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This open access book offers an overview of the relations between comics and religion from the perspective of cultural sociology. How do comics function in religions and how does religion appear in comics? And how do graphic narratives inform us about contemporary society and the changing role of religion?Contributing scholars use international examples to explore the diversity of religions, spirituality, and dispersed notions of the sacred, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Indian, and Japanese religions. In addition, the rituals, ethics, and worldviews that surface in the comics milieu are discussed. With the growing popularity and influence of comics and graphic novels in contemporary culture, this book provides a valuable addition to the discussion of the medium, focusing on religious and sociological aspects. A rich resource for both students and scholars in popular culture, media studies, and religion. The ook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Faculty for Humanities and Education and the University Library at the University of Agder, Norway.
List of contents
Introduction: Comics and Religion in Liquid Modernity,
Kees de Groot (Tilburg University, Netherlands)Part I: Comics in Religion1. From Subordinates to Superheroes? Comics in Christian Magazines for Children and Youth in Norway,
Irene Trysnes (University of Agder, Norway)2. Cancelling the Second Coming: Manufactured Christian Outrage Online,
Evelina Lundmark (Uppsala University, Sweden)3. The Reception of Comics on Zoroastrianism, Paulina Niechcial (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Part II: Religion in comics4. Drawn into Krishna: Autobiography and Lived Religion in the Comics of Kaisa and Christoffer Leka,
Andreas Häger and Ralf Kauranen (Åbo Akademi University, Finland)5. What Would Preacher Do? Tactics of Blasphemy in the Strategies of Satire and Parody,
Michael J. Prince (University of Agder, Noway)6. Islam and Anxieties of Liberalism in Craig Thompson's Habibi,
Kambiz GhaneaBassiri (Reed College, USA)Part III: Comics as Religion?7. Implicit Religion and Trauma Narratives in
Maus and
Watchmen,
Ilaria Biano (Istituto Italiano, Italy)8. Manga Pilgrimages: Visualizing the Sacred / Sacralizing the Visual in Japanese
Junrei, Mark MacWilliams (St. Lawrence University, USA)
9. Comics and Meaning Making: Adult Comic Book Readers on What, Why and How They Read, Sofia Sjö (Åbo Akademi University, Finland)Part IV: Learning From Comics9. The Magic of the Multiverse. Easter Eggs, Superhuman Beings and Metamodernism in Marvel's Story Worlds,
Sissel Undheim (University of Bergen, Norway)10. Comics and Religious Studies:
Amar Chitra Katha as an Educational Comic Series,
Line Reichelt Føreland (University of Agder, Norway)11. A Contract with God or a Social Contract?
Christophe Monnot (University of Strasbourg, France)Conclusion: Comics as a Way of Doing, Encountering, and Making Religion,
Kees de Groot (Tilburg University, Netherlands)BibliographyIndex
About the author
Kees de Groot is the KSGV Professor of Sociology of Worldviews and Public Mental Health at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. His research is on religion in liquid modernity and has covered Catholicism, spiritual care, religion in the public domain, theater, events, and Tintin. His latest monograph in the English language is
The Liquidation of the Church (2018).
