Sightings Articles

Figurines on a shelf

pop culture | anime | Japanese religions

Demon Slayer: Pop Religion and Japanese Anime

The recent anime film both draws inspiration from Japanese religions and functions as a source of inspiration for religious practices....

May 8, 2024
Cold Cave live in Paris 2018

music | pop culture | religio-secular culture | Religion and Literature

Secular Music in Seven Lessons

Darkwave artist Cold Cave's recent album, "Fate in Seven Lessons," sheds light on the complexities of popular culture's interaction with religion...

June 24, 2021
fan protest

Sports | pop culture | Community | Coronavirus | global church

A Community Near and Far

What the failure of the European Super League can teach religious communities...

May 20, 2021
Steppenwolf

Religion and Literature | pop culture | Thomas Aquinas | evil

The Moral Emptiness of Zack Snyder's Justice League

Understanding what makes a movie villain compelling (or not), with a little help from Thomas Aquinas...

May 3, 2021
lil nas x and shoe

culture wars | pop culture | Race and religion | LGBTQ | evil | music

Justice and the Devil in America

A controversy around the symbolisms of evil conceals the hardening of America's heart...

April 26, 2021
Baby Yoda

pop culture | science fiction

Religion and Isolation in The Mandalorian

Baby Yoda, helmets, and a mysterious tradition serve as a lens for understanding our current state of estrangement....

December 7, 2020
BTS

pop culture | music

A Professor of Religion in a Time of Pop Power

An academic reflects on her analysis of a boy band, their fans' reactions to it, and the hazards of professional expertise...

November 9, 2020
fleabag

Religion and Literature | Film | Catholicism | pop culture

When a Vow Turns Out to be... a Vow: ‘Fleabag’

Exploring religion's leading role in the hit television series “Fleabag”...

April 20, 2020
Marvel

Film | Ernest Becker | pop culture

Film Resurrections and the Denial of Death

Exploring the resurrection trope in American cinema and what it reveals about us...

March 2, 2020
Kanye

hip-hop | Augustine of Hippo | Kanye West | pop culture | Media | Technology

Hip Hop and Christian Conversion Narratives

What do Kanye and Hip Hop have to do with Augustine of Hippo?...

January 30, 2020