Description
Book SynopsisContemporary Christian Culture: Messages, Missions, and Dilemmas studies Christian media, its meanings, and its impact on social perceptions and lived experiences in a multicultural context and from within a communication framework. This interdisciplinary collection expands the dialogue surrounding race, culture, and Christian messages and provides a valuable resource for researchers, educators, and church practitioners who are interested in understanding how racial and cultural identity are impacted by religious media products.
Trade ReviewContemporary Christian Culture: Messages, Missions and Dilemmas is an important volume particularly at a time when our nation continues to wrestle with historical and contemporary implications of its original sin of racism. Omotayo Banjo and Kesha Morant Williams along with a robust group of scholars critically examine mediated messages and media ownership, production, and dissemination practices that illustrate a fluid understanding of race and the Christian faith. This volume brilliantly engages contemporary Christian discourses of race and diversity within the post-Obama and Black Lives Matter era in a meaningful way that makes it a must read for scholars, religious leaders, and students. -- Christopher A. House, Ithaca College
Drs. Banjo and Williams have created a series of impressive works that use scholarship to explore the ways that Christians reconcile the scripture that charges them/us to be in this world, but not of it. The United States is a country whose perceived Christian identity is currently being challenged due to its current tumultuous political climate. The difficult questions forwarded in each chapter challenge the reader to understand how various situations and circumstances prompt Christians to confront situations that test the very essence of the ethics, morality, and humanity tied to Christian ideology. This is a great resource addressing a very important social issue that has persisted through the ages. -- Tina M. Harris, University of Georgia
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Christianity and Race in Political Discourse: The Case of Barack Obama Kevin Coe Chapter 2. Facing the Crowd: An Oral History Gospel Performance as Social Messaging Nathaniel Frederick II Chapter 3. The Constitution of a “Moral Issue” through Media Representations in Christian Newspapers: Implications for Race, Class, and Gender Joshua F. Hoops Chapter 4. Segregating the Dial: Institutional Racism in Evangelical Radio Mark Ward Sr. Chapter 5. Behind the Music: Exploring Audiences’ Attitudes toward Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music Omotayo O. Banjo and Kesha Morant Williams Chapter 6. The Multicultural Church: A Challenge for the Black Church Phyllis Welch-Johnson and Kenya N. Washington Johnson Chapter 7. Coming Up the Rough Side of the Mountain: Building a Multicultural Church in a US Southern Mill Town Damion Waymer and Rodney Cripps Chapter 8. Jesus and His Multi-Ethnic Bride: A Case Study of Organizational Identification and Unity Among Believers Joel M. Solomon Chapter 9. Coptic Ethnoracial Identity and Liturgical Language Use Nicholas Ragheb Chapter 10. Promoting Transcultural Musical Interactions at Grahamstown Cathedral: An Analysis of Some Recent Experiences Andrew John Bethke Chapter 11. How Great is Our God—Multicultural Worship as a reflection of Contemporary Diversity Discourse Oneya Okuwobi About the Editors and Contributors
