to say it's a major factor in helping them sort out their spiritual concerns and frequently also their secular views.

That's a common view among religious participants, says a communications researcher, but it's not the image that comes across in prime-time television.

The new study by Thomas Skill of the University of Dayton and a colleague finds that the "tube'' depicts Christian leaders as mostly useless and irrelevant.

They aren't portrayed as rogues, and they aren't ridiculed or demeaned, as is sometimes claimed. But their significance is minimised. They're presented as shallow, marginal figures with little influence in life.

"They aren't attacked, but they also are portrayed as lacking real Christian leadership qualities,'' Skill said.

This is the mixed conclusion of the study by Skill and associate communications professor James D. Robinson. They analysed 68 hours of prime-time television, involving 100 fictional episodes.

"The expectation that religion would be attacked is just not true,'' Skill said in an interview. "That's the good part. The bad part is that religious leaders just aren't there in any meaningful way.

"They're kind of bland and shallow. They aren't an influential force in the lives around them. In many cases, they're not there at all. There's no attempt to explore the religious elements in most decisions people face.'' Skill said the secular world, including TV, does "not seem to know what priests or ministers do'' and consequently portray them as a kind of marginal, ceremonial vestige, not directly involved with human problems.

In reality, "they are important to their communities and make important contributions to society,'' he added. But from the TV portrayals, "the conclusion would be that religion, religious leaders and their activities are unimportant in society.'' When Christian leaders are portrayed, he said it usually is in some background or peripheral role, such as at a wedding or funeral, rather than giving information about their perspectives in relation to the story.