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A religion and spirituality podcast also known as a Godcast, iGod, Cyber Sermon, or Pod Preacher is a genre of podcast that covers topics related to religious and spiritual beliefs and is often done as a sermon, prayer, or reading of a religious text. The genre encompasses all religions and spiritual beliefs, but the most common religion and spirituality podcast topic is Christianity. The genre was influenced by televangelism and early examples of religion and spirituality podcasts included radio shows by televangelists that had been released in a podcast format.
The Vatican began radio broadcasts in 1931 and by 2005 was offering many of those programs as podcasts. [1] Pope Benedict XVI hosted his own podcast in 2005. [2]
In the United States of America, "Godcast" is a registered trademark of Craig Patchett, [3] founder of The Godcast Network. [2] Patchett's Godcast Network provides a platform for a number of podcasts including his daughter's show "Rachel's Choice." [4] [5]
Religion and spirituality podcasts are used as an alternative for attending live sermons or church services and are more easily accessible for people with busy schedules. Podcasting makes it easier for a pastor to connect with their congregation than having an individual conversations with each parishioner. They are also used for evangelizing and proselytizing to larger audiences through an alternative medium that can be easily accessed from around the world—leading to pastors having listenership from every continent and numerous countries other than their own. Tania Ralli of The New York Times compared the beginnings of Christian podcasting to the Christian movement that embraced radio and television—now known as Televangelism. Between early July and late August 2005, religion and spirituality podcasts on Podcast Alley increased from 171 to 474. Reverend Mark Batterson, the host of National Community Church Audio Podcast, compared the impact of podcasting on the church to that of the printing press on the distribution of Bibles. Religion and spirituality podcasting has the same roots in blogs and radio shows that other genres of podcasts have. According to Tania Ralli of The New York Times, Christian podcasts make up the majority of religious and spirituality podcasts available. Reverend Roderick Vonhögen commented on the medium saying that "Podcasting for us has been a resurrection of radio," and "It's the connection to a new generation." Many religion and spirituality podcasts contain daily devotional readings, sermons, daily prayers, and Christian music. [1]
According to Ellen Lee of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, "the vast majority [of religion and spirituality podcasts] are Christian-based, but they also include New Age, Jewish and Buddhist podcasts." Charles Arthur of the New Statesman has commented on the trend and its funding methods to the TV evangelist Billy Graham, who would boldly ask for donations. The Daily Telegraph pointed out that churches typically have difficulty embracing pop culture and that podcasting has been one of a few success stories, and that even the non-religious can be enthusiastic about the development because over-zealous evangelists will be reduced to silently using earbuds and headphones. [4]
According to Olga Kharif of the Bloomberg Businessweek, "Religion and spirituality podcasts have multiplied faster than most other types of podcast programming and have emerged as one of the genre's most popular." In May 2005, Vonhögen's "Catholic Insider" podcast ranked third on PodcastAlley.com, which hosted 2,884 podcasts at the time. Ryan King and Dan Tripp began a podcast called "Outchurched" as an alternative to ministry work. In 2005, most religious organizations did not have official positions on podcasts, but encouraged spreading the Gospel message regardless of the medium being used. Most religion and spirituality podcasts are made by preachers who want to spread the Gospel to more than just their congregation. Reverend Tim Hohm hosts the podcast "RevTim", which reached an international audience in 2005 despite his relatively small congregation. Reverend John Butler—who worked previously as a radio host and DJ—hosts the "Psalmcast", which contained over 5,000 psalms in 2005. [5]
The "Catholic Insider" and "The Daily Breakfast" delves into pop culture such as Star Wars and Harry Potter to discuss the religious or spiritual messages and themes present in the stories. [1] [5]
Religion and spirituality podcasting has started in countries around the world including the United States, the Netherlands, [5] and India. [6]
Notable figures in the religion and spirituality podcast movement include Craig Patchett host of The Godcast, Reverend Tim Hohm host of the podcast RevTim, Reverend Mark Batterson host of National Community Church Audio Podcast, James Dobson host of Focus on the Family Broadcast and Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, Al Mohler host of The Briefing and Thinking in Public, Reverend Roderick Vonhögen host of Catholic Insider and The Daily Breakfast. [1] The Boston Worship Center hosts the "Worship Center Audio Podcast". [7]
Snake handling, also called serpent handling, is a religious rite observed in a small number of isolated churches, mostly in the United States, usually characterized as rural and part of the Holiness movement. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia and plays only a small part in the church service. Participants are Holiness, or Pentecostals. The beliefs and practices of the movement have been documented in several films and have been the impetus for a number of state laws related to the handling of venomous animals.
Televangelism, also sometimes called teleministry, is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to preach religion, and most prominently Christianity, though televangelist traditions exist in other religions, and notably Islam.
Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk shows covering popular culture, economics, and political topics from a Christian perspective.,
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation, and practical application. The act of delivering a sermon is called preaching. In secular usage, the word sermon may refer, often disparagingly, to a lecture on morals.
Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some countries, religious broadcasting developed primarily within the context of public service provision, whilst in others, it has been driven more by religious organisations themselves. Across Europe and in the US and Canada, religious broadcasting began in the earliest days of radio, usually with the transmission of religious worship, preaching or "talks". Over time, formats evolved to include a broad range of styles and approaches, including radio and television drama, documentary, and chat show formats, as well as more traditional devotional content. Today, many religious organizations record sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their own web-based IP channels.
Prosperity theology is a religious belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as a sign of divine favor.
The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780.
National Community Church (NCC) is a Pentecostal multi-site megachurch located in the Washington, D.C. area, pastored by Mark Batterson. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA.
Christians have used many different approaches to spread Christianity via the practice of evangelism. Christianity began with only a few different evangelistic approaches, but over the years, many different forms of evangelism have been employed by various groups to spread their faith. Many of these forms of evangelism are often employed in only certain parts of the world by Christians in different geographical areas. In particular, most new approaches to evangelism today have arisen out of Europe or the United States, especially when new technologies are used for the effort of evangelism.
Eddie Lee Long was an American pastor who served as the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017.
The Gospel Broadcasting Network(GBN) is an American Christian satellite broadcast network, which broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Roderick Vonhögen, also known as Father Roderick, is a Roman Catholic priest from Amersfoort, Netherlands. He is a podcaster and new media producer known for his projects that combine Catholicism with pop culture commentary.
John Dickson is an Australian author, Anglican clergyman and historian of the ancient world, largely focusing on early Christianity and Judaism. He currently teaches at the graduate school of Wheaton College (Illinois).
Dr. William Herbert Brewster, Sr. was an influential African American Baptist minister, composer, dramatist, singer, poet and community leader.
The terms internet church, online church, cyberchurch, and digital church refer to a wide variety of ways that Christian religious groups can use the internet to facilitate their religious activities, particularly prayer, discussion, preaching and worship services. The internet has become a site for religious experience which has raised questions related to ecclesiology.
Guerdon Elmer Lowman, more familiarly G. E. Lowman was an American Christian clergyman and a pioneering international radio evangelist beginning in 1930, following a successful business career.
Christian media, alternatively referred to as inspirational, faith and family, or simply Christian, is a cross-media genre that features a Christian message or moral. Several creative studios and mass media formats are considered to be aspects of Christian media, including media organizations, a characteristic film industry, musical genres, radio formats, TV formats, and subgenres.
Barbara Brown Taylor is an American Episcopal priest, academic, and author. In 2014, Time magazine placed her in its annual Time 100 list of most influential people in the world.
Mark Batterson is an American pastor and author. Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. NCC was recognized as one of the Most Innovative and Most Influential Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2008. Batterson is also the author of the books Win the Day,In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Wild Goose Chase. Batterson's New York Times bestseller The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears was released in December 2011 and has sold more than 2 million copies.
William Eugene Scott was an American minister and teacher who served for almost 50 years as a pastor and broadcaster in Los Angeles, California. He pastored the Faith Center and Wescott Christian Center and held weekly Sunday services at the Los Angeles University Cathedral. Scott was known for his flamboyant persona when he presented late-night evangelistic television broadcasts.