This guide has several sources for the combination study of religion and popular culture. For a more detailed guide on religion in general, check out our Religious Studies guide.
Books & Journals on Religion & Pop Culture
Selected Journals & Databases
 |
To locate a copy of an article, look for the Find Text button located near the record of the article in the databases. Click on it to bring up a box that lists full-text and paper copy holdings. |
Databases
- Academic Search CompleteThis multidisciplinary database covers magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers and is a good place to start for any subject.
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerialsIndexes journal articles and scholarly essays on world religions and religious perspectives on social issues from 1949 to present.
- Index of Medieval ArtImages and descriptive data related to the iconography of works of art produced between late Antiquity and the sixteenth century.
Journals
- Journal of religion and popular cultureAcademic journal covering topics in religion and popular culture.
- Religion and American culture (Online)Religion and American Culture is devoted to promoting the ongoing scholarly discussion of the nature, terms, and dynamics of religion in America. Embracing a diversity of methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives, this semiannual publication explores the interplay between religion and other spheres of American culture.
Selected Books
 |
Want help finding books using OneSearch at UT Libraries? The OneSearch tutorial takes you through the highlights. |
Religion and Politics in America by
Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. In this fifth edition ofReligion and Politics in America, the authors offer a lively, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. They explore the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that underlie religious political engagement while also highlighting the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most up-to-date scholarship, the authors assess the politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical, mainline, and African American Protestants; Jews; Muslims and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements. The author team also examines important subjects concerning religion and its relationship to gender, race/ethnicity, and class. The fifth edition has been revised to include the 2012 elections, in particular Mitt Romney’s candidacy and Mormonism, as well as a fuller assessment of the role of religion in President Obama’s first term. In-depth treatment of core topics, contemporary case studies, and usefulfocus-study boxes, provides students with a real understanding of how religion and politics relate in practice and makes this fifth edition essential reading for courses in political science, religion, and sociology departments.
Call Number: Hodges Library Stacks (BL2525 .F677 2014 )Publication Date: 2013-12-24
Between Sacred and Profane by
Over the past ten years there has been an explosion of interest in how religion and the sacred connect with the media and cultures of everyday life. How are religious communities, identities and rituals being transformed by new media such as the Internet? What is the significance of the media when for many people it becomes the primary source of images and of an encounter with religious traditions? Do the media and popular culture themselves take on religious significance, and how do people make use of these popular resources to "do" religion in the contemporary world? As researchers have tried to answer these and other questions, a growing body of literature has begun to develop. Between Sacred and Profane offers a major review of this young and exciting field of scholarship, highlighting both its achievements and flaws, and setting out an agenda for its next phase of study. The book is an invaluable guide and handbook for beginning students who are looking for a first overview of the key issues and debates, as well as for more experienced scholars who wish to reflect on how their work will develop in future. Between Sacred and Profane will be required reading for courses in theology, religion and contemporary culture for many years to come.
Call Number: BL60 .B424 2007Publication Date: 2007-12-15
Understanding Religion and Popular Culture by
This introductory text provides students with a 'toolbox' of approaches for analyzing religion and popular culture. It encourages readers to think critically about the ways in which popular cultural practices and products, especially those considered as forms of entertainment, are laden with religious ideas, themes, and values. The chapters feature lively and contemporary case study material and outline relevant theory and methods for analysis. Among the areas covered are religion and food, violence, music, television and videogames. Each entry is followed by a helpful summary, glossary, bibliography, discussion questions and suggestions for further reading/viewing. Understanding Religion and Popular Culture offers a valuable entry point into an exciting and rapidly evolving field of study.
Call Number: Hodges Library Stacks (BL65.C8 U53 2012 )ISBN: 9780415781046Publication Date: 2012-06-13
God in the Details by
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.
Call Number: Hodges Library Stacks (BL2525 .G625 2011 )ISBN: 9780415485364Publication Date: 2010-11-04
Material Christianity by
Drawing on historical sources and on interviews with Protestants, Catholics and Mormons, this text investigates the history and meaning of Christian material culture in America since the middle of the 19th century.
Call Number: Hodges Library Stacks (BR515 .M35 1995 )ISBN: 0300064403Publication Date: 1996-01-24
