Moderne religiöse Erlebniswelten in den USA: “Have Fun and Prepare to Believe!”

Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, are currently one of the biggest and most influential evangelical organizations in the United States. The authors show that the broad appeal of such religious organizations is not solely and primarily accounted for by the persuasiveness of their religious teachings and doctrines. Their persuasiveness rather lies in their ability to cater to all the senses of the believer in creating religious experiences and emotional responses.

What are the reasons behind dynamic innovations in the field of evangelical and charismatic organizations in the contemporary US? The authors apply the sociological concept of “experience worlds" ("Erlebniswelten" Christoph Köck 1990, 2005; Gerhard Schulze 1992) to late modern religious organizations such as Lakewood Church and the Creation Museum as a way to focus on aspects of production, marketing, consumption, materiality, mediation, and experience in the study of contemporary religion. Lakewood Church is currently the biggest megachurch in the US with more than 40,000 weekly attendees. In 2005, the church moved into the former Basketball stadium of the Houston Rockets; today the venue features 16,000 seats for the more than four multi-sensory worship services per week. The Creation Museum, which has drawn more than five million visitors since it’s opening in 2007, offers an experience of biblical accounts on 70,000 square feet. Both organizations use the latest audiovisual and technological equipment to create multi-sensorial worship services and an encounter with biblical history. In their analysis, the authors apply two different perspectives. First, in terms of the commodification of religious organizations, the authors describe and analyze how both organizations and their products are branded and marketed. Second, in terms of the mediation of religion, the authors study how both organizations apply multimedia and multisensory forms to bring their message across and to create intense emotional and religious experiences. Both cases studies show that entertainment, fun, and joy are not exterior to religious practice, but an imminent part of religious life in contemporary America.