ABSTRACT
As we have noted before, religion is traditionally regarded as a matter of ultimate concerns. But in Western societies today, even if religion is concerned with ultimate matters, it also exists as a superficial phenomenon, and it has a great entertainment potential. Religious themes, symbols and narratives are taken up in novels, films, and popular magazines throughout the so-called secularized world. And as religion has been made part of entertainment, it is also demanded that religion shall be entertaining—one new criterion for modern religion is that it keeps one amused. On that basic principle ‘televangelism’ is built, to mention but one example (Postman 1993).
