The National Post in Canada has an interesting article posted concerning the rise of interest in academic study of pop-culture and the role of religion within it.

“Prof. James, who has taught at the prestigious Ontario university for the past three decades, is one of dozens of scholars who will be bridging the vast academic divides between high-brow, low-brow and near-satirical esoterica at this year’s conference, which is being held as part of the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Saskatoon. At this summit where Almighty notions will be poked, prodded and deconstructed, religion scholars will deliver presentations on topics as varied as ‘Women’s Hair Donation in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism,’ ‘Durkheim Goes Mainstream: Durkheimian Shadows within Popular Feminism and Media Representation of Sisterhood,’ and ‘Monotheistic Monsters and the Power of Polytheism in Battlestar Galactica.’”

Why this rise of interest in the deeper meanings within pop-culture? The piece asserts that the post-9/11 rise of two cultural flash-points (from two different religious/political positions) has fueled this interest.

“…the events that followed 9/11, the controversy surrounding the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code and the flap over Mel Gibson movie Passion of the Christ – and the growth of the pursuit of spirituality – all have contributed to a boomlet of student curiosity in their field of expertise.”

Also feeding this trend has been the rise of the Harry Potter witch-hunts, and the popularity of celebrity atheist authors like Richard Dawkins. While all coming from different places they have all helped insert religious and philosophical meaning into our popular culture. Scholars are particularly interested in how themes and trends within popular culture affect how we act.

“The image of scholars searching for allegorical meaning in mainstream movies or popular paperbacks might seem farfetched, but as God scholars point out, holier-than-thou attitudes in religious departments have taken a democratic twist over the past couple of decades. They now focus less on what the masses are thinking – the philosophy or theoretical approach – and concentrate more on what they are actually doing: the sociology of their religion.”

Personally, I have always taken the position that pop-culture is important, especially for adherents to minority faiths like ours. Movies like “The Da Vinci Code”, television shows like “Battlestar Galactica”, comic books like “Phonogram”, and even Summer blockbusters starring certain pirates, all help clear a path towards mainstream acceptance and understanding. It isn’t so much evangelism (despite the hysterics of some Christian groups), as it is a subtle form of apologetics for outsider views.

This is why I liberally mix “hard” news in with posts about movies, books, and television shows. Because they can be a bellwether for our future, and can prepare us in a way other media cannot. In today’s society, what we watch when we are having fun can be almost as important as what we publicly claim to believe.

Tags: academia, pop-culture, Religion