies and lively discussions with people from various geographic regions and with various levels of religious prac- tice are two separate things. • Religion and media scholars with expertise in the transnational exchange of ideas, images, and communication through media need to make the pertinent point that what happens globally with respect to religion al- most always affects local communities, even if local communities see themselves as (mostly) secular. • Because of that connection between the global and the local and because of the transnational exchange of images and narratives, Western coun- tries that perceive themselves as “secular” will not be able to escape reli- gious narratives and imageries. Not because of a dichotomy between the “secular West” and the “religious other”, but because religious narratives cannot be limited to an imagined “private sphere” or an imagined (and non-Western) “other”. Instead, religious narratives and imaginaries spill over into social practices and are being appropriated, used, and abused by social actors. Scholars of religion and media are in a position to trace the weaving of religious narratives through social practices across contexts. Religious studies scholars such as David Chidester or Richard King have discussed the various ways colonialism shaped the study of religion and the implications of post-colonial theory on their field for some time.26 There is also an ongoing debate about what decolonizing the curriculum and decolonizing methodologies mean for the study of religion.27 What strikes me, however, are my students’ testimonies that Europe’s colonial legacy and colonial violence are still part and parcel of their everyday life, their African identity narratives, and their continuing experience of ignorance and exploitation.28 In this situation, scholars of religion and media, in particular those spe- cializing in non-Western religious and visual traditions, can provide valuable 26 Landoe Hedrick 2024; King 1999; Chidester 2013; Chidester 2014. 27 Horrell 2024. 28 Parashar/Schulz 2021, 870–871. dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϰϯwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 and concrete entry points to deconstruct the power of Western images and mediated narratives. They can act as a resource for exploring visibility and invisibility in and beyond the West. It is not enough to merely look at visual artifacts from different geographic regions and cultural traditions, for to do so would merely perpetuate the Western gaze upon the other. The Journal of Religion, Film, and Media has featured a number of examples of scholarship aiming to deconstruct Western narratives that are valuable not just for scholars of religion and media but for the study of religion more broadly. Based on his analysis of colonial images, Philippe Bornet, for exam- ple, argues that societies never develop in isolation but have been connect- ed through media and visual practices for a long time. He proposes that the production, distribution, and consumption of images must always be under- stood “as part of a transnational and connected history of visual practices”29 that oscillates between power and resistance in a context shaped by the heritage of colonial oppression. In my experience, transnational connec- tions often remain abstract in the classroom: why would an 18-year-old British student whose primary concerns are living expenses, juggling study and work commitments, their post-academic career, and potentially tuition fees care about an image that might have circulated in a distant culture and society? Bornet makes a compelling case and provides visible and tangible evidence for why students should care and how societies and cultures are inseparably entangled.30 Scholars of religion and media can also demonstrate the value of listen- ing to (or better: looking to) artists who use the visual as a medium to critically reflect on society. Such exercises in seeing and visual awareness can raise questions about how power, race, and gender play out on a social level through visual communication: who represents whom in what way? Who has power over their own self-representation? And who has the power to represent others? The Journal of Religion, Film, and Media has featured a number of examples, such as the visual artist Amruta Patil, who retells traditional Hindu narratives in the form of graphic novels. Rather than re- counting the narrative as is, she retells the stories from the perspective of the underdog, the oppressed, and those who are left out in the stories. She aims to be a storyteller who has her “finger on the pulse of the land: local politics, local calamities and scandals. The aim of telling stories is to offer 29 Bornet 2021, 84. 30 Bornet 2021, 57. 44 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 insight into the human experience, to allay fears and traumas.”31 In this, religion is central, as she argues: “What interests me about religions is the stories they came up with as means to this end.”32 Her work offers a new look at traditional Hindu narratives and representations that allows them to speak to today’s issues while also being accessible to students. Engaging with artists such as Patil, scholars in the study of religion and media have an opportunity to lead the way in decolonizing teaching and research in religious studies and related fields. As Patil argues, “we under- estimate and undermine the effect of the visual and material”33 as well as the opportunities and challenges visual spaces bring. As scholars in the field, we can provide examples of how to make use of the opportunities of which Patil speaks to highlight issues that affect all of us – issues of power, discrimination, gender, race, sexuality – and to better understand why we are facing the challenges we are facing today. Concluding Thoughts: The Future Is Now The future of the study of religion and media as well as the diversity of re- search interests present in the field depend on student numbers not just in the study of religion but also in other disciplines related to the study of re- ligion and media in all its interdisciplinarity. In an academic context where the study of religion is increasingly marginalized, university managers will not be the driving force behind recruitment initiatives. Instead, it will fall to scholars in the study of religion to provide a compelling answer to the question of what students can learn about society by studying religion that they cannot learn elsewhere, and how that knowledge translates into career paths and practical knowledge. Once we have that answer and can com- municate it to the tax and tuition-fee paying public, we might stand a good chance of driving student numbers up again. In this essay, I have attempted to highlight some areas where scholars in the study of religion and media are particularly suited to contributing to a renewed interest in religion more broadly, by uncovering how religious prac- tices, ideas, ideologies, and iconographies continue to shape social struc- 31 Patil 2021, 21. 32 Patil 2021, 21–22. 33 Patil 2021, 20. dŽ�^ƚƵĚLJ�ZĞůŝŐŝŽŶ�ĂŶĚ�DĞĚŝĂ͕�tĞ�EĞĞĚര͘͘͘�ͮ�ϰϱwww.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 tures and political debates. In other words, they must show that how “re- ligion” affects everyday life should also be of interest to those who are not religious or have no interest in religion. Scholars of religion and media have an opportunity to demonstrate the need for continued financial investment in the study of religion more broadly, because religious ideas continue to be mediated in secular debates and are being repurposed for various social and political agendas. Where traditional religious practice is in decline, many people flock to media (social media, influencers, podcasters) to help them answer the existential questions they face in times of crises and turmoil. List of Figures and Data Sources Figure 1: UK philosophy and theology and religious studies first year of study enroll- ments. Chart source: British Academy (2019, 10), using HESA (https://www.hesa. ac.uk) data. Figure 2: First year enrollment figures for religious studies and theology pro- grammes in Scotland. Data source: https://hesa.ac.uk for 100340 theology, 100794 theology and religious studies, 100339 religious studies, undergraduate first year of study enrollments, Scotland. Figure 3: Number of students taking religious studies (RS) as A-Level exam in the United Kingdom (excl. Scotland), 2014–2024. Data source: JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications, A-Level Results 2014–2024, numbers for “All UK Candidates” (excl. Scotland); https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/ [accessed 12 December 2024]. Figure 4: Total number of first year students on a philosophy or TRS degree program across the United Kingdom. Data source: HESA. Total number of first year UK domiciled student registered onto HECoS Codes: 100340 theology, 100794 theol- ogy and religious studies, 100339 religious studies. Philosophy: 100337 philosophy, 100338 philosophy of science, 100792 social philosophy. Data for the year 2023/24 will only be available H2 2025. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/stu- dents/what-study [accessed 9 December 2024]. Figure 5: Number of first year students on a religious studies or theology degree in Germany. Data source: GENESIS Destatis Germany (https://www.destatis.de). Numbers are from table 21311-0012, student numbers in the table represent first year students coded BIL016: Studienanfänger – Studienanfänger sind Studierende im ersten Hochschulsemester (Erstimmatrikulierte) oder im ersten Semester eines bestimmten Studienganges [Beginners – Beginners are students in their first year of university or in the first semester of a degree program]; https:// www-genesis.destatis.de/datenbank/online/table/21311-0012/ [accessed 18 No- vember 2024]. Figure 6: Number of first year students on a religious studies or theology degree in Austria. Data source: Statistik Austria, STATcube, yearly numbers in the graph combine winter semester and summer semester intakes (for the year 2023/24 only winter semester intake, summer not yet available). The intake numbers for https://www.hesa.ac.uk/ https://www.hesa.ac.uk/ https://hesa.ac.uk/ https://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/ https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/what-study https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/what-study https://www.destatis.de/ https://www-genesis.destatis.de/datenbank/online/table/21311-0012/ https://www-genesis.destatis.de/datenbank/online/table/21311-0012/ 46 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2025, 11/1, 27–47 the year 2023/24 only include winter semester intake as summer semester intake were not available yet in the database. Final 2023/24 numbers will therefore be slightly higher than represented in the graph above, https://www.statistik.at/ statistiken/bevoelkerung-und-soziales/bildung/studierende-belegte-studien [ac- cessed 9 December 2024]. 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