Handbook of hyper-real religions / / edited by Adam Possamai.

• Superior document: Brill handbooks on contemporary religion, v. 5
• TeilnehmendeR: Possamai, Adam.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill handbooks on contemporary religion ; v. 5.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (456 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material --; Yoda Goes to Glastonbury: An Introduction to Hyper-real . Religions /; Hyper-real Religion Performing in Baudrillard’s Integral Reality /; Occultural Bricolage and Popular Culture: Remix and Art in Discordianism, the Church of the SubGenius, and the Temple of Psychick Youth /; Heaven’s Gate, Science Fiction Religions, and Popular American . Culture /; Brain, Biological Robots and Androids: Prophecies in the Realm . of Science Fiction and Religion /; “A World Without Rules and Controls, Without Borders or Boundaries”: Matrixism, New Mythologies, and Symbolic Pilgrimages /; Alternative Worlds: Metaphysical Questing and Virtual Community amongst the Otherkin /; Real Vampires as an Identity Group: Analyzing Causes and Effects of an Introspective Survey by the Vampire . Community /; The Sanctification of Star Wars: From Fans to Followers /; The Spiritual Milieu Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s Literary Mythology /; The Road to Hell is Paved with D20s: Evangelical Christianity and Role-playing Gaming /; “An Infinity of Experiences.” Hyper-real Paganism and Real Enchantment in World of Warcraft /; Dealing a New Religion: Material Culture, Divination, and Hyper-religious Innovation /; Who Is Irma Plavatsky? Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, and the Internationalisation of Popular Culture from the Dime Novel to The Da Vinci Code /; The Gods on Television: Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, Politics and . Popular Piety in Late Twentieth-century India /; Hinduism and Hyper-reality /; Poetic Jihadis: Muslim Youth, Hip-hop and the Homological . Imagination /; Playing for Christ: Christians and Computer Games /; Some Angel Some Devil: Harry Potter vs. The Roman Catholic . Church in Poland /; Contemporary Atheism as Hyper-real Irreligion: The Enchantment . of Science and Atheism in This Cosmos /; Fantasy, Conspiracy and the Romantic Legacy: Max Weber and . the Spirit of Contemporary Popular Culture /; Conclusion: The Future of Hyper-real Religions? /; Contributors’ Biographies --; Index.
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 1280495944; 9786613591173; 900422694X
• ISSN: 1874-6691
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: edited by Adam Possamai.

Today a new trend is clearly discernable, that of ‘hyper-real religions’. These are innovative religions and spiritualities that mix elements of religious traditions with popular culture. If we imagine a spectrum of intensity of the merging of popular culture with religion, we might find, at one end, groups practicing Jediism appropriated from the Star Wars movies, Matrixism from the Matrix trilogy, and neo-pagan rites based on stories from The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. At the other end of the spectrum, members of mainstream religions, such as Christianity can be influenced or inspired by, for example, The Da Vinci Code . Through various case studies, this book studies the on- and off-line religious/spiritual consumption of these narratives through a social scientific approach.