Religion and Reality TV ― Faith in Late Capitalism

Why is reality television flourishing in today's expanding media market? Religion and Reality TV: Faith in Late Capitalism argues that the reality genre offers answers to many of life's urgent questions: Why am I important? What gives my life meaning? How do I present my best self to the world? Case studies address these questions by examining religious representations through late capitalist lenses, including the maintenance of the self, the commodification of the sacred, and the performance of authenticity. The book's fourteen essays explore why religious themes proliferate in reality TV; audiences' fascination with "lived religion," and the economics that make religion and reality TV a successful pairing. Chapters also consider the role of race, gender and region in the production and reception of programming.

Religion and Reality TV provides a framework for understanding the intersection of celebrity, media attention, and American beliefs and values. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of religion and media studies, communication, American studies, and popular culture.

Mara Einstein has worked as a senior executive in both broadcast and cable television as well as at major advertising agencies. Dr. Einstein is currently a professor of media studies at Queens College, City University of New York.

Diane Winston holds the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. A national authority on religion and the media as both a journalist and a scholar, her expertise includes religion, politics, and the news media as well as religion and the entertainment media.

Katherine Madden is a doctoral candidate in Critical Studies at the University of Southern California. Madden is an Annenberg Fellow and holds an MA in Critical Studies at the University of Southern California.