Title The rise and fall of the religious left : politics, television, and popular culture in the 1970s and beyond / L. Benjamin Rolsky

Published New York : Columbia University Press, 2019

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 255 pages) Series Columbia series on religion and politics Columbia series on religion and politics Contents Religious Liberalism, Politics, and American Public Life -- Norman Lear, the Christian Right, and the Spiritual Politics of the Religious Left -- Norman Lear, All in the Family, and the Spiritual Politicization of the American Sitcom -- Norman Lear, the FCC, and the Holy War Over American Television -- Norman Lear, People for the American Way, and the Spiritual Politics in Late Twentieth Century America -- Liberalism as Variety Show: I Love Liberty, Norman Lear, and the Decline of the Religious Left -- Religion, Politics, and American Public Life-2019 Summary "For decades now, Americans have believed that their country is deeply divided by "culture wars" waged between religious conservatives and secular liberals. In most instances, Protestant conservatives have been cast as the instigators of such warfare, while religious liberals have been largely ignored. In this book, L. Benjamin Rolsky examines the ways in which American liberalism has helped shape cultural conflict since the 1970s through the story of how television writer and producer Norman Lear galvanized the religious left into action. The creator of comedies such as All in the Family and Maude, Lear was spurred to found the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way in response to the rise of the religious right. Rolsky offers engaged readings of Lear's iconic sitcoms and published writings, considering them as an expression of what he calls the spiritual politics of the religious left. He shows how prime-time television became a focus of political dispute and demonstrates how Lear's emergence as an interfaith activist catalyzed ecumenical Protestants, Catholics, and Jews who were determined to push back against conservatism's ascent. Rolsky concludes that Lear's political involvement exemplified religious liberals' commitment to engaging politics on explicitly moral grounds in defense of what they saw as the public interest. An interdisciplinary analysis of the definitive cultural clashes of our fractious times, The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left foregrounds the foundational roles played by popular culture, television, and media in America's religious history"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed Subject Lear, Norman -- Influence SUBJECT Lear, Norman fast Subject Liberalism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity. Liberalism (Religion) -- United States Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century Popular culture -- Religious aspects -- Christianity. Religious right. 1900 - 1999. HISTORY -- Social History. Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) Liberalism (Religion) Liberalism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Popular culture Popular culture -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Religious right United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2019025149 ISBN 0231550421 9780231550420

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