https://gc.uofn.edu/index.php/gc <p>Glocal Conversations is a journal of the University of the Nations (U of N). The U of N is a truly global university, offering over 650 different courses in nearly 160 nations, in 97 languages. With a mandate to multiply workers for global service, the U of N was born out of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international movement of Jesus-followers from many backgrounds, cultures, and traditions. The purpose of the journal is like the passion of the university. Understanding that reflection should lead to action, the journal exists not for esoteric theorizing divorced from service, but to help evaluate progress in order to multiply effectiveness. The journal aims to create a space for dialogue between academics and practitioners, between theory and practice, between research and application.</p> University of the Nations en-US Glocal Conversations 2296-7176 https://gc.uofn.edu/index.php/gc/article/view/78 <p>One of the most powerful periods of popular media’s social influence is during international media events. The September 2022 death and memorial of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the longest reigning monarchs in history, generated worldwide media coverage and reflection of her life. The present study of nearly 1800 consumers of popular media from 15 countries explores how audiences formed close psychological bonds with the Queen through the mediated processes of parasocial involvement, identification and worship. Testing of a theoretical model of these important and closely related forms of involvement with celebrities and international leaders effectively predicted financial donations to the Queen’s charities. Implications of this research for future studies of persona influence through popular media are discussed.</p> William J. Brown Benson P. Fraser Meriwether Ball KiYong Kim Copyright (c) 2023 Glocal Conversations 2023-09-08 2023-09-08 11 1 1 32 https://gc.uofn.edu/index.php/gc/article/view/79 <p>Anthea Butler’s 2021 book <em>White Evangelical Racism</em> pulls no punches on the Evangelical movement, alleging that “racism [is] at the core of evangelical beliefs, practices, and political allegiances,” that “Race and racism have always been foundational parts of evangelicalism in America,” and that “evangelicals’ love for Trumpism” is explained by “one reason … most important: racism,” being quick to add, however, that “Trump isn’t the reason why evangelicals turned to racism. They were racist all along.” That’s fairly clear! … and problematic. Her book would not be problematic if Butler was decrying the racism in parts of American Evangelicalism’s past, where with other segments of America it shamefully supported both pre-Civil War slavery and post-Civil War Jim Crow laws. Her book is problematic only because she argues that this racism rages unabated today and, moreover, has been “at the core” of post-WWII American Evangelicalism, especially from the 1970s onward as it became politically engaged through the “Religious Right.” This review argues that while her allegations of racism are strong, her evidence is weak. Her evidence fails in multiple ways: by focusing on irrelevant outliers as supposedly typical Evangelicals, by ignoring important truly representative Evangelical figures, by misrepresenting or misinterpreting some of the major research upon which she relies, by misidentifying the exact problem in the “the problem of whiteness,” and lastly fails in its narrow-minded approach to differences: those with a different political position from hers are categorised as racist.</p> Paul Miller Copyright (c) 2023 Glocal Conversations 2023-09-08 2023-09-08 11 1 33 48