Lesson 2.1: Culture

In our current world, religion and culture intersect a lot and directly affect one another. Religion impacts culture in a lot of ways and culture impacts religion in a lot of ways. Everywhere we look, religion is found in pop culture. In sports, players will wear a cross and make the sign of the cross before they play or after they make a play. In movies and TV, The Last Supper has been parodied numerous times in shows like That ‘70s Show or The Office. In music, songs like Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” are examples of religion intersecting with culture. These intersections may be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good in that it shows that celebrities around the world believe in the same religion as somebody else and it could encourage more people who don’t classify themselves as religious to start opening their minds. It could also be a bad thing in that pop culture tends to stereotype a lot of its material, and religion shouldn’t be stereotyped in any way, shape, or form.