Paul A. Soukup

Jesuit priest Paul A. Soukup notes that throughout history religious groups have quickly adapted the newest communication technologies for their own use. A professor of communication at Santa Clara University in California and the author of Media, Culture and Catholicism, Soukup points to the printing press, Hollywood's Biblical movies, radio and television programs that star evangelists, and now the Internet as examples of technological advances that have helped to spread religious messages even as they have brought change to religious institutions.

should not surprise anyone. After all, individuals and churches have quickly adopted almost every communication technology, beginning with Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, which turned out the Bible as its first product.

Closer to this century, we saw a fledgling motion picture industry produce Bible films and biblical epics, satisfying both piety and box—office demand. Two films...