Cool Christianity
Hillsong and the Fashioning of Cosmopolitan Identities
Published on 5. March 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-0-19-767320-1 (ISBN)
Description
Hillsong, an Australian megachurch founded in 1983, is now a global phenomenon. It has branches in most global cities and award-winning worship bands that tour the world and whose music is sung weekly by an estimated 50 million people in 60 languages. Moreover, the megachurch and its bands have an immense presence on social media with millions of followers. The scandals around sex and money that have rocked Hillsong in recent times have been reported globally in the mainstream secular media, reflecting the megachurch's prominence.
Hillsong's style of Pentecostalism relies on a deep engagement with consumer capitalism, as well as celebrity, youth, and digital cultures. In Cool Christianity, Cristina Rocha tells the story of how Hillsong's "Cool Christianity" aesthetic allowed it to make inroads among the Brazilian middle classes, who adopted Hillsong's brand of Christianity as a way of becoming cosmopolitan and establishing class boundaries. Rocha draws on the theoretical frameworks of material religion and lived religion to show how religion can be made globally relevant to young people through cool aesthetics, affect, and engagement with consumer culture--from fashion to music to branding--in the digital age.
Hillsong's style of Pentecostalism relies on a deep engagement with consumer capitalism, as well as celebrity, youth, and digital cultures. In Cool Christianity, Cristina Rocha tells the story of how Hillsong's "Cool Christianity" aesthetic allowed it to make inroads among the Brazilian middle classes, who adopted Hillsong's brand of Christianity as a way of becoming cosmopolitan and establishing class boundaries. Rocha draws on the theoretical frameworks of material religion and lived religion to show how religion can be made globally relevant to young people through cool aesthetics, affect, and engagement with consumer culture--from fashion to music to branding--in the digital age.
Reviews / Votes
"Tracking the expansion of Hillsong from Australia to Brazil, Cristina Rocha highlights the central role of its distinctive aesthetic style in holding the network together globally while also making it touch ground in the Brazilian charismatic field. This amazing ethnography offers a highly innovative methodological and conceptual intervention into the study of global Pentecostalism." * Birgit Meyer, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University * Cool Christianity is readable and, importantly, fair. Both newcomers and experts, critics and attendees can enjoy and be challenged by this overview of young transnational 'cool' pentecostalism. * Tanya Riches, Journal for the Academic Study of Religion * Cool Christianity is a must-read for scholars interested in Hillsong, Pentecostalism, and Megachurch Christianity more broadly. Scholars of material religion will be inspired by Rocha's focus on the Hillsong sensational form and its ability to travel transnationally and adapt to local settings-a topic ...[that] has not been studied previously with such rich ethnographic detail. The book is timely and reflects on the recent stress that the Hillsong movement has come under after its founder has been implicated in a number of scandals. * Jerrold Cuperus, Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief * This is an important study for theologians and churches to engage with. Rocha's writing is exquisite, scholarly and accessible. * Martyn Percy, Theology * Cool Christianity is a compelling and insightful contribution to the study of global Pentecostalism, offering a nuanced understanding of how religion adapts to and is transformed by contemporary global cultural currents. It is a must-read for scholars of Pentecostal studies, anthropology, and anyone interested in the intersections of religion, culture, and globalization in contemporary times. * Stefan van der Hoek, Penteco Studies * Rocha's narrative deftly draws together the personal and the political. Aesthetics and lifestyle are bound up with models of power, money, and different ideas about how communities should function. Megachurch scholarship will continue to evolve as the role of megachurches itself changes, and this book helps move the conversation one step further forward. * Mark Porter, Politics, Religion & Ideology * Cool Christianity is a well-considered and thought-through book which offers the reader recent insights into global Pentecostalism and its new forms. * Helen Traupe, Entangled religions *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
360 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-767320-1 (9780197673201)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2024
Oxford University Press Inc
€127.11
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
12/2023
OUP eBook
€19.49
Available for download
E-Book
12/2023
OUP eBook
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Cristina Rocha is Professor of Anthropology at Western Sydney University, Australia. She is the author of the award-winning book John of God: The Globalization of Brazilian Faith Healing (OUP 2017). Rocha co-edits the Journal of Global Buddhism and the Brill series Religion in the Americas. She was a fellow of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study (2021-22) and President of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion (2017-19). She has held Visiting Research positions at Utrecht University, Kings College, the CUNY Graduate Centre, and the Max Planck Institute for Religious and Ethnic Diversity. Her publications have been translated into Spanish, French and Portuguese.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cool Christianity
Chapter 2: Fandom
Chapter 3: Resting in God
Chapter 4: Living the Dream
Chapter 5: Transnational Infrastructures of Circulation
Chapter 6: The Return
Chapter 7: Taking Root and Spreading Shoots
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cool Christianity
Chapter 2: Fandom
Chapter 3: Resting in God
Chapter 4: Living the Dream
Chapter 5: Transnational Infrastructures of Circulation
Chapter 6: The Return
Chapter 7: Taking Root and Spreading Shoots
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index