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Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie). 2024. 20(3) Copyright © 2024 by Cherkas Global University
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Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie)
Issued since 2005.
ISSN 1994-4160
E-ISSN 1994-4195
2024. 20(3): 321-329
Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie)
DOI: 10.13187/me.2024.3.321 https://me.cherkasgu.press
Bishop Adam Lepa (1939-2022) in the Faith-based Media Literacy Education Approach
Piotr Drzewiecki a > *
a Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
Bishop Adam Lepa (1939-2022) is a precursor of religious media education in Poland. His scientific works are part of the trend known around the world as faith-based media literacy education. In the years 2024-2027, we are implementing a research grant regarding the scientific achievements of Bishop Adam Lepa. Documentation work on his achievements in the field of media pedagogy is ongoing, hence this article can be described as a research communique. At this stage of research, four problem areas of his scientific achievements were identified: religious media pedagogy, image and word in audiovisual culture, media propaganda and manipulation, presence and image of the Catholic Church in the media in Poland. He proposed an original theory of axiologically oriented environmental media pedagogy. The subject of the analysis in the article will be his media education program. We will indicate its main goals, means and methods, primarily based on his pioneering textbook, Pedagogy of Mass Media from 2000. We will also consider how this media education program has a religious character. Bishop Adam Lepa was more of a practitioner in the field of media education than a theorist. His research goes beyond empirical studies, encompassing significant media concepts. Despite the shifts in technology and society, these concepts continue to hold their validity.
Keywords: faith-based media literacy education, media education in Poland, religious pedagogy of media, semiotic analysis, theory of media attitudes.
1. Introduction
Faith-based media literacy education is a unique approach to teaching media literacy that operates within a religious framework, particularly Christianity in the United States (Iaquinto, Keeler, 2012). It involves the use of assumptions, motivations, goals, and pedagogy that are rooted in faith. This form of education addresses the complex landscape of today's media, helping students understand how digital media is produced and how it propels dominant discourses. It aims to equip students with the technical knowledge and critical skills necessary for informed engagement with media, thereby addressing a significant social justice issue. Faith-based media literacy education often involves structured teacher training in media literacy. For example, some programs focus on Catholic social teachings and promote the application of critical media literacy in the classroom to facilitate understanding of social justice matters (Tenorio de Azevedo, 2019). Faith-based media literacy education is a distinctive method that merges principles of faith with using the media. Its goal is to equip students with the ability to critically comprehend and navigate the media environment. Furthermore, it acts as an instrument for tackling social justice concerns via media education.
* Corresponding author
E-mail addresses: p.drzewiecki@uksw.edu.pl (P. Drzewiecki)
Bishop Adam Lepa (1939-2022) was a precursor of faith-based media literacy education in Poland. Born in Lodz, he was ordained to the priesthood on 18 March 1962. He served as the auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lodz, from 4 December 1987 until his retirement on 27 May 2014. He passed away on 27 April 2022.
I am honored to lead a scientific grant about his achievements. We received support as part of the 12th National Heritage competition from the National Program for the Development of the Humanities - project number NPRH/DN/SP/0189/2023/12. Thanks to this, we will be able to systematize and critically analyze his achievements in media pedagogy.
That is why I invited researchers from the Institute of Media Education and Journalism of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, directly and indirectly related to Bp. Adam Lepa and inspired by his educational and media works: dr hab. Dominika Zukowska-Gardzinska, Assoc. Prof., Fr. dr hab. Rafal Lesniczak, Assoc. Prof., Fr. dr Waldemar Bartocha, Fr. dr Jaroslaw A. Sobkowiak. Bishop Adam Lepa left behind several monographs (Lepa, 1999; Lepa, 2000a; Lepa, 2000b; Lepa, 2006), as well as dozens of scientific articles and hundreds of journalistic essays. We want to organize this scattered body of work, especially since he wrote most of his works by hand. He is the author of many original terms and concepts, such as the galenosphere -the environment of silence in the media, the iconosphere - the environment of image. However, above all, he is the creator of the theory of the logosphere (Lepa, 2017a; Lepa, 2017b; Lepa, 2017c).
As a result, he developed an original Polish concept of faith-based media literacy education. He was interested in media axiology and ethics, as well as the problems of manipulation and propaganda in journalistic information. He completed specialist studies in pedagogy in the years 1966-1974 at the Institute of Pastoral Theology of the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lublin. After his doctorate, in 1975 he began giving - one of the first in Poland -lectures on mass media pedagogy at the Major Seminary in Lodz. He was also an effective organizer of Catholic press, radio, and television institutions. After the turning point marked by the Solidarity social movement from the 80s, he served as the head of the Commission for Social Communication Instruments of the Polish Episcopate Conference (Klauza, 2023).
After completing the scientific query and digitizing the available resources, we would like to propose and publish three studies in open access. So a monograph with articles - mainly studies -by Bishop Adam Lepa (1939-2022) - a precursor of religious media pedagogy in Poland. However, we want greater promotion of the Pedagogist's achievements in the Polish educational environment. Hence the idea to prepare the Dictionary of Media Education according to Bishop. Adam Lepa, as well as lesson plans for secondary school classes in media education with methodological development. The project is scheduled for 36 months, from May 2024 to April 2027.
2. Materials and methods
The preliminary query indicates over 400 scientific, popular science and journalistic publications by Bishop Adam Lepa in the field of media pedagogy. The analysis of Bishop Adam Lepa's achievements indicates four main problem areas: Christian and Catholic media pedagogy, image/word in audiovisual culture, propaganda - media manipulation, presence and image of the Catholic Church in the media in Poland. Thanks to further research, archiving work and digitization, the first online bibliography of Bishop Adam Lepa will be made available. There will also be detailed analyzes and studies of his achievements, prepared by a team of several authors.
Asking questions about faith-based media literacy education by Bishop Adam Lepa, we will look for answers in his textbook Pedagogy of mass media, second edition from 2000. This is research material (Lepa, 2000b). His other studies on media pedagogy were also used, including: articles published in Lodzkie Studia Teologiczne (Lepa, 2007). The study used a method of analysis and criticism of literature (also known as a critical analysis), a research method used in scientific works and research by other scientists (Cisek, 2010). The aim is to determine the main assumptions of Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy. At this stage of research and studies, I asked the followingtwo research questions: 1) How does Bishop Adam Lepa formulate the media pedagogy program, defining its goals, means and methods? 2) How does Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy have a religious dimension?
3. Discussion
Contemporary educational and media research refers to the concept of religiosity in various ways. For example: analysis of the origins and social consequences of irrational religious
orientations in Chinese Generation Z. The qualitative study identified three main dimensions of irrational religious orientations in Generation Z: religious spiritual dependence, religious instrumental tendency, and religious uniqueness identity. These are shaped by factors such as the overwhelming influx of information via digital media, societal pressures and psychological dilemmas, conflicts in values and identity crises, as well as feelings of social isolation and the need for group belonging (Wang et al., 2024). Another qualitative study focused on contemporary digital nomads emphasizing the importance of cultural and religious heritage and the need to share it on social media. By experiencing different cultural heritages and sharing these experiences through digital platforms, digital nomads contribute to the reinterpretation and reproduction of cultural heritage (Yildirim, Kaya, 2024). Another instance is a research focusing on the misrepresentation of Islam in media, which includes the reverence for sacred sites and the Quran. The study suggests the creation of a global supervisory entity with expertise in media and education. This body's role would be to monitor all content disseminated through media outlets and educational syllabi, urging them to incorporate content that fosters mutual acceptance and peaceful interfaith coexistence, while ensuring the absence of any content that incites religious animosity (Khater, 2024).
Another exemplary analysis concerned the educational function of the media in counteracting anti-Semitic attitudes. The thesis is formulated that religious education has a corrective and broadening function with respect to perceptions of everyday experiences (Dihle, 2024). Another study examined the impact of smartphones on the religious attitudes of Christian and Muslim youth. On the one hand, smartphones are portrayed as portals to a globalizing world in which youth might succumb to negative influences (with a particular anxiety surrounding pornography) based on their perceived inchoate moral development and insufficiently strong religious foundation. On the other hand, these teachers and administrators recognize the potential that smartphones have to be used for deepening spiritual engagement, connection, and proselytization (Larson, 2024). It can therefore be said that despite the progressive secularization of society and the media, religious issues are still an important theoretical perspective for media education.
The Christian and Catholic perspective also plays an important role in contemporary media studies and the practice of media education. Primarily, these involve studies in the realm of social communication theology, such as the content analysis of Church's media documents. The research findings highlight the importance of communication for public theology and explore the significance of the right to information and public opinion. They also examine the role of media in education, the education of communicators and audiences, the significance of media for the church, and the participation of Catholics in media (Sánchez-Camacho, 2024).
Contemporary research in this area also focuses on the theology of beauty and - more broadly - the value of beauty in media culture. Studies have indicated that the majority of such content is found in subjects like Visual Culture, Visual Arts, Language, and Informatics. This content is also present in the curricula for Catholic religious education. Besides the media's imposed beauty standards impacting children's self-esteem, they frequently become targets of peer aggression, particularly in the digital realm (Labas et al., 2024). The Catholic Church aims to have a presence in the media with its teachings, and also seeks to equip its followers and users with the skills to use social communication tools mindfully. The Pope advocates for the use of new media to advance religious education, spread news, and strengthen the Church's mission (Kennedy, 2023). Media education has emerged as a crucial component in the training of modern Catholic priests. Prospective presbyters ought to be adept at communicating with today's society and spreading the gospel via the Internet, particularly on social media platforms. It would be beneficial if they also comprehend the overall workings of the media industry and are capable of establishing connections with journalists (Kasowski et al., 2022).
Religious faith is also not in contradiction with the modern development of science. Also socioscientific issues in movies can be used as tools for stimulating evidence-based reasoning and ethical thinking about societal issues and encouraging the reflection on values, including faith values promoted through the use or misuse of science and technology (Yap, 2019). Bishop Adam Lepa's publications significantly fit into these contemporary trends in religious media education. Despite the changes in media technologies, they still remain an important inspiration due to the axiology to which they refer: the dignity of man as a recipient and user of media, media ethics, the call to creativity in the media.
4. Results
Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy program. Analysis of the textbook Pedagogy of mass media.
Bishop Adam Lepa formulated a program of media pedagogy primarily in chapter IV of his monograph entitled Basics of mass media education (Lepa, 2000b: 90-106). Interesting comments on media education can also be found in his second most famous monograph The Junction of the logosphere in media education, especially in chapter I: Media education as a postulate of modern society, in § 3. Media education as a subject of pedagogical interests (Lepa, 2006: 47-53). Careful reading and analysis of these texts allows us to determine the definition of media pedagogy according to Bishop Adam Lepa, and, above all, its main goals, means used and proposed methods.
For Bishop Adam Lepa, media pedagogy is a scientific discipline dealing with media education, and this is how he defines it. He criticizes the use of the term "media education". "In Western countries, preparation for using the media is generally called 'education' and the words éducation (French) or education (English) are used. These words also mean education, not just upbringing. (...) In Poland, the phrase 'media education' has recently been used to describe preparation for receiving media. (...) However, the term 'media education' is not fully precise, because it can mean any education that uses media as teaching or educational means, as well as education that is a function of specific media - e.g. television education" (Lepa, 2006: 47-48).
The context of these comments was the educational reform implemented at that time (1999) with the concept of educational paths, i.e. cross-curricular problem blocks, includes: ecological, health-promoting, philosophical and regional education, and above all, reading and media education. However, this solution was later abandoned and the subject-based teaching was fully restored (2008). Bishop Adam Lepa, noticing this unique combination of reading and the media, also pointed to another important problem. The new path is more conducive to the development of knowledge about the media than to the education of recipients using the media. It is more object-oriented than subject-oriented. "'Media education' cannot be identified with 'media upbringing'. It is primarily media education, or rather a lecture on media (or media studies), rather than influencing the personality of a young person or shaping his attitudes. Therefore, regardless of the implementation of reading and media education at school, the postulate of media upbringing remains valid and increasingly urgent" (Lepa, 2006: 48). This fragment reflects much of the ongoing dispute in media pedagogy between supporters of the education of media competences, both technical and humanistic-social, and researchers who admit that without referring to the concept of person and values, it is difficult to build a media pedagogy program (Rzyska, 2018). Bishop Adam Lepa advocates an axiological and personalistic understanding of media pedagogy. First of all, I am more in favor of praxis than theory. Media practice, not just a "lecture in media studies".
Consequently, it indicates the goals of media pedagogy formulated in this way. "The basic problem in upbringing is the person. In the activity of educators, it is the main subject and goal, and the result of this activity is a mature human personality. The well-known regularity, emphasized by representatives of educational sciences, is then realized: a person is born a person in order to become a personality" (Lepa, 2000b: 91). Bishop Adam Lepa formulates this subjective, personalistic orientation of the goals of media pedagogy by reading into the practical demands of parents and teachers. "Practicing educators speak about the goals of mass media education. They then pose this problem in the form of specific questions that refer to disturbing phenomena related to the functioning of the media. Some of them can be formulated as follows: Should parents control their child's access to mass media? What is the harm of pornography? (...) How to counteract manipulation in the media?" (Lepa, 2000b: 96).
Therefore, he sees the practical and socially useful dimension of media pedagogy, which is not just another academic subdiscipline, but a program of action responding to the educational needs in everyday relationships of children with parents and students with teachers. He formulates this practicality of media pedagogy in the form of five detailed tasks. "The analysis of these and many similar questions, as well as reflection on the educational ideal and the nature of mass media, lead to the identification of the most important goals that should guide education towards mass media. Here they are: forming attitudes: criticism, selection, resistance to propaganda and creative activity (...); [leading] to the full development of the recipient's personality and the growth of his spiritual sphere; (...) [eliminating from the media] negative phenomena and transforming them into a tool for positive influence on recipients; awakening and deepening sensitivity to the transmission of truth in the mass media and shaping an attitude of opposition to manifestations of
its distortion; providing in-depth knowledge about the mass media and the main mechanisms of their functioning" (Lepa, 2000b: 96-97).
In this structure of media pedagogy goals, we see both positive and negative, affirmative and defensive threads. Because on the one hand it talks about "creative activity" and on the other "about resistance to propaganda"; "about deepening sensitivity to conveying the truth", but also about the attitude of "opposition to manifestations of its distortion". It can be said that this is an apologetic model, here apology understood in a broader cultural sense. In this approach, apology can be understood as praising something, but also as defense against something opposite (Drzewiecki, 2010: 129-145). This is quite a specific feature of Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy. The goals do not focus only on the problem of media threats and addictions, they are not only prevention or protection. They create a positive program for using media, pointing to the "full development of the recipient's personality", but without forgetting what is harmful educationally.
As a consequence, we can ask about the means and methods of achieving the goals of media pedagogy understood in this way. Bishop Adam Lepa points out the need to adapt them to a specific upbringing environment, as well as to specific goals of media pedagogy. It is difficult not to mention the importance of the term "environment" in the scientific works of Bishop Adam Lepa. He advocates mesological pedagogy, focused on this very concept, although rarely used in the social sciences (Lepa, 2007).
He distinguishes between "upbringing" and "pedagogical" environments, treating the former as the existing situation, and the latter as the target, i.e. intended or ideal, situation. His theory of the mediasphere and its individual components: logosphere, galenosphere and iconosphere originates from the concept of the environment. Because the mass media themselves also have an environmental character. Next to the family, school or parish, they co-create the area of education (Lepa, 2000b: 101).
Analyzing the forms of adapting resources to the above-mentioned environments, Bishop Adam Lepa points primarily to the family, mentioning: "family dialogue, joint viewing of television, joint reading of books, control of the child's access to the media". In turn, "the school environment has the greatest wealth of means of educating people about mass media. This is because the school has basically numerous means of mass communication (reading room, library, computer room, photography room, video studio, etc.). Moreover, the school is able to engage numerous specialists in the field of mass media. In the school environment, the most frequently used means of mass media education are: a lecture by a teacher, a discussion on a film watched together, a meeting with a media representative (film director, journalist, TV presenter)" (Lepa, 2000b: 97).
These two basic spaces of media education - one could say the private and public spheres -are complemented by a third one, public, but of a religious nature. "In the parish environment, two main trends in educational activities attract attention: the activities of pastors and various forms of catechesis (e.g. catechesis for adults, out-of-school youth, pre-wedding catechesis). The most frequently used means in this environment are: a lecture, a talk (e.g. at a meeting with parents), retreat learning, as well as: a discussion on a film watched together, a meeting with a Catholic journalist. Educational measures of a strictly pastoral nature should also be mentioned, such as: prayer, asceticism, examination of conscience, penance (due to sacramental confession, Lent)" (Lepa, 2000b: 98).
Another classification of media pedagogy measures proposed by Bishop Adam Lepa is not based on the specificity of a given audience group - the media reception environment - but on the educational goals themselves. "Specific attitudes, which are the goal of mass media education, require the use of such measures as: constant use of several sources of information or contact with professional publications (critical attitude); appropriately dosed asceticism and evening examination of conscience (selection attitude). Some goals of mass media education require the use of didactic means, e.g. 'providing in-depth knowledge about mass media'. Then the educator uses such means as: reading, lecture, organized viewing of films or television" (Lepa, 2000b: 98).
By studying these recommendations, one can first notice the practical and dialogical nature of the pedagogical measures proposed by Bishop Adam Lepa. They respond to the natural communication needs of particular environments, and are primarily open to participants - people who create these communities - and to technologies that are intended to serve their integration and personal development. Secondly, social and religious education was combined, treating the media as an important environment for expressing and experiencing faith, integrated with personal
and social life. The parish itself was also appreciated as not only a social and religious community, but also a space for using the media (Drzewiecki, 2014).
Consequently, a question can be asked about the methods of media pedagogy as perceived by Bishop Adam Lepa. "When choosing an appropriate method, the educator takes into account the educational goals that he should achieve, the educational means he uses, and the age of his pupils. (...) Mass media education uses methods generally accepted in pedagogy and implemented in didactics and catechetics. The first of them include: methods of personal, situational and social influence, methods of managing self-education, etc. The second group of methods (used in didactics and catechetics) includes: visual methods (e.g. image analysis), practical classes (e.g. joint preparation of an exhibition of photograms) and word-based methods (e.g. talk)" (Lepa, 2000b: 99). It can be said that we are not dealing here with any particular pedagogical innovation. However, Bishop Adam Lepa points to the unique nature of the methodology related to the use of media as a means of education. He finds inspiration in the documents of the Catholic Church on the means of social communication. "It is also necessary to indicate methods specific to the mass media themselves.
One of these methods is the principle of 'see, evaluate, act' used in pedagogical practice. This method is recommended, among others, through the Pastoral Instruction Aetatis novae (AN, no. 11). Its practical supplement is the 'mass media method', which functions especially when 'education through mass media' is implemented. It consists in the fact that, for example, in film education, appropriately selected films are used (documentaries, feature films, etc.)" (Lepa, 2000b: 99; Pontifical..., 1992). It can therefore be said that the choice of teaching method and aid is determined not only by pedagogical goals and the needs of the environment, but also by the content - a specific topic undertaken as part of media education, e.g. during a school lesson. We then look for an adequate media example to raise important social and religious issues.
Analyzing the media pedagogy program of Bishop Adam Lepa, several important features can be noticed. Firstly, it contains the necessary elements when formulating such educational projects, including a description of goals, means and methods. Secondly, it is focused on upbringing, rather than just education and teaching/learning. It puts at the center the person of a person using the media, who looks for value in the media messages he receives. Thirdly, Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy program emphasizes practical application over mere media theory. It addresses the specific queries of media users and extends beyond just providing knowledge about the media or suggesting media studies. Fourthly, his approach is environmental and it aims to identify resources that are suitable for the requirements of a specific media audience, such as families, schools, and parishes. Fifthly, the program is inspired by and enables the integration of social media use with religious faith, thus confirming its author's affiliation with the faith-based media literacy education trend, which will be the subject of further analyses.
The religious dimension of Pedagogy of mass media by Bishop Adam Lepa
The religious nature of Bishop Adam Lepa's media pedagogy does not result only from the fact that the author of its program is a priest and a church hierarch, although it would be difficult to expect a proposal in this area other than a Christian and Catholic one. Religiosity, however, is dictated more by the consistency of the program itself, based on the axiological, personalistic and mesological assumptions of media pedagogy. In this approach, religiosity is an extension and extension of universal values in media education, but also indicates the unique social bonds of people in the environment - the community of faith. It can be said that "media education" understood in this way can assume three levels of its creation: from the competence level - both technical and socio-humanistic, through axiological - integrated with a specific system of values, e.g. Christian in cultural and national terms, to religious - related to the spiritual formation of the media user, resulting from his membership in the Church, e.g. through the practice of media asceticism or spiritual discernment of media messages (Drzewiecki, 2009; Drzewiecki, 2013; Jenkins, 2007). The last two "floors" can be - following the assumptions of Bishop Adam Lepa's program - included in the term "media education". The last floor fits into the concept of faith-based media literacy education.
Analyzing individual fragments of the textbook Pedagogy of Mass Media, one can find confirmation of this thesis. Bishop Adam Lepa notes that "in the Christian system of education, aimed at the development of human personality, there are four basic features. These are: Christocentric orientation in shaping the perfect Christian; moralism, which is the implementation of the principles of Catholic ethics in educational practice; personalism, emphasizing the dignity
and value of each person as a person; humanism, taking into account important human issues in pedagogy" (Lepa, 2000b: 91). He adds elsewhere: "correct upbringing is an upbringing that serves the comprehensive development of the (Christian) personality of the student and implements the applicable educational ideal (forming a perfect Christian). In turn, wrong upbringing is upbringing that makes it impossible or at least difficult to achieve the adopted ideal" (Lepa, 2000b: 104-105).
First of all, we notice the term "formation", which may be controversial, but in fact it corresponds to the synonyms "education" or "forming" in the classical understanding of education. It is, by definition, an indication of a certain cultural or religious ideal, according to which and to which pedagogy, i.e. educational practice, is conducted (Jaeger, 2001).
Secondly, this formative, educative, "shaping" process in the Greek sense assumes the level of universal values - hence "personalism" and "humanism", but also ethics - "moralism". Thirdly -what makes Christian education unique - it indicates "Christocentrism".
Because "the 'ideal Christian' is a new man, living 'in justice and holiness of truth', perfect to the measure of Christ ('to the extent of that perfection that is the fullness of Christ', Eph 4:13), contributing to the growth of the Mystical Body, bearing witness to hope, providing assistance in the Christian shaping of the world, striving for the common good of their community, including: through mutual dialogue. In shaping this ideal, teachers and educators should accept what is valuable in science and human culture. A person who should become a perfect Christian today faces various realities resulting from the functioning of the media" (Lepa, 2000b: 32). In this approach, the media are a new space of faith, an environment that, on the one hand, may hinder the religious development of a person and a community, and on the other hand, constitutes a new way of improving them.
The above-described features of Bishop Adam Lepa's religious media pedagogy can be compared with the faith-based media literacy program, presented in the form of five "principles" of media education, proposed by Stephanie Iaquinto and John Keeler from the School of Communication & the Arts, interdenominational Christian Regent University in Virginia Beach.
They point to the following assumptions of religious media pedagogy: 1) the media provide images of society that have a huge impact on our concepts of reality; 2) the values promoted by the media are often false, destructive, and therefore inconsistent with the values promoted by Christianity; 3) critical inquiry and the ability to "read" the media are necessary to distinguish truth from falsehood in media representations of reality; 4) faith-based media literacy education develops Christians who are equipped to serve the society in which they live; 5) Christians can improve their spirituality by becoming media literate (Iaquinto, Keeler, 2012: 20-24).
It is difficult not to mention the Catholic precursors of religious media education in the United States, whose works are referred to by the authors of the above-mentioned "main principles". Namely, Father Elizabeth Thoman (1943-2016), creator of the magazine Media & Values and the Center for Media Literacy, as well as Father John Pungente SJ (1939-2023), author of many textbooks on religious media pedagogy, one of the propagators of Christian spiritual discernment media messages (Pungente, 2008). Bishop Adam Lepa, as a Polish precursor of religious media pedagogy, significantly fits into the main assumptions of faith-media literacy education, creating a pedagogical program that is unique in the world. This is indicated by the analysis of the first "main principle". Regarding influential "images of society", Bishop Adam Lepa develops a study of media manipulation and propaganda, as well as creates the concept of the iconosphere posing a challenge to the postulated development of the logosphere and galenosphere.
Regarding the second "principle", we have a significant conceptual similarity between Bishop Adam Lepa's program and the faith-based media literacy education trend, based on the axiological plane of media education understood in this way, or - as the author himself would like - media upbringing. Regarding the third feature of this trend, Bishop Adam Lepa supplements the very "critical inquiry and the ability to 'read' the media" with an extensive concept of developing attitudes towards the media, especially selective reception and creative activity. The fourth and fifth "principle" are also confirmed in his pedagogical works. Christians are to serve "the society in which they live" and "improve their spirituality" - these principles can be found in the concept of the Christian ideal of media education, which was the subject of the above analysis.
5. Conclusion
When examining Bishop Adam Lepa's concept of religious media pedagogy, it is possible to point out several of its important and original features.
Firstly, it is a complete program, containing a description of goals, means and methods. Although it is not a ready list of scenarios for school lessons or media workshops, it is coherent in concept. Meets the requirements for modern educational programs.
Secondly, the features of this concept are personalism, humanism, axiological orientation and mesological character. Consequently, Bishop Adam Lepa proposes using the term media education, instead of media education itself, which can be understood broadly and in various understandings.
Thirdly, it is a religious, Christian, "Christocentric" concept, pointing to the need to adopt an educational ideal - in accordance with the Greek, classical view - and then guide the formation of media users. It is also a certain extension of the social goals of media pedagogy, constituting a higher level of understanding, integrated with religious formation and, above all, with Christian spirituality. The original proposals of Bishop Adam Lepa significantly expand the global trend of faith-media literacy education.
6. Acknowledgements
This research is funded by the grant of the 12th National Heritage competition from the National Program for the Development of the Humanities - project number NPRH/DN/SP/0189/2023/12, subsidy amount: PLN 359,400.
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