In [[Amusing Ourselves to Death]], [[Neil Postman]] turns to a topic near and dear to my heart - religion. Couple of things here. He criticizes televangelism and the preachers behind the machine, even as he lays out that the television is the machine amplifying the delivery of religion and faith and Christ as entertainment. I have a *lot* of personal experience here. My family is Christian. From the Philippines, but we are not Christians of the Catholic variety. We are Christians of the direct relationship with God Baptist variety. (A missionary got to my family). I love my family and they each have their different approaches, some more measured than others, but jfc it is insidious in their worldview around morality, our institutions, biases, etc. Postman lays out that religion is supposed to be this sacred, enchanting thing, your mystical relationship with faith and God. But the television being the medium simply cannot convey that. It is embedded in the metaphor of the medium. First of all, it means that the preachers that are most amplified and the medium that it selects for are the most *entertaining* rather than the most faithful or learned or deeply theological. (Perhaps they are even deeply theological, though he disagrees, but the medium cannot convey that). *God is a second banana*. Second of all, the delivery mechanism means that the viewers are not in the physical space where faith is being practiced. They cannot experience worship with the community. They are not sitting in pews or benches. They are not physically feeling the worship music being played. Often, bc of the format of the broadcast, the whole service is not even played. In short, there is something essential to the physical presence of worship that cannot be conveyed over the television, and the viewer is most likely not bringing it into their space. God is a second banana really sticks out to me here. I would actually argue that while some of this concept is embedded in the medium of television and televangelism, much it is really embedded in some forms of Christianity. I find myself wondering [[How does the architecture of the worship environments shape worship? ]]