Secular Steeples: Popular Culture and the Religious Imagination [Paperback]

Conrad Ostwalt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1563383616 | ISBN-13: 978-1563383618 | Publication Date: March 24, 2003 | Edition: 1

In this provocative volume, Conrad Ostwalt contends that secularization has not and will not destroy religion, but rather that it shifts the "authority" to express religious ideals from the traditional, institutional church to other cultural entities, such as government and media. Religious institutions already use popular secular media like television, movies, and mass-market music to make teachings relevant. When religious institutions no longer dominate culture, they lose their grip on striving for the Sacred, the author says, and their messages find other outlets. As a result, today's secular culture may in fact contain more authentic religious content than official church teachings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Readers will find in Ostwalt’s volume an erudite and lively survey of current theorists coupled with an original model for understanding how the forces of secularism interact with the timeless search for meaning in modern humans. His volume will serve as a worthy introduction to sociological, literary, and multimedia thinking about the role of religion in modern life. Perhaps the prime insights of the volume lie in Ostwalt’s extensive critiques of extant literature and film….the perceptive way in which Ostwalt affirms but analyzes contemporary culture will be informative and helpful” –H. Newton Malony, Senior Professor in the Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Vol. 56, No.3, September 2004 (Perspectives On Science and Christian Faith )

"Conrad Ostwalt is a force among those scholars who, in the last decade or so, have established the importance of religion in American culture by focusing on locations, constructions of space, and place-relations. This focus makes clear that the religious and secular in American culture are not segregated from one another but are constantly intermixing, conflicting with, appropriating, and reflecting one another. Secular Steeples brings Ostwalts' substantial contributions to the spatial study of religion and contemporary American culture to a new prominence.—Wesley A. Kort, Duke University (Wesley A. Kort )

"What cultural forms enable Americans to ponder their lives, their relationships, and their values? In this fascinating book Ostwalt argues for a blurring of the categories of sacred and secular, demonstrating that movies, megachurches, and sacred spaces often function religiously. This is a provocative book that should be read by everyone interested in religion and the public sphere."—Margaret R. Miles, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley (Miles, Margaret R. )

"Ostwalt here takes a look at the broader culture to examine the interaction between secular and sacred worldviews. The author describes a two-way exchange, as religions adopt modern concerns and methods while popular culture increasingly presents material that attempts to address religious questions...A Thought-provoking contribution to the ongoing debate on the relationship between American religion and contemporary culture."—C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., for Library Journal, May 15, 2003 (C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S. )

"Conrad Ostwalt presents a remarkable essay on secularization in (post) modern American religion..Ostwalt's work is both theoretically astute and very accessible. This is a work that can be read profitably by those interested in the field of religious studies as well as laypeople and persons in positions of religious authority. Ostwalt's discussion off the dual directions of secularization is important because he takes time to reflect on the repercussions of participation in these processes. Rather than simply point out these developments, Ostwalt notes the dangers and responsibilities inherent in, for example, religious institutions adopting marketing techniques to obtain and retain members or utilizing the tools of secular media to convey a religious message. The danger for the church is that it runs the risk of losing the right to critique society if it uncritically identifies too closely with it; it may lose its prophetic voice. This is a pressing message, and in my opinion, one that deserves to be heard."—Dan Clanton, Iliff School of The0logy & University of Denver, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Volume IV: Summer 2003 (Dan Clanton Journal Of Religion )

"Ostwalt offers a wide-ranging look at the symbiotic coexistence of the secular and religious in American popular culture…The study of religion and popular culture fronts the vital questions of what the definitional parameters of religion and the topical boundaries of religious studies may be."—S. McCloud, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for CHOICE. (McCloud, S. )

“His examination of fiction, megachurches and apocalyptic film provide the reader with diverse examples through which to understand his thesis of dialogue rather than dichotomy, and his discussion of secularization theory is thorough. While the book is clear and accessible to students, it would provide better material for lecture or graduate seminar than it would for undergraduate discussion.” –Religious Studies Review, 1/2004 (Religious Studies Review )

“Confidently written and valuably researched, Ostwalt’s latest treatment of the relationship between contemporary culture and spirituality is an imaginative counter-argument to those who hold that religion and secularity are at odds.… O. acknowledges risks in the pluralist and diverse cultural avenues to the truth, but he trusts that a mindful awareness of truths, rather than Truth, can lead to healing rather than to the disruption and demonization he finds endemic in dogma and institution. Most readers will profit from the energy, novelty, and range of the book.” –Theological Studies, 65.4, 12/04 (Theological Studies )

"Conrad Ostwalt is a force among those scholars who, in the last decade or so, have established the importance of religion in American culture by focusing on locations, constructions of space, and place-relations. This focus makes clear that the religious and secular in American culture are not segregated from one another but are constantly intermixing, conflicting with, appropriating, and reflecting one another. Secular Steeples brings Ostwalts' substantial contributions to the spatial study of religion and contemporary American culture to a new prominence.—Wesley A. Kort, Duke University (, )

"What cultural forms enable Americans to ponder their lives, their relationships, and their values? In this fascinating book Ostwalt argues for a blurring of the categories of sacred and secular, demonstrating that movies, megachurches, and sacred spaces often function religiously. This is a provocative book that should be read by everyone interested in religion and the public sphere."—Margaret R. Miles, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley (, )

"Ostwalt here takes a look at the broader culture to examine the interaction between secular and sacred worldviews. The author describes a two-way exchange, as religions adopt modern concerns and methods while popular culture increasingly presents material that attempts to address religious questions...A Thought-provoking contribution to the ongoing debate on the relationship between American religion and contemporary culture."—C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., for Library Journal, May 15, 2003 (, )

"Conrad Ostwalt presents a remarkable essay on secularization in (post) modern American religion..Ostwalt's work is both theoretically astute and very accessible. This is a work that can be read profitably by those interested in the field of religious studies as well as laypeople and persons in positions of religious authority. Ostwalt's discussion off the dual directions of secularization is important because he takes time to reflect on the repercussions of participation in these processes. Rather than simply point out these developments, Ostwalt notes the dangers and responsibilities inherent in, for example, religious institutions adopting marketing techniques to obtain and retain members or utilizing the tools of secular media to convey a religious message. The danger for the church is that it runs the risk of losing the right to critique society if it uncritically identifies too closely with it; it may lose its prophetic voice. This is a pressing message, and in my opinion, one that deserves to be heard."—Dan Clanton, Iliff School of The0logy & University of Denver, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Volume IV: Summer 2003 (, Journal Of Religion )

"Ostwalt offers a wide-ranging look at the symbiotic coexistence of the secular and religious in American popular culture…The study of religion and popular culture fronts the vital questions of what the definitional parameters of religion and the topical boundaries of religious studies may be."—S. McCloud, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for CHOICE. (, )

About the Author

Conrad Ostwalt is Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Appalachian State University, USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Trinity Press Int'l; 1 edition (March 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563383616
• ISBN-13: 978-1563383618
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is garbage, September 23, 2005

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Adam P. Boyd (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secular Steeples: Popular Culture and the Religious Imagination (Paperback)

I had to buy this book for Religion and Pop Culture 202 at Arizona State. This book is such a stale read. It has nice information inside it, but the way the author presents it is awful.