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Religion Journalism and Popular Culture
By JUSTIN HIENZ
Links
to Religion and Pop Culture Websites
In 2003, a lesser known
author published a novel that almost immediately
went to the top of the New York Times best
sellers list, sold millions of copies, spawned
a series of follow-up explanatory books
and most recently, a major Hollywood film.
The novel, which might have flopped in an
era less conscious of religion, is, of course,
Dan Brown's, The Da Vinci Code.
As quickly as the book's
sales took off, however, critics responded
with equal speed. Most frequently, they
waxed historical, and perhaps more passionately,
noted the religious connotations - some
claimed insinuations - of Brown's bestseller.
For the past three years, public debate
has alternately contested, embraced, argued
or brooded over The Da Vinci Code.
Amy Welborn, author
of De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind
the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code, characterized
the novel as inaccurate and anti-Catholic.
"It's not just
that Brown makes assertions about Catholicism
that are not true," writes Welborn, "but
that he also chooses to make the Roman Catholic
Church guilty of crimes - misrepresenting
Jesus, repressing the 'sacred feminine,'
and rejecting the true leadership role of
Mary Magdalene."
Considering the novel
in a different way, Richard Swanson, professor
at Augustana College, wrote in the theological
journal, Dialog, that "just when
The Da Vinci Code seems ready to
leap off into irresponsible oddity it lands
in the midst of solid scholarship."
Though critical of some
aspects of the novel, he also believes it
is an "entry-point into serious study of
the Bible."
Both Swanson and Welborn
write from a stance of literary criticism.
Public interest and criticism of the novel,
however, has taken more popular forms, such
as numerous internet blogs, letters to the
editor and citizen sound off sessions on
radio and T.V.
These different ways
of talking about The Da Vinci Code
reflect the surge and salience of religion
in popular culture in the early 21st century.
Meanwhile, journalists, foundations and
universities, among others, have slowly
sought means to capture this complex and
diverse discussion for a broader public
and do so in an engaging, comprehensive
and informative way.
At a recent conference
co-sponsored by the University of Missouri's
Center for Religion, the Professions and
the Public Life, the Religion Newswriters
Association (RNA) examined the link between
religion and popular culture. While The
Da Vinci Code exists as a nationwide
- even worldwide - topic for religion coverage,
subjects on a smaller scale also hold newsworthy
import.
"Religion news
is really local news," said Marcia Nelson,
veteran religion writer and author of a
recent book, The Gospel According to
Oprah. "The paper's place is to provide
local news, and that news has to include
faith," she reminded her RNA colleagues.
But Nelson acknowledged
that it can be difficult to engage and attract
readers when seeking an audience beyond
the Saturday or Sunday religion news. Her
sentiments were echoed by the half-dozen
writers, editors and reporters present at
the discussion. Writing about religion's
impact on readers' everyday lives, Nelson
said, is one way to make the jump from weekend
to the daily news. Pop culture pervades
communities large and small, and reporting
the relationship between religion and pop
culture provides regular opportunities.
Thus, the phenomenon
of The Da Vinci Code, sparked a lively
discussion of the novel at the Ohio gathering
of religion journalists. They concluded
that the book itself has been adequately,
even excessively, covered, but that religion's
place in literature remains an important
topic for writing and reporting.
"Religion and
spirituality books have been selling like
hotcakes," Nelson said.
Although a quite different
type of religious book, the Left Behind
series - fiction writing based on Christian
scripture - illustrates the growing connection
between religion and popular culture. The
novels also made their way to television
with an NBC miniseries, Revelations.
Though this series was overtly religious
in nature, other television shows portray
religious themes more subtly.
"The presentation
of religious characters and themes (on T.V.)
holds that religion be as general and conventional
as possible, so as to avoid potential controversy,"
wrote Stewart M. Hoover and J. Jerome Lackamp
in an article for the Museum of Broadcast
Communications website.
They added, however,
that in the 1990's, religion began to find
a wider place in program series', such as
Northern Exposure, Picket Fences
and L.A. Law. Today, religion in
television programs is even more prevalent.
The HBO series, Big Love, portrays
the life of a Mormon, polygamous family,
and though to a far less serious degree,
the adult cartoon, Family Guy, also
frequently engages the topic of religion.
Religion is also showing
up in other pop culture areas. The Damascus-based
videogame group, Afkar Media, produces games
that deal with issues particular to the
Middle East, such as the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict and even the spread of Islam nearly
1,400 years ago.
The Afkar website reports
that its goals are: "To communicate with
Moslems in a way that respects their colorful
heritage and spiritual privacy as a way
to get them out the shell they were put
in and enrich the civilization of the 21st
century with a touch of justice, acceptance
and peace."
A new game, Al-Quraysh,
set to be released in September, "is a strategy
game that tells the story of the first 100
years of Islam's history from the viewpoint
of four different nations - Bedouins, Arabs,
Persians, and Romans," reports the Christian
Science Monitor. The main character is a
Muslim warrior historically believed to
have defeated both the Roman and Persian
empires.
Christianity is also
prominent in the videogame industry. Thus,
the Christ Centered Game Review website
examines videogames, in part, for their
moral appropriateness as well as for their
entertainment value to Christians. Some
members of the nonprofit videogame development
group, Christian Game Developers, "are involved
in creating games made specifically to glorify
God." The intersection between religion
and videogames cannot be missed.
Most journalists at
the RNA discussion agreed that the best
way to know what readers want is to immerse
themselves in the local culture of their
communities. In the words of a Dallas Morning
News tip sheet, the goal is to "write stories
that answer questions your readers have
about other faiths - and about their own."
Ways in which a religion
journalist can discover the questions their
community has were suggested by distinguished
journalist and long-time freelance religion
reporter Kimberly Winston.
She said that, in the
interviews she does day to day, "I always
ask what stories I should be writing." In
most cases, she said, her probing elicits
few or no ideas, but sometimes, a great
story can be unearthed simply by asking.
Winston also suggested
that religion journalists, "go to all different
houses of worship and check everything,"
in search of stories. Bulletin boards on
college campuses, internet blogs and local
demographics are also places to mine for
religion story ideas, she said.
A close review of ideas
gleaned from these local sources may reveal
national trends. Nelson encouraged attendees
at the discussion to use data - such as
that found on The Association of Religion
Data Archives (www.thearda.com) - as a base
from which to flesh out noteworthy articles.
"Numbers are our
stock in trade," she said. "We feed on facts,
but it's our challenge to humanize that."
Data collected by the
ARDA shows that in Presbyterian congregations
in 2000, 47.6 percent of those surveyed
said their church's sermons often included
illustrations from contemporary media, such
as magazines, newspapers, television or
movies. For the religion writer seeking
the meaning behind this percentage, what's
heard from the pulpit can often be found
online.
The website, www.sermonaudio.com,
holds an index of sermons according to topic.
A simple search of topics, such as movies
or television, results in lists of sermons
recorded and placed on the website - a goldmine
for the religion writer seeking to make
sense of ARDA information.
Finding information
on less mainstream religions can be discovered
by diligent internet searchers. At paganwiccan.about.com,
one can read articles written by practitioners
of the Wiccan faith and sign up for a free
newsletter. Registering to receive newsletters
and publishers lists was another tip given
by Winston. By this, she said, journalists
can spot trends in public interest.
Religion influences
and is itself influenced by modern culture.
The task set before religion journalists
is to capture this reciprocal impact and
the discussion it generates. Armed with
context and appropriate background, the
public is better able see and understand
the sometimes subtle yet important presence
of religion in everyday life.
A blog about faith, values and spirituality in the media, from CORP faculty, staff and friends.
ReligiousLife@MU A blog about religious life at the University of
Missouri-Columbia.
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