Author Description

Today a new trend is clearly discernable, that of ‘hyper-real religions’. These are innovative religions and spiritualities that mix elements of religious traditions with popular culture. If we imagine a spectrum of intensity of the merging of popular culture with religion, we might find, at one end, groups practicing Jediism appropriated from the <i>Star Wars</i> movies, Matrixism from the <i>Matrix</i> trilogy, and neo-pagan rites based on stories from <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> and the <i>Harry Potter</i> series. At the other end of the spectrum, members of mainstream religions, such as Christianity can be influenced or inspired by, for example, <i>The Da Vinci Code</i>. Through various case studies, this book studies the on- and off-line religious/spiritual consumption of these narratives through a social scientific approach.