Annotated Bibliography: Celebrity And Religious Worship

This article was downloaded by: [University of Leicester]
On: 27 December 2013, At: 10:46
Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954
Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,
UK

The Journal of Psychology:
Interdisciplinary and Applied
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjrl20 Celebrity and Religious
Worship: A Refinement
John Maltby

a

a

University of Leicester School of Psychology
England
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: John Maltby (2004) Celebrity and Religious Worship: A
Refinement, The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary
Celebrity and Religious Worship:
A Refinement
JOHN MALTBY
School of Psychology
University of Leicester, England.

MALTBY, HOURAN, LANGE, ASHE, AND MCCUTCHEON (2002) speculated on the possible relationship between celebrity worship and religious worship. Although a close relationship between attitudes toward famous persons and attitudes toward religion may not be obvious, there are theoretical arguments proposing possible relationships between these variables. First, within the Christian religion, the Ten Commandments forbid the worship of anyone other than God, and this suggests that there should be a negative relationship between celebrity worship and religiosity. Second, authors such as
Giles (2000) and Jindra (1994) extended this idea by likening those who worship celebrities to those who engage in religious worship. Giles pointed to the devotion, bordering on reverence, with which some celebrities are viewed. For instance, illicit behavior by stars is often forgiven and explained away whereas similar behavior by noncelebrities is not. Jindra suggested that some fan behavior, such as Star Trek fans at conventions, often resembles religious
Therefore, the conclusions of Maltby et al. (2002), suggesting that many religious people apparently ignore the religious teaching that “Thou shalt worship no other Gods” or fail to connect it to their
“worship” of celebrities needs revising. The present finding suggests that religious individuals who show an adherence to divine law and church authority tend to ignore celebrity worship in preference for religious worship.

288

The Journal of Psychology

Downloaded by [University of Leicester] at 10:46 27 December 2013

REFERENCES
Giles, D. (2000). Illusions of immortality: A psychology of fame and celebrity. London:
MacMillan.
Jindra, M. (1994). Star Trek fandom as a religious phenomenon. Soiciology of Religion,
55, 27–51.
Maltby, J., Houran, J., Lange, R., Ashe, D., & McCutcheon, L. E. (2002). Thou shalt worship no other gods—Unless they are celebrities: The relationship between celebrity worship and religious orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 32,
1157–1172.
McCutcheon, L. E., Lange, R., & Houran, J. (2002). Conceptualization and