Summary
Contents
Subject index
This book looks at religion in a transnational and global context and presents a systematic account of the methods undertaken by modern day missionaries to convert people.
The author seeks to understand the outworking of the American phenomenon of televangelism in India, in a new historical, cultural, religious, political and economic setting. He likens global televangelism to ‘McDonaldization’, because of its standardized, ‘one size fits all’ approach. ‘Glocal’ televangelism—the fusion of the American and Indian evangelism—is referred to as ‘Masala McGospel’ because of the overwhelming presence of the global, American grammar and logic in the presentation and style of these programs in India. The author then goes on to show how a disjunction is being created in Hindu televangelism because of such blending of American techniques with the holiness of ancient scriptures, making them subservient to the modern day aspirations of globalization and consumerism.
Faith's Flows, Fragments and Futures
Faith's Flows, Fragments and Futures
McDonaldisation, Masala McGospel and Om Economics are three metaphors I have used throughout this book to describe the status of televisual faith in contemporary India. The first word picture, ‘McDonaldisation’, comes from America, with its origins traced to the global consumerist world of franchised food restaurants made famous by the fast-food chain, McDonalds.
The second, ‘Masala McGospel’, is a fusion of McDonalds and the traditional culture of India drawn from the formulaic ‘masala mix’ of the Bollywood film industry. The third, ‘Om Economics’, refers to the merging of Hinduism's sacred sound and syllable ‘Om’ with contemporary commerce and the capitalism of the West.
Although these metaphors refer to three different types of televised faith—global Charismatic, glocal Charismatic and ...
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