For many years now, religion and popular culture have been able to feed on one another's influence on the community. Popular culture impacts how ideas are shared throughout a society typically conveyed in an entertaining manner. Religion has been utilized as a relative topic by media to better resonate with audiences from multiple backgrounds. This has lead to opportunities for religion to be used within many different media sources like music, movies, and books. Religion has been incorporated into just about all music genres and has even succeeded in creating its own genre in the process. All artists find many different ways to incorporate religion into their music. Some choose to express it in a manner that will enlighten others, some …show more content…
One well-known literature piece is the Bible, which is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans. Children's books have also been created to help teach them at young ages about a specific religion or about many different religions around the world, The Kids Book of World Religions is one great example. Comic books have also been able to incorporate religion into their writings. The DC franchise, one of the most popular comic book publishers, is no stranger to the idea of religious entities within their comic worlds. DC’s most popular character, Superman, is often referred to as a god because he is always doing what is right, providing hope for those in need, and possessing incredible abilities. However, religion has been making an appearance in literature for quite some time now. Stopford Brooke states in his book, “ Religion, as defined, but sometimes religion as mere theology played a great part in the new poetry which arose in Scotland and England about 1780. A good deal of poetry of Burns was due to the impassioned revolt in him of the ‘religion of nature’ and of the human heart, against the terrible religion of Calvinism, He established the spirit of humanity in poetry. All the outgoings of love were divine, and nothing which was not loving could belong to God, or ought to belong to man. In this warm air of lovingness Burns wrapt the whole universe, from the lowest animal to the highest man, from the devil whom he pitied to God, who, he thought, shared his pity. It was a great revelation, and it has never, since his day, ceased to live in fine literature. It is now part of the religion of all high poets, and is alive, in fire and light, in all literature which is destined to
Religion has greatly influenced western civilization. Religion is a way to express ourselves in our own way. To be able to choose who or what we believe in freely. This gives us a sense of individualism and helps our civilization to grow and develop each religion. Just about every ancient culture practiced religion in some way. They were either monotheist, polytheist, atheist, or believed in “magic”. Western civilization was impacted by religion in more ways than one. Every religion contributed in their own way. Some religions even worked together to help create a stronger, more structured civilization.
Moore does not devote much of his attention to religious ideas. Instead, he examines several different instances of the blending of the sacred and the profane in popular American culture. Moore narrates the direct and indirect effects of the public display of religion for both sacreds and seculars. History, lifestyle, work, education, government, music, sporting events, marketplace, literature, and womanhood influence people. He also brings up how religion can influence racial militancy and terrorism that threaten equality, domestic security, and national identity.
Religion has been an important part of man’s life. Man has allowed religion to control and influence his life in many different ways, affecting both his behavior and his actions. So its not surprising that music, one of man’s earliest expressive forms, has also been influenced by religion. Religion has had an effect on man’s music all throughout history, from the early Egyptians to even now. So it is only natural that Western music should also have been affected by religion. Western music, and its development by composers, has been strongly influenced by the Christian religion, especially in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The music in these periods laid the foundation for all the different types of music we enjoy today.
... religion really is. It's the love of thy neighbor and loving the little things in life. It's connecting to one another, and being tolerant of one another. This musical exemplifies the culture of the new millennium.
Secular rock music has influenced contemporary Christian music by in essence decentralizing God from being the main motive of the music. The journal entry Watering Down Christianity? states that “With the mainstream success of [contemporary] Christian bands such as Jars of Clay, Sixpence None The Richer, and P.O.D., people are questioning Christian bands that may de-Christianize their lyrics to sell albums to a larger crossover audience” (Livengood and Book 121). Many contemporary Christian bands stray away from the message they should be focused on in order to reach out to a more diverse crowd. It is understandable for contemporary Christian artists to be so heavily influenced by secular rock music if their intention truly is to reach out to people who are not considered Christian and show them a better life. However, the decentralization away from God might actually be harming the image of God by, like the journal entry says, watering down Christianity.
The origins of African American religious music are directly linked to the Negro spirituals of enslaved Africans. One cannot research religious music of blacks in this country without first exploring these spirituals. The spirituals were part of a religious expression that enslaved people used to transcend the narrow limits and dehumanizing effects of slavery. It was through the performance of the spirituals that the individual and the community experienced their God, a God who affirmed their humanity in ways whites did not and a God who could set them free both spiritually and physically. These “sacred songs” were also used as secret communication. That is not to say that all spirituals functioned as coded protest songs or as some sort of secret language. The structure of the spirituals and the way in which they were created and performed allowed for flexibility in their function and meaning.
In his classic work Christ and Culture, H. Richard Niebuhr asserts that the relationship between earnest followers of Jesus Christ and human culture has been an "enduring problem."1 How should believers who are "disciplining themselves for the purpose of godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7) relate to a world whose culture is dominated by "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life" (1 John 2: 16)? Culture is God's gift and task for human beings created in His image and likeness. At creation humanity received a "cultural mandate" from the sovereign Creator to have dominion over the earth and to cultivate and keep it (Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:15). But sin's effects are total, and culture—whether high, popular, or folk—has been corrupted thoroughly by rebellion, idolatry, and immorality. How, then, should Christians, who have been redeemed, "not with perishable things like gold or silver . . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18-19) live in relation to culture? According to Jesus in His high priestly prayer, believers are to be in the world but not of it (John 17:11-16). But in what way? How do believers act in and interact with the "crooked and perverse generation" (Phil. 2:15) that surrounds them and of which they are a part?
The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women murdered by a current or past partner during that time was 11,766 almost twice the amount of people we lost to war. However, this does not just affect women. 1 in 4 women will be victims of severe violence in their lifetime, but 1in 7 men will be, too. In this paper, I propose that popular culture contributes to the high rate of domestic abuse in the United States. I will prove this by analyzing popular music, movies, and even looking at the news in today’s culture. I will make connections with today’s culture and the high rate of domestic violence in the United States. Then I will talk about how popular culture can change
Portrayal of Christianity in the Media In this piece of coursework I am going to write an essay about how Christianity is portrayed in the media. I'm going to write about mainstream shows such as Songs of Praise and Paradise found. I am also going to write about how a Christian issue is dealt with on Eastenders which was Euthanasia. Then I am going to write about how Homosexuality is looked upon in the film Philadelphia.
Culture is a way of life that allows a diverse group of people to interrelate with one another. It is usually passed down from one generation to the next by communication and imitation. The term itself has a set definition, but it normally relates to the behavior, beliefs, values, and symbols that are accepted by a group of people. Culture can also be used to describe the time period and events in history. In the sense of what was deemed as popular during a specific stage in time and its impact on the culture surrounding it. Micro-historian have been dissecting and interpreting the meaning of popular culture and the courses of action that lead up to the events.
I find religion mostly in different movies, video games, and tv shows. For example, a game a play often is smite. In this game you play as different gods of different religions and cultures. Most of the religions are quite ancient and mostly comprise Japanese, Hindu, Mayan, Egyptian, roman, and Norse mythology’s. Also each of the gods that are portrayed in the game are given skills that reference their tales and adventures. Another example I have is that I watch quite a bit of anime. There is an entire genre where the devil from Christianity is put into a hero role or every day role and they get comedic events from the oddity of the devil being a good guy. We could also look at live action movies such as the mummy for religion is
The Effects of Popular Culture on Society Popular Culture is music, dance, theatre, film,T.V., poetry and Art which is enjoyed by a wide group of people. Some people would argue that popular culture in the 1960's cause harm. Other people however argued that other factors brought harm and change to society. Some people would argue that music would cause harm because of the lyrics in pop songs. Lyrics like 'Lets spend the night together' by The Rolling Stones, influenced young people to have casual sex.
Popular culture embodies the beliefs, ideas, perspectives, attitudes, and images of various cultures. Popular culture is heavily influenced by mass media, key celebrity figures, movies and related entertainment, as well as sports and news. However, in the past decade, the Internet and social media have become a significant influence on pop culture. Social Media influences what music we listen to. In the past, people used to listen to songs that had meaning behind them, and it was because they personally enjoyed the music.
How do we define religion? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain to the worship of one or more than one spiritual being or representation of a spiritual power. Religion can be a personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the beginning of mankind.
A lot of different types of media, such as film and TV; reflect different ideologies, though we are not always aware that they are doing so. An example of this would be action/adventure films, which shows that using force or violence to solve problems is acceptable and reflects upon certain ideologies. This helps us to understand the media because the ideology that is reflected in these films is capable of reaching big audiences through the use of TV and film, thus allowing for it to become a more common belief within