Author Archive for kathryn

As a special offer, all orders placed by 31 March 2012 receive the introductory price of US$25 (RRP US$35). You can order online here.

The Promotion of Devotion: Saints, Celebrities and Shrines by Donn James Tilson is available as part of the Religion in Society series.

What do St. Francis, Oskar Schindler, Princess Diana and Smokey Bear have in common? Religion, communication and devotion form an inseparable trinity of being, interwoven strands of a tapestry that has enveloped all faiths through the ages. A closer examination of ancient-to-modern-day culture, including such “folk-hero-saints” as St. Francis and others, suggests that religion and devotion – oftentimes coated with a layer of promotion – lie at the heart of much of the history of communication and of civilization itself.

Written in a lively yet informative style, The Promotion of Devotion is the first comprehensive analysis of the convergence of religion and promotional communication from historical origins to modern times. Ten chapters take the reader on a journey through unexplored territory from an introduction to sainthood across faith traditions, the interplay of religion and communication in the making of saints – religious and secular (and animal) – discussions of town and vestment partnerships, road tours of the sacred, the use of the arts to promote devotion, to heavenly endorsements, lost shrines and re-animation. A concluding chapter reflects on the implications of the intersection of devotion and communication. Chapters provide a look at the sacred across a wide spectrum of faith traditions, illustrated with a selection of intriguing photos.

Donn James Tilson, an associate professor of public relations at the University of Miami’s School of Communication, has published and lectured internationally on public relations and religion and is considered the leading scholar in the field. A member of the Public Relations Society of America’s College of Fellows and Religion Communicators Council, he served as a public relations manager for BellSouth prior to joining UM, directing the company’s philanthropy program in Florida.

Hockey as a Religion: The Montreal Canadiens by Olivier Bauer is now available as part of the  Sport and Society series.

Sport is all about play and game, aesthetic and strength, passion and emotion, challenge and rivalry. But because sometimes players and fans look for a little extra help from God, gods, spirits or any other Supreme Being, sport is also a matter of beliefs and Faith. Often, sport uses religion if the sport itself does not become a religion first.

In Montreal, the fans’ passion and emotion benefits the Montreal Canadiens, the oldest and the most victorious National Hockey League team.

Since 2008, the Protestant Theologian Olivier Bauer, a former hockey goaltender, is carefully studying the religious aspects of the Montreal Canadiens. In his book, Olivier Bauer reveals how the Montreal Canadiens becomes a religion, specifies which kind of religion it is, and explains how it is interrelated with Quebec’s Catholicism. From a theological point of view, he analyses two ways of practicing the Montreal Canadiens Religion, shows why both ways are idolatry, denounces the weakness of such a religion, and pleads for an evangelical use of the Montreal Canadiens.

Based on the Montreal Canadiens, Olivier Bauer explains how sport becomes a religion, but he also critics the religion that sport offers.