ABSTRACT
Religion has always been shaped by the media of its time, and today we live in a media culture that informs much of what we think and how we behave. Religious believers, communities and institutions use media as tools to communicate, but also as locations where they construct and express identity, practice religion, and build community.
This lively book offers a comprehensive introduction to the contemporary field of religion, media, and culture. It explores:
- the religious content of media texts and the reception of those texts by religious consumers who appropriate and reuse them in their own religious work;
- how new forms of media provide fresh locations within which new religious voices emerge, people reimagine the "task" of religion, and develop and perform religious identity.
Jeffrey H. Mahan includes case study examples from both established and new religions and each chapter is followed by insightful reflections from leading scholars in the field. Illustrated throughout, the book also contains a glossary of key terms, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |50 pages
Religious identity in media cultures
chapter |18 pages
Relating media, religion, and culture
chapter |15 pages
Making and articulating religious identity
chapter |15 pages
Believing and practicing in a digital world
part |52 pages
Religion in the midst of change
chapter |16 pages
Old and new media
chapter |17 pages
Stability and change
chapter |17 pages
Organized religion in the age of digital media
part |44 pages
Ethics and esthetics