American Decades
Religion and Popular Culture
The Place of Religion in American Culture.
When sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd studied the people of Muncie, Indiana, for Middletown (1929), they found a decline in church attendance and a widespread belief that the old-time religious values of the late nineteenth century were eroding. One resident of this Middle American city had a word for it: "A-U-T-O." But in spite of this erosion of traditional American Christianity, deep currents of belief and the search for solace intensified the struggle between Fundamentalist and modernist Protestants. But other issues were also raised by popular culture. What was its role in changing the standards of modern America? What could and should be done about it?
Hollywood.
The most troubling issue for many religious leaders and many of their parishioners was Hollywood, as the movie industry was now known. Frequently movies raised questions about relationships between...
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1920's Religion
