Religion and Popular Culture

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.

Richard W. Santana is an associate professor of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He lives in Lyons, New York.
Gregory Erickson is an associate professor of interdisciplinary studies at the Gallatin School of New York University, where he teaches courses on religion, literature and popular culture. He lives in New York.

Richard W. Santana and Gregory Erickson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6331-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2708-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface to the Second Edition 1
Textual Note 4
1. Popular Culture and Popular Religion in America 5
2. “Jesus Is Standing at Home Plate”: Baseball and American Christianity 36
3. Consuming Faith: Porn, Advertising and Religion 53
4. Absolute Contradictions: Perceptions of the Spiritual and the Religious in Popular Music 81
5. The Gods of Film: Representing God and Jesus at the Movies 112
6. Television Drama, Fan Communities, Vampires and Theology 140
7. Monsters, Demons and Spiritual Warfare: Beyond Good and Evil 170
8. Religion, Video Games, Evil and the Real 193
Epilogue: The Practice of Rescripting 232
Chapter Notes 235
Works Cited 239
Index 251

“extensive bibliography…an interesting addition”—Catholic Library World