Religion as entertainment

In this collection of essays, American religion is explored in terms of its interaction with an entertainment-focused culture. The first half of the book addresses questions of how religion actually fulfills an "entertaining" role in society, with specific chapters devoted to the issue of lay participation in faith communicities, the goals and impact of preaching, the rise of non-traditional religions and attraction of medication in recent years, and the question of whether bigger crowds is always better. The second half of the book focuses on how religion is treated in various entertainment media, including film, music, television, literature. In all this, it is hoped that the interested student of faith and spirituality in culture will find food for thought and discussion.