Religion in Fandoms & Celebrity Worship

Celebrity worship is not a new phenomenon, though in recent years it has become more apparent with the help of social media. Before there were celebrities there were heroes, many ancient texts have epics, stories, and songs about a hero, which is an early form of celebrity worship. Today celebrity worship has its own discourse, ““At one end of the spectrum, celebrity worship is likely akin to being a passionate fan… At the other end of the spectrum, celebrity worship appears to touch the borders of the psychopathological” (Randy Sansone). One of the reasons that people worship celebrities is because of their excellence at their talent, whichever form that takes. To their fans this talent can almost seem godlike and places them in a different realm than normal people. Another form of this is fandom in which case not a particular individual is worshipped but a media source like a TV series, book series, or movies.

Religion in Law & Politics

In his presidential campaign Joe Biden talked a lot about his religious beliefs, they were in fact a central point in his campaign which he referred to as the “battle for the soul of our nation”. Religion has become more dominant in presidential elections in the last few elections. There are churches that are associated with the democrat and republican parties. Historically, the United States has always tried to separate church and state, which is why the religious beliefs of the president were not usually a major campaign component. One of the reasons for the separation of church and state is to keep a religion from being able to domineer and control our country. If this happens laws could be passed that are purely for the benefit of a particular religious group instead of the country.

Religion in Video Games, Rap Music, & Gun Control

Video games and rap music have been stereotyped as promoting violence. The violence depicted in either of these are blamed for the violent acts of children, especially in regard to gun violence like school shootings. Proponents for gun control state that video games and rap music have exposed children to too much violence and desensitized them to violent acts. This stereotype for video games and rap music is just that, a stereotype. There are many video games and rap songs that do not encourage violence. While some video games may not have religion be a big factor of the game, for Zelda it is a prominent component and advancement in the game cannot be completed without the religious elements of the game.

Religion in Financial Freedom

There is a part of religion that doesn’t come to mind for most people when they think of any religion and that is finances. Many religions have established and teach their congregation ways to approach finances. There are some religions that view wealth as the root of all evil, there are other faiths that encourage their followers to save and build their wealth. There are also different avenues that a religion will encourage as the right kind of financial decisions, for some it is the amount of tithe to be offered, or for others where funds should be invested. The Amish community has its own approach to finances, and as a community savings is very important to them as well as avoiding the entanglement of debt. Because of their self-reliance and good financial decisions, the Amish are able to thrive in American and not need to seek a life outside of the community to survive. This is a stark contrast to how many Americans where consumerism is common as well varying forms of debt.

References

Fleming, Kirsten. "The rise and fall of the Victoria’s Secret’s Angels models." 21 June 2021. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2021/06/21/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-victorias-secrets-angels-models/. 9 February 2023.

Gill, Sam. Mother Earth: An American Story. 25 February 2023. <https://www.colorado.edu/rlst/motherearth-american-story#:~:text=%22The%20earth%20is%20my%20mother,and%20central %20Native%20American%20figure.>.

NickALive! Avatar: The Last Airbender's Core Philosophy Perfectly Explains Its Complex Characters. 2021 1 February. <http://www.nickalive.net/2021/02/avatar-last-airbenders-core-philosophy.html>.

Randy Sansone, Lori Sansone. "“I’m Your Number One Fan”— A Clinical Look at Celebrity Worship." Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience (2014): 39-43. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960781/.

Ulaby, Neda. 'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy. 26 June 2019. <https://www.npr.org/2019/06/26/735819094/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-meamerican-anthem>.

Verrett, Bethany. What's the Daniel Fast, and How Do You Do It? 10 January 2023. <https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/whats-the-daniel-fast-and-howdo-you-do-it.html>.

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