ReligionDispatches.org

Anthony B. Pinn.

The King of Pop’s failing body revealed the vulnerabilities of whiteness as the norm, forcing us to rethink assumptions about what can be called ‘flesh tone.’

Pauline Hope Cheong.

These days, rituals of mourning, praise, and eulogies for celebrities are often enacted in and through the media sphere.

Anthea Butler, Gary Laderman, and Kathryn Lofton.

Was Michael Jackson a supernatural magician or an icon of self-immolation? Both? The physical body is gone, the musical productivity has ceased, the capacity to speak for himself is no more, so now MJ is a wonderfully ambiguous figment of our imagination. Three religion scholars discuss the life, legend, meaning, and myth of one of the world's most talented, successful, and perhaps tortured performers.

Anthea Butler.

Some saw ghosts and traces of MJ while others advised fans to quit worshiping the “pervert,” totally missing the point that people need exceptional figures, particularly in the midst of a depression.

Anthea Butler.

Michael Jackson, pop theologian and transcendent performer, went from Jehovah’s Witness to Nation of Islam to Islam searching for the well-being embedded in so many of his songs. Farah Fawcett, who was so much more than a pretty face and healthy head of hair, courageously faced death on camera in a youth-obsessed culture.

Gary Laderman.

Bono finds “soul music” in the work of secular do-gooders, and a contingent of Scottish police declare themselves members of the Church of Jedi. Looks like we have religion everywhere, and not a god in sight.

Louis A. Ruprecht.

The President tried to be funny on Jay Leno, and the joke fell flat. But it might be that this says more about us, his audience, than anything else.

Katie Meier.

Brian McLaren, a.k.a. the original “new kind” of Christian, has launched...