Losers, food, and sex: clerical masculinity in the BBC sitcom Rev

Clerical masculinities, much like their lay/secular counterparts, often appear unchanging because they are the products of naturalization processes. Clerical masculinities, however, are far from being stable but the live and breathe the dynamics of both their socio-religious context and their secular ‘others’. The BBC sitcom Rev. (2010-2011) is a refreshing take on the everyday life and problems of a vicar in the Church of England trying to avoid stereotypes that often come with clerical roles. Rev. can be interpreted as an attempt to explore the negotiation processes of masculinity within an institution that is involved in the “production” of religion and gender roles. It shows that being a man in an institutional setting is as much a performance as it is a more or less successful negotiation of other people’s expectations and one’s own world view. In particular, the main male clerical characters in Rev. inhabit a position of power but all have their flaws. They can best be understood as losers who clash with masculine systems rendering them more human

The Promethean myth : an argument for methodological atheism

In public perception (in particular in secular Europe), technosciences are often considered as something verifiable, neutral, and without any relation to the religious realm. Looking back at ancient times, however, powerful mythical figures like Prometheus suggest that technoscientific developments and insights have always been tied to the religious and transcendent realm. Prometheus' heritage is still influential, inspirational, and visible today in arts, philosophy, the technosciences, and religious communities. This paper analyzes the Catholic Church's position towards the technosciences and argues that it employs a binary approach in the evaluation of findings and developments in modern sciences and technology: advancements are either in line with religious worldviews (and their moral implications) and can thus be approved of ethically and theologically, or they (seem to) deny the existence of a higher being or (seem to be) contrary to religious ethics and are thus rejected. This paper, then, suggests that theology should advocate a methodological atheism to overcome this binary approach. Doing so would not mean to betray religious or theological convictions. Rather, it would pick up on an old and important tradition in theological reasoning of methodologically excluding the revelation in favor of reliance on reason alone to demonstrate the rationality and reasonability of faith

Of watchdogs and safe havens: control mechanisms and/in online sacred spaces

‘Die große Schlacht. Der Hass des Satans auf Benedikt XVI. Non prae­valebunt’ is the headline of an article the Austrian-based and Catholic news portal, kath.net, published in early June 2012. It is about how badly and unfairly the media treat the Catholic Church and its official representatives in the wake of the so-called ‘Vatileaks’ scandal and it reasons that Satan is behind the attacks of the media, society, popular culture, on saintly figures such as Pope Benedict XVI. ‘Gegen die Diktatur des Relativismus’ is another article published on the same platform in the context of a conference hosted by the Catholic Heiligenkreuz monastery. On the forum kath.net, powerful language is employed to draw the faithful in, to make them feel themselves to be safe within a community of like-minded people in the midst of turmoil. News portals and message boards such as kath.net create safe spaces within a world whose culture, values, and morals are not only not understood but despised. The analysis is informed by critical discourse analysis and based on Paul Ricœur’s understanding of narratives and how narratives create worlds. As a first step, the concept of space and Ricœur’s understanding of narrative identity are discussed. After an introduction to the news portal kath.net, a close reading of some articles shows how these safe spaces are created and guarded. To conclude, a reflection on the implications of the self-understanding of kath.net and some of its user base on the understanding of hierarchy and the role of theology in the Church, is provided

“Short Film Is Where Innovative Storytelling Is Born” Using the Science Fiction Short Film in the Religious Studies and Sociology Classroom

“Short film is where innovative storytelling is born”, the website shortoftheweek.com, a curated short film website, boldly and proudly declares. Short films often lead a Cinderella existence but engaging with them can be immensely rewarding and, due to their length, they can be ideal conversation partners in the religious studies and sociology classroom. The speculative fiction short film, the science fiction short film, and the documentary short film are particularly able to document, address, visualize – and thus render visible – structures and hierarchies of power, financial and economic interests, gender, or resource distribution, and the fears and anxieties about what it means to be human. This contribution demonstrates that short films, in particular science fiction short films, can act as conversation partners in the religious studies and sociology class-room, even if the student-audience might not be particularly avid science fiction film fans. I make reference to three short films, Rise (David Karlak, US 2016, 5′), Code 8 (Jeff Chan, US/CA 2016, 10′), and Black Sheep (Ed Perkins, UK 2018, 26′), and provide a more in-depth discussion of the use of Rise in the classroom

‘Jesus saves’ and ‘Clothed in Christ’: athletic religious apparel in the Christian CrossFit community

The popular sport of CrossFit has attracted a number of Christians who simultaneously celebrate their passion for their faith and their passion for their sport. In this interplay of sport and religion, fashion becomes an important means for the profession of faith. This essay focuses specifically on religious athletic T-shirts that appear regularly among Christians in CrossFit. I argue that these are not a mere profession of faith but serve a dual purpose: on the one hand being athletic (and one could argue secular) and on the other being religious symbols with a deeper theological meaning. As such, they are sites where business opportunities, religious and sacramental practices, advertisement and consumption practices collide. I argue that religious CrossFit T-shirts need to be taken seriously as a religious-sacramental practice, but also that religious athletic clothing makes faith fit for consumption

The Promethean Myth; An Argument for Methodological Atheism

In public perception (in particular in secular Europe), technosciences are often considered as something verifiable, neutral, and without any relation to the religious realm. Looking back at ancient times, however, powerful mythical figures like Prometheus suggest that technoscientific developments and insights have always been tied to the religious and transcendent realm. Prometheus’ heritage is still influential, inspirational, and visible today in arts, philosophy, the technosciences, and religious communities.This paper analyzes the Catholic Church’s position towards the technosciences and argues that it employs a binary approach in the evaluation of findings and developments in modern sciences and technology: advancements are either in line with religious worldviews (and their moral implications) and can thus be approved of ethically and theologically, or they (seem to) deny the existence of a higher being or (seem to be) contrary to religious ethics and are thus rejected. This paper, then, suggests that theology should advocate a methodological atheism to overcome this binary approach. Doing so would not mean to betray religious or theological convictions. Rather, it would pick up on an old and important tradition in theological reasoning of methodologically excluding the revelation in favor of reliance on reason alone to demonstrate the rationality and reasonability of faith