The Church on TV: Portrayals of Priests, Pastors and Nuns on American Television Series

The book will help readers understand the representation of the church on television, how this compares to actual historical accounts of the church in the same era, and why popular culture depicts the church as it does.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter One.  Invoking the Image of Church Leaders on TV
  Questions for Reflection 
Chapter Two.  In the Beginning...  Conflict in the Church                  
  Going My Way
  The Flying Nun
  In the Beginning
  Discussion 
  Questions for Reflection
Chapter Three.  The Church Seeks Relevance in the Modern World            
  Sarge   
  Hell Town  
  Sister Kate   
  Have Faith   
  The Father Dowling Mysteries   
  Good News    
  Nothing Sacred 
  Discussion  
  Questions for Reflection 
Chapter Four.  The Church in Family Life                                           
  The Family Holvak    
  Amen        
  Amazing Grace      
  Trinity       
  Soul Man     
  7th Heaven       
  Book of Daniel    
  Discussion    
  Questions for Reflection    
Chapter Five.  Assessing Television's Portrayal of the Church and its Leaders
  Questions for Reflection      
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Provocative and compelling.  Scrutinizing over forty years of television series, Richard Wolff has provided a comparative analysis of portrayals of priests, nuns and pastors and the historical, cultural and ecclesial contexts and issues that inspired these shows.  His analysis yields fresh insight into both the representation of these religious characters on television, as well as the issues and cultural contexts of both the religious and television audiences.  This is both a great text for classroom use and an exhaustive resource for the study of the representation of religious characters on television.   --Professor Joe Morris, Lecturer in the Religious Studies Department at Santa Clara University
Wolff's engaging and critical study recognizes that the Church is a fixture in television's version of America's cultural landscape.  As he traces the Church's evolving role on TV, Wolff argues persuasively that when a show presents the Church as a stable social presence, the show is successful... For scholars and fans alike, this is a valuable addition to the literature on television. --Jamey Heit, author of The Springfield Reformation
'What Wolff analyses and subjects to a highly skilled critique is the way Church and society relate.'
Richard Wolf's study of The Church on TV is a thorough, well-written analysis of how the television medium has explored the relevance of religious institutions to contemporary social challenges through various prime time serial programs. Interested readers in the fields of communication and the media, religious studies, sociology, and the history of religion will find this book interesting and useful.