Religion and Television

This special issue presents four articles on the topic of religion and television. The first article analyzes five of the highest-rated television dramas from the 2000-2001 season in terms of "faith-based" media literacy. It strives for a more systematic and conceptually sound critique that gets beyond the casual assessments frequently found in the popular press. The next article discusses The Simpsons and how it reflects a commitment to satirizing the pietistic and hypocritical elements of American religious expression, but does not attack the bases of American religious faiths. The third article looks to what Veggie Tales--a popular children's video series--presents in terms of race, gender, and authority. The final article is about The X-Files, a science fiction program that--on one level--is one of the most sophisticated treatments of religion in the history of television drama. Its ability to interweave complex issues regarding institutional religion and practice is deserving of attention from researchers.