Practical theologians have been writing for many years on the significance of popular media culture for expressing and shaping religious imagination and practice. (For example, Christian Scharen’s _Broken Hallelujahs: Why Popular Culture Matters to Those Seeking God_ (Brazos, 2011)).
I was put in mind of this work as I read in the New York Times this weekend a feature on young Catholic sisters (also known as “women religious” or “nuns” more colloquially). The story, by Penelope Green, quotes one Dominican sister, Sister Maria Teresa, who relates that it was listening to the Mandy Moore song “Only Hope” that helped her consolidate her decision to enter the convent. Lyrics that are “misheard” by listeners are standard stuff in the literature of fan studies, and Green reports that Sister Maria Teresa heard the lyric “Will you marry me?” in the song, which motivated her decision. (It’s not quite clear from the article whether that was a specifically “misheard” lyric or some “message” that was felt to be communicated in the song to the listener.)
To be sure, this is an example that may sound strange to many, but its cognates in everyday life are common and in fact profound. A repeated chorus, a stray lyric, a few measures of sound–all of these can induce insight, wonder, and even decision that is of theological significance.
I’ll post below a “lyric video” for this Mandy Moore song that is typical of fan-produced videos.
Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University
Assistant Professor of Religion and Society – Boston University School of Theology
September 6, 2023
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