Media Processes: transformations of religious discourse in the context of algorithmization 161 which we call mediatization, reach its apogee with or without the human being? The Christian Churches, by their very nature, consider themselves experts in humanity and aim to spread their humanist message to everyone. From the very beginning, all the tech- nical instruments invented by human ingenuity were appropri- ated by them to enhance and increase the universal character of their vocation. The most striking example, within the historical churches, is the action of the Roman Catholic Church. Since its beginnings in Palestine and the Greek world, it has profuse- ly made use of the media for what it called evangelizing (see GOMES, 2010, 2017, 2022). The first binding manifestation – in terms of commu- nicational media processes – with religious discourse was thus given by the Catholic Church and is characterized by a long phase, by the spoken word through techno-mass media sup- ports. Pontifical documents, such as encyclicals, apostolic let- ters, etc. on the role of the media, such as cinema; the creation of Catholic publishing houses, newspapers, and radio and tele- vision stations, the establishment of universities, etc. constitute an immense niche through which the Catholic message is spread institutionally. Religion is structured as a social field, with a clear role in society through its products and the actions of its actors, as is the case with singing priests. This is a sign that highlights the importance of the signifying body of a religious nature, medi- ating and sharing teachings, as well as transmitting religious services (mass, novena) via media devices and practices, such as radio and television, for example. It is a moment that is char- acterized by the importance that the mass media would have as an instance of mediation of the Catholic institutional discourse. This is a phase of intervention by media processes as a link be- tween religion and the life world. The second moment is an unfolding of the previous phase when the activity of religious discourse is complexified by the mediation of technologies and communication devices. In particular, it means adherence to the pastoral action of the Catholic Church, whose most emblematic step was initially the
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