Visual Media Studies In Christianity’s Communication

Christianity communication is a cultural phenomenon which has far-reachingimpacts in human history. Before entering the modern western society, especially in theMiddle Ages and the Renaissance, the major media of Christianity communication wasvisual art which was represented by architecture, painting, and sculpture. This articleshows the relationship between Christianity and visual arts from the perspective ofcommunication research, focusing on the visual media of communication activities toexamine the Christian communicators and church; visual media’s main contents andsigns, encoding method and symbolism; and three levels of visual media’scommunication effects on individual, society, and cross-culture.The method of visual communication not only includes doctrinal legitimacy, butalso includes the necessity in communication. There are many media forms that Godappears in the world, and the visual art with its characteristics became the mostimportant visual media in Christianity communication activities. As the corecommunicator of Christianity communication, church uses and manages the visualmedia derived from the authority conferred by the Jesus, and intervene both the formsof visual art and the creation of the artist with the gatekeeping model. Christianity visualmedia mainly express communication contents by using the images of Jesus, Virgin andSaint, halo, Cross and other visual signs, meanwhile it follows the general rules ofvisual signs meaning production but its religion meaning usually associates withbelieving in God, Mariolatry, hagiolatry, the world rescue of Jesus and other theologicalconcepts. The main encoding method of these contents and visual signs is symbolismand its theological significance linked the characteristics in different periods with thechanges of religion concepts. Christianity visual media’s communication effects mainlyhelp the Christian to construct self-awareness, religion sentiment and strengthen religionexperience at the individual level; at the social level, it mainly presented as educatingfollowers, strengthening group identity and maintaining social order. However the reason why visual media play an important role in intercultural communication stemsfrom its transcendence of aesthetic experience and active adoption contextualizationstrategy, which can be confirmed in the localization of Christianity’s painting arts inChina.