Holy Mavericks : : Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace / / Shayne Lee, Phillip Luke Sinitiere.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Sinitiere, Phillip Luke,; Lee, Shayne,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Joel Osteen, Paula White, T. D. Jakes, Rick Warren, and Brian McLaren pastor some the largest churches in the nation, lead vast spiritual networks, write best-selling books, and are among the most influential preachers in American Protestantism today. Spurred by the phenomenal appeal of these religious innovators, sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Luke Sinitiere investigate how they operate and how their style of religious expression fits into America’s cultural landscape. Drawing from the theory of religious economy, the authors offer new perspectives on evangelical leadership and key insights into why some religious movements thrive while others decline.Holy Mavericks provides a useful overview of contemporary evangelicalism while emphasizing the importance of "supply-side thinking" in understanding shifts in American religion. It reveals how the Christian world hosts a culture of celebrity very similar to the secular realm, particularly in terms of marketing, branding, and publicity. Holy Mavericks reaffirms that religion is always in conversation with the larger society in which it is embedded, and that it is imperative to understand how those religious suppliers who are able to change with the times will outlast those who are not.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Evangelical Innovators -- 2. The Smiling Preacher -- 3. Great Jazz -- 4. A New Kind of Christian -- 5. Messed-Up Mississippi Girl -- 6. Surfing Spiritual Waves -- Epilogue -- Bibliographic Essay -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Authors