Seeking sacred in life

In the U.S., religion and popular culture often go hand in hand. Sermons are broadcast on television and radio. Bibles are illustrated and marketed to particular demographics. Fans "worship" popular figures and join such institutions as the "Spock Church," which derives its lessons from "Star Trek." Moral quandaries are explored in the theater, and religious services are sometimes theater-like.

Three recent books address the relationship between religion and popular culture in America from very different perspectives, but with a common question: "Where can we find the sacred in American life outside of traditional beliefs and churches?" The authors of these books will participate in a public round-table discussion 4-6 p.m. Thursday in Room 118 of the Education Center at the College of Charleston on St. Philip Street just south of George Street.

The authors will talk about their publications and apply various perspectives -- anthropological, historical, religious -- to the relationship between religion and popular culture in America. A discussion with the audience will follow.

The panelists include Gary Laderman of Emory University, author of "Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States" (New Press, 2009); Scott Poole of the College of Charleston, who just published "Satan in America: The Devil We Know" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009); S. Elizabeth Bird of the University of South Florida; and Heather Hendershot of Queens College, New York. Bird and Hendershot have contributed essays to the new anthology "Small Screen, Big Picture: Television and Lived Religion" (Baylor, 2009).

Books will be sold and signed at the event.