Sileshie Semahagne Kumlachew

• Kumlachew, Sileshie Semahagne (2025). When Politics and Religion Fuse: The Nature and Implications of the Meskel Square Controversy in the Ethiopian Media. Religions. 16(5). doi: 10.3390/rel16050543. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Using space as a conceptual framework, this paper analyzes the nature of a controversy that arose in Ethiopia when the government and three religious groups—the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), Protestants and Muslims-clashed over claims to Ethiopia’s most famous square, Meskel Square. Critical discourse analysis of the media content of the controversy revealed that the EOTC sees the square as inherently religious and claims to use it exclusively for worship. The controversy, on the other hand, allowed the government and the other two groups to redefine the space as a shared avenue for “everyone”. The clash became a symbol of the power struggle between religious groups in Ethiopian politics. While the conflict was overlooked by the mainstream media, individuals from different political-religious orientations debated the issue in greater depth and detail through social media. The controversy has long-term implications for EOTC-related religious spaces in Ethiopia.

• Kumlachew, Sileshie Semahagne (2024). The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as Religious Other in Contemporary Ethiopia: Discursive Practices of Three Selected Religious Authorities. Religions. 15(6). doi: 10.3390/rel15060744. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Through critical discourse analysis of widely circulated and debated video speeches by three selected religious authorities in Ethiopia—representing the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), Islam, and Protestantism—this paper examines how religious authority and social media complimentarily help to reach geographically and religiously diverse audiences and to draw politico-religious boundaries. It shows how the politicisation of religion, mainly by a supportive Protestant and calculative Muslim groups, with different intentions, on the one hand and a religiously motivated and repressive government on the other have created a “religious other” (i.e., the EOTC). Perceived discourse of historical marginalisation is used to justify both supportive and calculative tendencies of continued religious repression in the reconstructed new Ethiopia. On the other hand, a struggle for justice to curb this development is religiously justified by the EOTC, which elevates tensions to the level of a holy war against the religious other.

• Kumlachew, Sileshie Semahagne (2024). Doing Responsible Journalism? Journalists’ Perceptions of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Issues and Their Media Coverage. Journal of Religion in Africa. ISSN 0022-4200. Advance Article, p. 1–32. doi: 10.1163/15700666-12340326. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOTC) represents almost half of Ethiopia's population and is the largest Orthodox group in the world, outside Europe. It has recently faced tensions. This survey of Ethiopian journalists' (N=221) understanding of the church's situation and media coverage shows that while its societal role and relationship with ethnic and other religious groups is viewed positively by most, recent attacks have put it in a position of existential threat. The main reason for this is seen to be ethnic divisions instigated by religiously motivated, systemic government intervention. Instead of bringing this to light in accordance with professional journalistic standards, the mainstream media keep the issues in the dark. While self-censorship, editorial decisions and inaccessibility of religious leaders are factors in this neglect, state interference is seen as most prominent. Social media sites and EOTC-related media were found to cover the issues adequately.

• Kumlachew, Sileshie Semahagne (2023). Survival Ignored? Ethiopian Media's Framing of the Terror Attack against Ethiopian Christians in Libya. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture (RMDC). ISSN 2588-8099. 12(2-3), p. 251–271. doi: 10.1163/21659214-bja10095. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In 2015, 30 Ethiopian Christians were killed in Libya by the international terrorist group IS. According to the 29-minute propaganda video, which includes two brutal killing scenes and a narration of the reason for the killing, the Christians were killed because they belong to the "Nation of the Cross", which has "Muslim blood" in its hands. They were also killed because they refused to convert to Islam and because they were unable to pay what IS calls the "protection fee" - a fee paid by every non-Muslim to be in the area. Following the event, Ethiopia declared 3 days of national mourning and a series of social and political events took place in the country. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOTC), following a decision by its Holy Synod, named the slain Christians "Martyrs of the 21st Century". How is the religious dimension seen in the eyes of the secular private and state media? And how strongly are the two old Ethiopian institutions (the government and the EOTC) represented in the media? The findings show that the secular Ethiopian media ignore the religious identity of the killed Christians and the religious reason for the killing. Rather, the religious aspect is given a secular face. During the event, the state media sided with the government, protecting it from criticism and swaying public opinion towards the government's interests. Private newspapers are critical of this favouritism. The EOTC had a limited say in the reporting of the event and related stories in the media.

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• Kumlachew, Sileshie Semahagne (2025). The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Media: Recent Religious Controversies. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 9788284272832. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Ethiopian traditional and digital media frame, represent, and contest religious controversies involving the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC). It focuses on how religious authorities, political figures, and other stakeholders shape public discourse and how journalists perceive their role in reporting on these issues. It also explores how mediatized and discursive dynamics shape the authority and continuity of the EOTC in contemporary Ethiopia. The research is grounded in theories of the mediatization of religion, religious othering, religious authority, religion as a matter of public interest, religious space, and survival. The research employed a multi-method approach comprising a national survey of 221 journalists, as well as critical discourse and framing analyses of media coverage of major controversies. These included the Meskel Square dispute, the killing of Ethiopian Christians in Libya in 2015, and the speeches of competing religious authorities on social media. The results show that the EOTC is under what many members and leaders experience as increasing existential problem due to systemic government interference and growing religious competition, particularly from Protestant and Muslim groups who strategically utilize the media to create opposing narratives. These groups are reframing Ethiopia’s politico-religious history, challenging the EOTC’s moral authority, and advocating for different religious futures. While journalists acknowledge the Church’s historical and cultural importance, many perceive media coverage as inadequate or biased, or as remaining silent in the face of its marginalization. In response, religious authorities from the EOTC engage in a discourse of survival that is rooted in tradition and divine authority. Meanwhile, competing religious authorities are invoking narratives of historical exclusion, with some calling for the renewal of the EOTC, particularly on digital media platforms. Consequently, the media become contested spaces where religious boundaries are redefined and authority is restructured. Overall, the study demonstrates the central role of mediatized religious discourse in reshaping religious authority and national identity, with significant implications for the survival of the EOTC and the evolving religious landscape in Ethiopia. Contrary to the assumption that religious content is shaped by media logic, it is argued that religious reporting in Ethiopia, particularly in traditional media, is influenced by politico-religious logic involving systemic editorial control and cultural constraints.

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