�I AM RELIGIOUS, IN MY OWN WAY�: OPRAH�S SPIRITUALITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EVERYDAY RELIGION

• Main Authors: , Yudith Listiandri, , Dr. Elaine K. Swartzentruber
• Format: Theses and Dissertations NonPeerReviewed
• Published: [Yogyakarta] : Universitas Gadjah Mada 2011
• Subjects: ETD
• Online Access: https://repository.ugm.ac.id/90662/; http://etd.ugm.ac.id/index.php?mod=penelitian_detail&sub=PenelitianDetail&act=view&typ=html&buku_id=52606
• Institution: Universitas Gadjah Mada

An interesting phenomenon in people�s religious life today is that more and more people say they are �not religious, but spiritual�. Oprah is among many who propose that, and despite the controversy that her spiritual messages are antichurch, many viewers continue to follow and apply them in their lives, even after the show was over in the end of 2010. This phenomenon implies the need for an alternative perspective in seeing religion, the perspective to not look for religion by going with definition, but by looking into the wide range of physical, emotional, and social realities in people�s lives that can be categorized as �religious� experience, the perspective called �the everyday religion�. The aim of this research is to explore religious form and practice on The Oprah Show and how it influences Indonesian viewers� lives, as a study case to explain religious phenomena from �everyday religion� perspective. The study analyzes a different type of religion in terms of form (�not religious but spiritual�), place (not in tradition but in media and popular culture), expression (not in formal rituals but in daily activities), and authority (not religious leader but one�s self). Evaluating Oprah�s spirituality can also be approached through media theory and analysis, but in this study, this is not the case. It emphasizes more on Oprah�s spirituality rather than her show. Given that Oprah�s spirituality seems to be a part of the social world we encounter today, this research will evaluate Oprah�s spiritual message and the way Indonesian viewers make meaning of it from the perspective of �everyday religion�. The result may illustrate today�s religious life where people tend to say that they are �not religious, but spiritual�. Spirituality, for Oprah, is the overarching umbrella of the diverse ways in which people might find the answer for their ultimate questions. In spirituality, many paths lead to spiritual freedom and peace. It values people�s subjectivity to define their own religiosity. Through different topic in her show, Oprah asserts that religious things are not apart from everyday life, and this makes people more connected to their self. The finding asserts that in the end, religion is not merely the collection of doctrines or sacred texts. It cannot be detached from the existence of human who performs the religion, therefore we should take the believers� point of view and the social context into account. Religious scholars should not ignore the individual capacity to improvise the religious practices.