Religion-in-the-making: Media, Visual Culture and Activism as Producing Religion from the Critical Perspectives of Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

This article contributes to the study of media, religion and culture from the perspective of gender and sexuality. It argues that media and culture need to be considered as locations in which 'other stories' about religion, gender and sexuality are potentially being produced. It shows that various types of media and visual artefacts have different modes of 'making' religion. It coins 'religion in-the-making' and uses this concept to focus on two cultural productions that construct/convey 'other' religious narratives starting from female and queer bodies: the Belgian fictional movie Le Tout Nouveau Testament and the Al-Jazeera biographical documentary Hip-Hop Hijabis.