From sermon to rap: analysis of the relationship between Catholicism and Hip- Hop in the North American cultural context

Abstract

This paper investigates how the intersection between the Catholic religion and pop culture shows important transformations in the aesthetic, media, and political forms around the mediation processes of Catholicism in media culture. Empirically, we chose to analyze the audiovisual work of Fr. Stan Fortuna, the Friars of Renewal and FoundNation, all agents of Catholicism in the North American context, linked to the rap music genre. We observe how the Cultural Matrices of Catholicism and pop culture cross the selected audiovisuals’ content and form between negotiations and disputes. As a result, we aim to indicate some elements that are in transformation in the media production of agents of Catholicism and that point to new conventions that can be consolidated in the expressive formats of this religious institution.