One of the most basic and erroneous ideas we inherit from Western conceptions of religion is that religion is primarily textual. This smudge on our investigative lenses does not allow us to see the enormous varieties of other ways in which religion is practiced and conveyed to others. We are doubly misled when we view religion in America in this way. Tom Beaudoin's "Virtual Faith" is a needed remedy to this problem. By investigating the rich, religious textures of pop culture which his Generation X was the first generation born fully into, Mr. Beaudoin helps us see the religious imagery by which we are all surrounded. Becoming aware of the religious themes in pop music and videos, in fashion, and in cyberspace, strikes me as something that secondary teachers of religious studies ought to be very aware of. We could add movies, television, Broadway plays and musicals, and comic books to this list as well. How many of us often have students tell us about a movie or television show and relate it to religious themes they are learning in class. Most immediately, what sticks out in my mind are student reactions to movies like, "The Matrix," "Fight Club," and "The Green Mile." Our students are those who are the most immersed in and consumed by these new mythic realms.

Tom Beaudoin defines four themes which he thinks have formed a central part of the Gen X group experience. These are the theme of absence (latch key kids), growing up with the computer as a reality of life, the connection between spirituality and music, and an ethos of experimentation with religion and spirituality as well as with sexuality. These themes are then transposed into a reading of religious themes that he sees in pop culture. These themes are a deep suspicion of religious institutions, the sacred nature of experience, and a focus on the religious dimensions of suffering. He further breaks down the category of suffering into a focus on the suffering his generation has gone through, the theme of suffering servanthood, and prophetic and apocalyptic themes of suffering. Mr. Beaudoin then looks at the presentation of these four Gen X religious themes in their presentation through cyberspace, fashion, and music videos.

It is here in his exposition of these themes in pop culture that I think the author is brilliant. His deconstructs the music videos of a wide range of bands and singers. Most memorable are his expositions of Tori Amos, Pearl Jam, Madonna, and R.E.M. Suffering servanthood and the themes of abandonment are central to the music of feminist singer Tori Amos and feminist band Pearl Jam. Tori Amos deals with rape and the psychological ordeal and years of fear and self-encounter that are required to even begin to deal with the trauma of rape. Pearl Jam deals with incest and has through the fashion of "grunge" and a refusal to participate in much of the modern commercialism of music modeled ideals of justice and suffering.

Madonna is a complex musical and public figure. Her music videos have challenged boundaries of both sexuality and religion. Mr. Beaudoin brilliantly discusses her music video "Like A Prayer" which mixes images of sexuality and a deliberate manipulation of religious images in a type of "subversive sacramentalism" (75). The same can be said of his treatment of R.E.M's music video for "Losing My Religion," which among a host of religious themes and images uses Jesus as an anti-institutional figure against the church. The last portions of the book are spent looking at how to construct a Gen X theology.

Looking at how religion is embedded in culture, especially in pop culture, is a wonderful way to move students away from modern individualistic conceptions of religious belief. Modern utilitarianism coupled with consumerism has developed an attitude that one can randomly pick and choose various religious ideals and concepts that one likes or dislikes, much like one chooses food from a cafeteria line. This idea is shallow and empty. Mr. Beaudoin too suggests that it is important for Gen X to plumb the depths of tradition, not traditionalism, for the richness and sense of belonging that it can bring. His analysis of the religious themes of Gen X and pop culture are brilliant. Let's hope to see more books like this that can remind us of the sea of religious images, ideals, and concepts in which we are all so culturally immersed in.

Review © 2000 Tom Collins and RSiSS

Return to Culture and Religion resources