Finding Religion in Popular Culture: An Examination of Old and New Media and the Dissemination of Information about pre-Christian and Minority Religions

Abstract

This thesis will address the representation of pre-Christian and minority religions in three popular culture media. It sketches the rise of ‘re-enchantment’ in the eighteenth century and its elevation of Romantic pre-Christian cultures as an alternative to the rational, scientific beliefs espoused by the Enlightenment, the advent of the individual as a determining agent, and consumer capitalism’s facilitation of that agency. Historically, the slow decline of Christianity as the dominant religion in the West adds to the ability to choose what works for the individual, and potentially mix and match a variety of faiths. The revival of pre-Christian religion, not only as belief and ritual systems but a source of entertainment, is also significant. This is because the rise of the ‘Spiritual Supermarket’ results in contemporary people finding religion in unconventional places, such as nationalism, romantic love, sport, and popular culture. It is because people are finding spirituality through popular culture, either converting whole-heartedly to a new religion or adapting their current beliefs to incorporate elements from another religio-spiritual belief system, that this research is important. Much of the discussion of religion and popular culture focuses on the dominant or ‘world’ religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, but people in Western societies are turning from Christianity and looking to ‘alternative’ or non-mainstream religion, as such, this needs to be documented and analysed. Three popular culture media are here examined in depth and the mythological and religio-spiritual content discussed and analysed. The three media are all different; one is a young adult novel series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which focuses on Greek mythology; another is a Japanese console or video game, Ōkami, which draws upon Shinto, Japanese folklore, and Buddhism to craft its story and world; while World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) which has drawn influence from a variety of cultures and religions to create its fictional universe and the peoples that inhabit it. As well as the particular media themselves being examined, the fan communities have also been investigated, particularly how they engage with these media outside of simply reading the novels or playing the games. With Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Ōkami, as these two media are more narrative-based than World of Warcraft, it was seen that there is a case to make for myth creation, as they take the pre-existing mythology and legends and reframe them for a new audience that otherwise might be unaware of the original tales. Both employ the re-enactment of myths, but not in a straightforward fashion. Ōkami elevates the Shinto goddess Amaterasu to be more pivotal to mythology that she is in the mythological texts, while Percy Jackson and the Olympians espouses teamwork over glory for the individual hero. World of Warcraft (WoW) engages the player in a world similar to the physical, ‘real’ world in that it features a variety of cultures and religions that are inspired and influenced by the cultures and religions of different peoples from different historical periods and geographical regions. WoW does also incorporate some myth-making, but it is the portrayal of minority religions and disenfranchised cultures that is important for this thesis, and also the blending of fiction and religion. Through the lens of Christopher Partridge’s ‘occulture’ these popular culture media are examined and how their audience and fans engage with them. Through their occultural content the audience is exposed to different religio-spiritual beliefs and practices and as a result there are those who have altered their own beliefs to incorporate what they have found. These fans are important as they indicate how popular culture is affecting people’s religion and spirituality, but also highlighting the occultural nature of a significant number of people’s belief systems.