The image of Christian churches in the Slovak and Czech media during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract The shock associated with the outbreak of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the lives of everyone—and religious communities were no exception. Closed churches, bans on public worship, cancelled events, rapid changes to pastoral modes—many of these stories, quite naturally, captured media interest. This study provides an analysis of the image of Christian churches (and in particular the Catholic Church, which is the largest and most influential) as presented in the media in Central Europe, more specifically, in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Through a content analysis based on the concepts of frames and topoi, the study focuses on how the media presented the activities of the churches and the relation between church and government authorities during the pandemic. Based on a sample of 491 media texts published over the period of five months (February–June 2020) in four mainstream secular print/online media, our conclusions point to a predominantly positive image of Christian churches in the media—with the churches being perceived as cooperative, creative, and responsible, pursuing the common good and offering a prophetic interpretation of a difficult situation. On the other hand, fanaticism, fundamentalism, and non-cooperation were presented by the Slovak and Czech media as phenomena more frequently happening in other countries.