Camp Chesterfield: Entertainment as Religion
Disciplines
Fine Arts | Other Theatre and Performance Studies | Performance Studies
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Entertainment and religion have always had a tenuous relationship with each other. Whether this is a continuation of the constant struggle of secular vs sacred or if it is just another example of refusing to acknowledge the intermingling of culture, it is difficult to tell, but the two have always been intertwined. Religion becoming entertainment is common, as Christian rock has become its own distinct music genre and yoga has moved from a spiritual practice to widely commodified industry, but entertainment becoming religion is rarer, or at the very least isn’t talked about nearly as much. Such is the case with Camp Chesterfield. Camp Chesterfield was a resort in the late 19th century that hosted a variety of performances that all fell under the banner of spiritualism, but as time progressed it became the bastion of an organization known as the Church of Spiritualism, with their own sermons, worship practices, and iconography. This phenomenon, of entertainment becoming religion, has popped again, with the rise of the Q-Anon movement. The more people talk about something, even if it’s absolutely ridiculous, the more cemented it becomes in the cultural lexicon.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
Theatre and Performance Studies
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Thomas Fish
Camp Chesterfield: Entertainment as Religion
Entertainment and religion have always had a tenuous relationship with each other. Whether this is a continuation of the constant struggle of secular vs sacred or if it is just another example of refusing to acknowledge the intermingling of culture, it is difficult to tell, but the two have always been intertwined. Religion becoming entertainment is common, as Christian rock has become its own distinct music genre and yoga has moved from a spiritual practice to widely commodified industry, but entertainment becoming religion is rarer, or at the very least isn’t talked about nearly as much. Such is the case with Camp Chesterfield. Camp Chesterfield was a resort in the late 19th century that hosted a variety of performances that all fell under the banner of spiritualism, but as time progressed it became the bastion of an organization known as the Church of Spiritualism, with their own sermons, worship practices, and iconography. This phenomenon, of entertainment becoming religion, has popped again, with the rise of the Q-Anon movement. The more people talk about something, even if it’s absolutely ridiculous, the more cemented it becomes in the cultural lexicon.