Reflection: Popular Culture and Religion

I would just like to touch on something that I find interesting. It is something I treasure deeply and it's something we all encounter every day. I am talking about food. Working at a bakery I have had some interesting responses to the highly anticipated hot cross buns. While most people are thrilled by the new chocolate or mocha additions there have been comments from some people that give me the impression many find themselves unsettled and upset with the evolution of these buns. Baking hot cross buns so early before Easter is the biggest issue many customers have. It makes you stop and reflect upon elements of religion and spirituality that have been "marketed" or "sold". To many, it may simply be a fruity, delicious bun upon which a good lather of butter is enjoyed! But to those who consider the hot cross bun to have religious meaning and tradition, it is yet another example of religion as a commodity, a market to be tapped into. While there are adherants who will seek out the hot cross buns come Good Friday, many are literally consuming a once heavily religious tradition. How do I feel about this fact? Well more importantly there are clearly some customers who are upset by the process. To them, the hot cross bun is more than just a filling for your 3pm sugar cravings. It carries a message. It has a meaning.

This photo is my own. I took it in a church in Rome, Italy when I was backpacking there with my best friend over a year ago.

Week 2: Popular religion and popular media
Post by Caitlin Lidbetter
Discussing Birgit Meyer (2012) and the relationship between media and religion

The search for God is powered by Google

Meyer's assertion is that forms of media are "intrinsic to religion" (162) and that ultimately media and religion can, and do, work together in complimentary and co-dependent harmony. I found this idea very interesting when considering the role media, particularly social media, has in the changing technological landscape we find ourselves inhabiting as constant consumers of media. We are always texting, typing, blogging, posting aren’t we? In that case how many of us are consuming religion through forms of social media? How many of us are consuming forms of religious or spiritual content through media without realising it?

Meyer (2012) looked at the interaction between religion and media in the rise of Pentecostalism in Ghana (162) where there was a distinct "intersection of Christianity, media and entertainment" (163). Pentecostal religions with charismatic leaders and interactive rock concerts have adopted forms of media and social media to create a transcendental experience for adherents. What I find most interesting after reading Meyer (2012) is the notion that "the adoption of new media does not happen in a vacuum, but is bound up with broader social and cultural processes" (164). For years we've seen these passionate and eccentric concerts and church services broadcast on television networks however in 2013 we are seeing multiple religions take hold of social media and forms of mass media in new ways. In my opinion the tools of the 21st century; smart phones, laptops and tablets, are becoming more readily available and accessible to the masses. The individual is empowered by the smart phone, the individual has a voice with the internet. It is what individuals do with this voice and empowerment that is important.