Archive
Visual Religion: The Cultural Work of Seeing and Believing
William Dyrness and David Morgan discuss historical and contemporary visualizations of Jesus by different religious communities at a Visions & Voices event sponsored by the Center for Religion and Civic Culture. David …
What Lies Beneath USA’s Dig Is More Than Entertainment
There is an unholy secret hiding in Jerusalem. So says the website and promotional material for the USA Network Show: Dig. It airs this spring as a 10-part series that promises a …
Looking at Jesus In Paintings
Note from Prof. Krieger: I have been working in City Heights in San Diego, and documenting the churches there. I have a book in progress on “pollution” and one of its foci …
Reflections on “Preachers of LA” and the Prosperity Gospel
“Preachers of LA,” is a new reality show on Oxygen, chronicling the outsized lives of celebrity pastors living a life of prosperity. Over 1.2 million viewers watched the show’s premiere, but what …
New Oxygen reality show “Preachers of LA” sparks controversy
A new reality TV show featuring pastors “living the God life” in Los Angeles has sparked a wave of controversy. Will Oxygen’s “Preachers of LA,” encourage exhibitionism and open the church to …
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media Diane Winston, Editor (Oxford University Press: 2012) Whether the issue is the rise of religiously inspired terrorism, …
An Evangelical Changing of the Guard?
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. At about the same time that President Barack Obama came out in favor of gay marriage, and …
Movies, Money and Morality
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. When I was a kid the Movieguide newsletter would arrive and, if I was quick enough, I …
Religion in the News: What Does it All Mean?
This post originally appeared on Patheos’ Black, White and Gray blog. Several news stories about religion in the U.S. have caught my attention over the last couple of weeks, and they each …
Megachurch and Microscoop: Beyond the Crystal Cathedral
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. The Crystal Cathedral has finally met its demise. After bankruptcy, the sale of the landmark sanctuary to …
Black History Month: Looking Foward, Looking Back
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. At the beginning of Black History month we were greeted with tragic news: Don Cornelius, the founder …
Who’s Leading the Evangelical (Super) Pack?
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. In an effort to rally evangelical support for one Republican candidate in the upcoming South Carolina primary — …
Nothing Sparks a Movement Like an Adversary (and Some Bad PR)
This post originally appeared on Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. When TLC first aired “All-American Muslim,” the show met with some harsh criticism from within the Muslim …
The Evangelical 99 Percent
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. Last week I spent a day at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meetings in San Francisco. My entree …
End Times, Part Deux
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. It’s about that time again. Not for a new social-protest movement to pop up, or for someone …
Religion and Politics, by the Numbers
This post originally appeared on Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion blog. The great American political experiment has passed many milestones along the path toward a more inclusive society. …
Mega Crystal Cathedral Meltdown Redux
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. The past tumultuous few years for the Crystal Cathedral have included the retirement (and un-retirement, then subsequent …
Homeboy, Bieber and the Brand-value of God
This post originally appeared on Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. A few weeks ago I walked into my hometown Ralph’s grocery store in a suburb of Los …
The New Politics of Fear
This post originally appeared on Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. Although there are still some lingering questions from last November about the role that values-voters played in …
Will Thune Enrapture the “Left Behind” Crowd?
This post originally appeared on Trans-Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. With the recent midterm election now behind us, reporters are beginning to speculate about potential Republican challengers …