Divine Programming
Negotiating Christianity in American Dramatic Television Production 1996-2016
Charlotte E. Howell
Reviews and Awards
"...Howell's research and interviews help us see inside the minds of those who create the media, images, and narratives society engages with on a daily basis." -- Stephanie N. Brehm, Church History
"Recommended." -- R. Ray, CHOICE
"Howell's thematic and regional limitations are clear and coherent, and the book seems to invite further studies of religious traditions that fall outside of the white, Protestant Christian norms that pervade American television...Divine Programming has, thankfully, cracked the surface of such a fruitful field of study." -- Heidi Ippolito , Sociology of Religion
"Divine Programming takes the innovative approach of combining industry studies methods with textual analysis of a wide range of TV shows to create an insightful step forward in the relatively understudied area of religion on dramatic TV. Charlotte Howell's carefully analyzed interviews with producers and industry execs offer critical new insight into how Hollywood imagines religion, especially Christianity, on mainstream TV during a period of intense and rapid change for the industry." -- Jorie Lagerwey, Head of Film Studies, University College - Dublin
"Divine Programming is indispensable reading for anyone interested in religion on television. This insightful study of how industry norms and cultural attitudes shape how a central part of American life is depicted, or obscured, on screen is a boon to anyone interested in television, American culture or the role of the industry in shaping how our world is seen on TV." -- Kyra Hunting, University of Kentucky
"Divine Programming takes the innovative approach of combining industry studies methods with textual analysis of a wide range of TV shows to create an insightful step forward in the relatively understudied area of religion on dramatic TV. Charlotte Howell's carefully analyzed interviews with producers and industry execs offer critical new insight into how Hollywood imagines religion, especially Christianity, on mainstream TV during a period of intense and rapid change for the industry." -- Jorie Lagerwey, Head of Film Studies, University College - Dublin