Understanding Religion and Popular Culture


Book Description

This introductory text provides students with an extremely useful 'toolbox' of approaches for analyzing religion and popular culture.




Understanding Religion and Popular Culture


Book Description

Understanding Religion and Popular Culture 2nd edition provides an accessible introduction to this exciting and rapidly evolving field. Divided into two parts, Issues in Religion and Genres in Popular Culture, it encourages readers to think critically about the ways in which popular cultural practices and products, especially those considered as forms of entertainment, are laden with religious ideas, themes, and values. This edition has been thoroughly revised and includes five new chapters, updated case studies, and contemporary references. Among the areas covered are religion and film, food, violence, music, television, cosplay, and fandom. Each chapter also includes a helpful summary, glossary, bibliography, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading/viewing. Providing a set of practical and theoretical tools for learning and research, this book is an essential read for all students of Religion and Popular Culture, or Religion and Media more broadly.




Religion and Popular Culture


Book Description

Often considered to be in opposition, American popular culture and popular religion are connected, forming and informing new ways of thinking, writing and practicing religion and theology. Film, television, music, sports and video games are integral to understanding the spiritual, the secular and the in-between in the modern world. In its revised second edition, this book explores how religious issues of canonicity, scriptural authority, morality, belief and unbelief are worked out not in churches, seminaries or university classrooms, but in our popular culture. Topics new to this edition include lived religion, digital technology, new trends in belief and identification, the film Noah (2014), the television series True Blood, Kanye West's music, the video game Fallout and media events of recent years. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




Religion and Popular Culture in America


Book Description

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: “A solid introduction to the dialogue between the disciplines of cultural studies and religion…. A substantive foundation for subsequent exploration.”—Religious Studies Review “A splendid collection of lively essays by fourteen scholars dealing with religion and popular culture on the contemporary American scene.”—Choice




Understanding Religion


Book Description

Today, religion is a complex issue. In Western Europe, the so-called “Christian heritage” is challenged by both other religious traditions and secular worldviews. It is therefore essential to understand the complexity of religion in different contexts. This volume addresses four questions in this regard: How can we assess religion and religiosity appropriately? What are important markers of religiosity? How does religion affect recent society? How can religion be taught in modern society? By dealing with these questions, the contributions to this volume offer an insight into the recent state-of-the-art of research on religion and religiosity within the field of religious education on an international level.




Religion and Popular Culture in America, Third Edition


Book Description

The connection between popular culture and religion is an enduring part of American life. With seventy-five percent new content, the third edition of this multifaceted and popular collection has been revised and updated throughout to provide greater religious diversity in its topics and address critical developments in the study of religion and popular culture. Ideal for classroom use, this expanded volume gives increased attention to the implications of digital culture and the increasingly interactive quality of popular culture provides a framework to help students understand and appreciate the work in diverse fields, methods, and perspectives contains an updated introduction, discussion questions, and other instructional tools




Religion and Popular Culture in America


Book Description

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: “A solid introduction to the dialogue between the disciplines of cultural studies and religion…. A substantive foundation for subsequent exploration.”—Religious Studies Review “A splendid collection of lively essays by fourteen scholars dealing with religion and popular culture on the contemporary American scene.”—Choice




A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson


Book Description

The twelve essays in A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson offer various interpretations of Mel Gibson’s work, treating this prolific but controversial figure not only as a filmmaker but as a historian, religious thinker, and social philosopher. From The Man Without a Face and Braveheart to The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge, this interdisciplinary collection mines Gibson’s life and oeuvre for insight into existential problems, Aristotelian virtues, the politics of film, interreligious dialogue, adaptation issues, and much more.




Religion and Popular Culture


Book Description

Often considered to be in opposition, American popular culture and popular religion are connected, forming and informing new ways of thinking, writing and practicing religion and theology. Film, television, music, sports and video games are integral to understanding the spiritual, the secular and the in-between in the modern world. In its revised second edition, this book explores how religious issues of canonicity, scriptural authority, morality, belief and unbelief are worked out not in churches, seminaries or university classrooms, but in our popular culture. Topics new to this edition include lived religion, digital technology, new trends in belief and identification, the film Noah (2014), the television series True Blood, Kanye West's music, the video game Fallout and media events of recent years. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




God in the Details


Book Description

Exploring the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth and persistence of religious themes in the American consciousness. This new edition reflects the explosion of online activity since the first edition, including chapters on the spiritual implications of social networking sites, and the hazy line between real and virtual religious life in the online community Second Life. Also new to this edition are chapters on the migration of black male expression from churches to athletic stadiums, new configurations of the sacred and the commercial, and post 9/11 spirituality and religious redemption through an analysis of vampire drama, True Blood. Popular chapters on media, sports, and other pop culture experiences have been revised and updated, making this an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.