Developing religious literacy through popular culture fandom: engaging religious issues in Fleabag fan fiction
This article analyses 120 fan-authored stories focusing on the character of the ‘Hot Priest’ in the television comedy Fleabag (BBC/Amazon 2016–2019), examining how fans use their fandom to explore religious issues and develop religious and theological literacy. This challenges the ‘banality’ of medi...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax Publ.
2023
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| In: |
Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 38, Issue: 3, Pages: 449-467 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Fan-Fiction
/ Faith
/ Catholic church
/ Pop culture
/ Religion
/ Empathy
/ History 2019-2020
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CD Christianity and Culture CH Christianity and Society KDB Roman Catholic Church TK Recent history ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Fandom
B Media B Religion B Popular Culture B Fleabag B Fan fiction B Religious Literacy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article analyses 120 fan-authored stories focusing on the character of the ‘Hot Priest’ in the television comedy Fleabag (BBC/Amazon 2016–2019), examining how fans use their fandom to explore religious issues and develop religious and theological literacy. This challenges the ‘banality’ of media representations of religion suggested by Stig Hjarvard’s mediatisation thesis through exploring fan responses to a ‘secular’ television show. As they engage through fandom, fan authors participate in reflection on contemporary Catholic issues and discuss God’s character and interpretations of Scripture. This is a form of ‘serious play’ that allows for detailed meditation on these subjects. Although fans’ engagement with religious issues is not a reversal of the decline of religious affiliation in the West, it is a sign of the ‘new visibility of religion’ in which examples of both ‘traditional’ and new religion emerge in novel, and often unexpected, contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13537903.2023.2247699 |