In the News: Satanism, Sacred Music, Shasta Seekers, and more!
A round-up of the week’s religion news. Continue Reading →
Tag: disney
#MyGrownUpValentine
By Ashley Baxstrom
[caption id="attachment_10496" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption=""Heart to Heart 2" by Angela Zito"]
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#Valentine’sDay was cocoa in a red mug, powdered sugar & strawberries on my pancakes, a note in my lunchbox from mom. Now it’s all #DIY. Continue Reading →
Jesus, Pop Idol: Capturing the Tween Market
by Kristina Loew
There was a time when popular culture was a bastion of rebellion, a place where America’s youth could forge a new identity and give the middle finger to their parents. Not so these days, where purity rings have become fashionable, pop stars are giving regular shout-outs to Jesus and raunchiness is in remission. Could it be that the Christian right has finally infiltrated youth culture or is it just a new way to sell wholesomeness to a precarious demographic that is bringing in billions of dollars in business?
Using family values to sell family entertainment is nothing new. Everyone from Ozzie and Harriet to Britney Spears has employed them to market their products, their shows and themselves. Back in the late 1950’s Mouseketeer Annette Funicello was carefully marketed by Disney as the quintessential “girl-next-door,” someone who was chaste and defined the morals of the time. Even Elvis and Aretha Franklin rose up through the ranks of popular music singing gospel. Continue Reading →
Eden on the Block
In the beginning, there was a “time of innocence.” Pam Shaw, one of a few thousand Eves, called it “paradise,” and speaks of the “blind faith” with which she believed Continue Reading →