
A Charlie Brown Religion
Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz
Stephen J. Lind(Author)
University Press of Mississippi
Published on 4. November 2015
Book
Hardback
316 pages
978-1-4968-0468-6 (ISBN)
Description
Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip franchise, the most successful of all time, forever changed the industry. For more than half a century, the endearing, witty insights brought to life by Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy have caused newspaper readers and television viewers across the globe to laugh, sigh, gasp, and ponder. A Charlie Brown Religion explores one of the most provocative topics Schulz broached in his heartwarming work--religion.
Based on new archival research and original interviews with Schulz's family, friends, and colleagues, author Stephen J. Lind offers a new spiritual biography of the life and work of the great comic strip artist. In his lifetime, aficionados and detractors both labeled Schulz as a fundamentalist Christian or as an atheist. Yet his deeply personal views on faith have eluded journalists and biographers for decades. Previously unpublished writings from Schulz will move fans as they begin to see the nuances of the humorist's own complex, intense journey toward understanding God and faith.
""There are three things that I've learned never to discuss with people,"" Linus says, ""Religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."" Yet with the support of religious communities, Schulz bravely defied convention and dared to express spiritual thought in the ""funny pages,"" a secular, mainstream entertainment medium. This insightful, thorough study of the 17,897 Peanuts newspaper strips, seventy-five animated titles, and global merchandising empire will delight and intrigue as Schulz considers what it means to believe, what it means to doubt, and what it means to share faith with the world.
Based on new archival research and original interviews with Schulz's family, friends, and colleagues, author Stephen J. Lind offers a new spiritual biography of the life and work of the great comic strip artist. In his lifetime, aficionados and detractors both labeled Schulz as a fundamentalist Christian or as an atheist. Yet his deeply personal views on faith have eluded journalists and biographers for decades. Previously unpublished writings from Schulz will move fans as they begin to see the nuances of the humorist's own complex, intense journey toward understanding God and faith.
""There are three things that I've learned never to discuss with people,"" Linus says, ""Religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."" Yet with the support of religious communities, Schulz bravely defied convention and dared to express spiritual thought in the ""funny pages,"" a secular, mainstream entertainment medium. This insightful, thorough study of the 17,897 Peanuts newspaper strips, seventy-five animated titles, and global merchandising empire will delight and intrigue as Schulz considers what it means to believe, what it means to doubt, and what it means to share faith with the world.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Jackson
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
32 black & white photographs; 25 line illustrations; 2 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
505 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4968-0468-6 (9781496804686)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2015
University of Pittsburgh Press
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Stephen J. Lind, Lexington, Virginia, is an assistant professor of business communication at Washington and Lee University. He holds a PhD in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design from Clemson University. His work has appeared in scholarly journals such as ImageTexT, the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, and the Journal of Communication and Religion. Further details on his work can be found at www.StephenJLind.com.