05/11/2024

UIC Barcelona presents an update of the Dictionary of Religions

The Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC Barcelona), led by the Faculty of Communication Sciences, hosted a conference to present a complementary document to the TERMCAT Dictionary of Religions, which incorporates an updated lexicon and a current analysis of religions present in Catalonia

On the occasion of the completion of the inter-university project RELEG 2023-2024, led by the Faculty of Communication Sciences, UIC Barcelona has organised a conference where key tools were provided for the proper handling of religious events in the media. 

The session was attended by Joan Hernández, principal researcher of the project and lecturer of the Faculty of Communication Sciences of UIC Barcelona; Agustí Iglesias, from the General Directorate of Religious Affairs of the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan government); Laura Pinyol, vice-president of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia; Ramon Bassas, general director of Religious Affairs of the Catalan Government; Mohammed Halhoul, President of the Interreligious Council of Catalonia (GeTER) and the Faculty of the Communication of UIC Barcelona.

Agustí Iglesias, of the General Directorate of Religious Affairs of the Catalan Government, presented the “Barometer of Religiosity in Catalonia”, a tool for understanding the religious reality of Catalonia. Among many other topics, the barometer also provides data on the level of knowledge of the different traditions, on the perception that citizens have of religious diversity or on their opinion regarding the policies of management of this diversity.

CAC Vice President Laura Pinyol shared a pioneering manual that provides journalists with tools and recommendations on how to treat religious events from a news perspective. This manual delves into the religious situation of Catalonia and presents updated resources to provide greater security to journalists when dealing with religion.

Finally, lecturer Joan Hernández and the rest of the researchers who participated in the project presented the complementary document to the Dictionary of Religions that incorporates an updated lexicon of the different religions present in Catalonia.

This update is designed to analyse religious inclusiveness from a lexical point of view, make proposals for updating and improvement, promote the perspective of content that helps to understand interpretations and practices, offer a self-reflection on the elements of each religion and provide tools that help the recognition of religions.

Researchers from UIC Barcelona, University of Barcelona and Universidad Loyola participated in the study.