God in the Details ─ American Religion in Popular Culture

Exploring the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth and persistence of religious themes in the American consciousness. This new edition reflects the explosion of online activity since the first edition, including chapters on the spiritual implications of social networking sites, and the hazy line between real and virtual religious life in the online community Second Life. Also new to this edition are chapters on the migration of black male expression from churches to athletic stadiums, new configurations of the sacred and the commercial, and post 9/11 spirituality and religious redemption through an analysis of vampire drama, True Blood. Popular chapters on media, sports, and other pop culture experiences have been revised and updated, making this an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.

Eric Michael Mazur is the Gloria & David Furman Chair of Judaic Studies at Virginia Wesleyan College. He is the author of several works in church-state studies, and is the editor of Art & The Religious Impulse and The Encyclopedia of Religion & Film.
Kate McCarthy is Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Chico. She is also the author of Interfaith Encounters in America.

Acknowledgements. Preface to the Second Edition . Introduction: Finding Religion in American Popular Culture Eric Mazur and Kate McCarthy Part 1: Popular Myth and Symbol 1. Deliver Me from Nowhere: Bruce Springsteen and the Myth of the American Promised Land KateMcCarthy 2. True Blood: The Material and the Spiritual on HBO Leonard Primiano 3. A Fire in the Sky: ‘Apocalyptic’ Themes on the Silver Screen Jon R. Stone 4. Sexuality, Blasphemy and Iconoclasm in the Media Age: The Strange Case of the Buddha Bikini James Mark Shields Part 2: Popular Ritual 5. Blood in the Barbecue: Food and Faith in the American South Wade Clark Roof 6. Rituals of the African American Domus: Church, Community, Sport and Lebron James Vernon Andrews 7. Dropping in for the Holidays: Christmas as Commercial Ritual at the Precious Moments Chapel Jennifer Rycenga 8. Desert Goddesses and Apocalyptic Art: Making Sacred Space at the Burning Man Festival Sarah M. Pike Part 3: Popular Spirituality and Morality 9. Is God Still in the Box? Religion in Contemporary Television Cop Shows Ten Years Later Elijah Siegler 10. Don't Act Now! Selling Christian Abstinence in the Religious Marketplace Sara Moslener 11. When 'Friend' Becomes a Verb: Religion on the Social Web Daniel Veidlinger 12. Homer the Heretic and Charlie Church: Parody, Piety, and Pluralism in The Simpsons Lisle W. Dalton, Eric Michael Mazur, and Monica L. Siems Part 4: Popular 'Churches' 13. The Thin Line Between Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: Meaning and Community Among Jimmy Buffett’s Parrotheads Julie J. Ingersoll 14. Our Lady of Persistent Liminality: Virtual Church, Cyberspace, and Second Life Rachel Wagner 15. Rap Music, Hip-Hop Culture, and 'The Future Religion of the World' Robin Sylvan 16. The Happiest Place on Earth: Disney’s America and the Commodification of Religion Eric Michael Mazur and Tara K. Koda Contributors. Index