The Birth of the pop religion. Religion in the age of popular culture

Abstract

The article discusses religion and religiosity in the age of popular culture. The author proposes that instead of condemning the culture, we should try to understand both the relationship between religion and pop culture and the culture itself. He argues that in the age of popular culture, religiosity takes the form of pop religion. The author suggests that, from a religious point of view, the culture may be seen as a theological locus (locus theologicus), a theological place in which one may encounter God. Andrew M. Greeley, a sociologist and a Catholic priest, claimed that „popular culture provides an opportunity to experience God and to tell stories of God, … to learn about God and to teach about God.”