Of Animatronic Praise Bands and Worship-Leading Chickens: The Serious Business of Evangelical Christian Worship Parody Videos

Abstract

Worship music parody videos are one of the key elements within evangelical Christian “joking culture.” The musically facilitated “worship experience” is among evangelicalism’s most sacred rituals, and worship parody creators must carefully negotiate the line between humor and profanity. Drawing from textual analysis of selected blogs, forums, and YouTube comments, this article demonstrates the comedic and serious roles these videos serve. Worship parodies demonstrate how evangelicals employ humor around one of their most sacred practices to question the boundaries of what is sacred, engage in discourse about power and morality, mediate internal disagreements, and shore up a shared religious identity.