Religion on Television: Production, Positives and Perils/Pitfalls

This panel is on the different approaches scholars of religion are taking in presenting religion and the study of religion to a wider audience on television. Reza Aslan (Prayer in America, The Secret Life of Muslims, and Believer), Amir Hussain (The Story of God with Morgan Freeman), Candida Moss (Bible Secrets Revealed, Greatest Mysteries, and Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery), Vanessa Ochs (Religion and Ethics Newsweekly), and Stephen Prothero (God in America) are all experts in this area, and will answer questions about their experiences on being a part of these programs, as well as being invited guests on various news and talk shows. The goal of this panel is to generate a robust discussion, during which the panelists will respond to some preliminary questions, but will also take questions from each other and the audience. The moderator will ask them to consider: what were your hopes and expectations, what challenges did you face, and what lessons did you learn, in the process of producing these programs for a general, often non-academic, audience? Further, what was the reception, both popular and scholarly, of your program, and what changes would you make if you had the chance/moving forward? Do the theoretical discussions and expectations of the academic study of religion translate to popular representations of religion, or is that perhaps, a false binary? What other concerns regarding religious representation, scholarly responsibility or popular prejudices did you find you had to address when in the midst of program production? Through this discussion, we hope to give some insight into the complicated processes of presenting religion for a wider audience, but also think through the role of religious studies scholars during these times when religions are often demonized, exoticized, misappropriated, misrepresented and misunderstood in the media and popular culture. Shreena Gandhi, Michigan State University, Presiding Panelists: - Reza Aslan, University of California, Riverside - Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University - Candida Moss, University of Birmingham, UK - Stephen Prothero, Boston University This panel was recorded during the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion on November 20 in Boston, Massachusetts