Title:
Charles Templeton and the performances of unbelief
Creator:
Vance, David M.
Date Created:
2008
Degree Awarded:
Master of Arts
Subjects:
Religion and culture Christianity and culture
Geographical Focus:
Canada Toronto
Supporting Materials:
n/a
Description:
To date, the life of Charles Templeton has been examined only with regard to the manner in which he “commodified” Christianity, thus ensuring its continued vitality and relevance in twentieth-century Canada. This thesis demonstrates that Templeton’s life can also be used to investigate the ways in which he publically presented “unbelief” according to the assumptions and expectations of the culture in which he operated. Through his work in four different media — religious literature, television, novels and autobiography — Templeton’s various expressions of unbelief demonstrated an ongoing transition away from Christianity and towards an alternate interpretive framework. Moreover, his consistent framing of these expressions within the cultural context of each medium reflected four distinct “performances”: inadvertent “echoes” of unbelief in his religious literature, an “investigative” unbelief in his television interviews, a “dramatic” unbelief in his novels, and a “noble” unbelief in his autobiography.
Source
Preferred Citation:
Vance, David M.. 2008. "Charles Templeton and the performances of unbelief", Department of History, Carleton University
Link to this page:
https://cuhistory.github.io/grads/items/hist_130.html
Rights
Rights:
Copyright the author, all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.