Understanding Religion and Popular Culture

Introduction: What is Religion? What is Popular Culture? How Are They Related? Terry Ray Clark  1. Saved by Satire? Learning to Value Popular Culture's Critique of Sacred Traditions Terry Ray Clark  2. Religion and Ecology in Popular Culture Dell deChant  3. Religion in Science Fiction Film and Television Douglas E. Cowan  4. Religion and Cinema Horror Douglas E. Cowan  5. On the Sacred Power of Violence in Popular Culture Eric Bain-Selbo  6. On the Job and Among the Elect: Religion and the Salvation of Sipowicz in NYPD Blue Dan W. Clanton, Jr.  7. The Critical Study of the Myth of Star Wars John C. McDowell  8. Religion and Video Games: Shooting Aliens in Cathedrals Rachel Wagner  9. The Coca-Cola Brand and Religion Jeffrey Scholes  10. What Makes Music Christian? Hipsters, Contemporary Christian Music and Secularization Courtney Wilder and Jeremy Rehwaldt  11. Lord of the Lembas: A Study of What's Cooking in Pop Culture Jonathan Sands Wise  12. Cursing Then and Now: Jeremiah's Scroll and the Boston Red Sox Jersey (Can the Bible Shed Light on Pop Culture Practices?) Terry Ray Clark  13. Postmodern Prophecy: Bob Dylan and the Practices of Self-Subversion Mark W. Flory

"This volume is a particularly useful and worthwhile addition to the growing literature examining the intersection of religion and popular culture. Accessible for the beginner yet insightful for the veteran, it's a good read to boot!" - Eric Michael Mazur, Virginia Wesleyan College, USA



"As we move further into the new century, it becomes ever more important to understand how religions are changing. This book gives valuable insights into the ways that religions are today remade through popular media." - Stewart M. Hoover, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA