Prime-Time Religion: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting - Hardcover

The Board's review of media historian Hal Erickson's Religious Radio and Television in the United States, 1921^-1991 [RBB F 15 93] characterized the collection of 400 profiles of persons, programs, and organizations in the first 70 years of religious broadcasting as "a unique and entertaining work that will be welcome in libraries serving patrons with religious or communications interests." Now J. Gordon Melton--well known to reference personnel for his Encyclopedia of American Religions, Directory of Religious Organizations in the United States, and Religious Leaders of America and two colleagues have compiled a similar volume of more than 400 objective entries on primarily U.S. personalities, programs, and organizations from 1921 to the present, but also including a few of foreign origin. The entry on Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ) is current to May_ 1996; the entry for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association cites four 1995 events. Not surprisingly, Erickson and Melton include many entries in common (e.g., Bakker, Jim; Peale, Norman V.; Bishop Sheen; "Hour of Decision" ; "The Lutheran Hour" ; Vision Interfaith Satellite Network; Christian Broadcasting Network). On the other hand, only Erickson has entries for the Moody Bible Institute and "Highway to Heaven" (a Catholic radio show); only Melton includes Far East Broadcasting Company and Vatican Radio. Both titles have an introductory chapter providing a history of the development of religious broadcasting, and both have numerous cross-references. The selected bibliography in Erickson lists scholarly and popular books and articles; that in Melton emphasizes scholarly titles. While no entries in Erickson have bibliographies or include illustrations, most in Melton include a bibliography, and many include photos of the personalities. Entries in both volumes vary greatly in length, with those in Melton often longer than those in Erickson, particularly for the best-known persons. Only Erickson identifies selected program categories--Salvation Army programs, Mennonite broadcasts, children's programs, etc. Melton concludes with five appendixes, the first three of which list the founders, chairpersons, and hall-of-fame inductees of the National Religious Broadcasters. The fourth and fifth appendixes describe the Blease amendment to the Dill Radio Control Bill of 1926 (which led to the creation of the Federal Radio Commission) and "Sustaining Time," the free airtime alloted to religious broadcasters. Prime-Time Religion is a valuable, carefully researched complement to Erickson's Religious Radio and Television in the United States for libraries that need additional coverage of this topic.