Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday is Jan. 8 and is evoking the kind of devotion often associated with “the King” — as well as with the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, whose death last year was accompanied by an almost worshipful outpouring. What explains this widespread cult of celebrity? Is it a religious phenomenon?

The secular culture has canonized any number of “saints,” from politicians like Abraham Lincoln to explicitly religious figures like Mother Teresa. But the bestowal upon an entertainment icon or pop culture celebrity, usually after his or her death, of a public reverence that rivals that of a religious figure appears to be a modern phenomenon.

From Elvis to Princess Diana, Selena to Heath Ledger, and now Michael Jackson, the public reaction to these deaths, and the persistence of their following long after their passing, have much in common with religious traditions and responses, according to experts.

So why is such idolatry lavished upon some and not on others? What carries a public figure beyond his or her foibles and fouls to infallibility? What does it say about our culture that we seem to need these secular saints?

Why it matters

As religion and spirituality move beyond the confines of traditional practices, sanctuaries and denominations, journalists are increasingly asked to locate these ancient phenomena in their new expressions. Those expressions often emerge in popular culture, where journalists are well-positioned to make sense of them for the general public.

Background

Obervances of what would have been the 75th birthday of Elvis Presley on Jan. 8 have prompted the kind of adulation the singer occasioned in death, as in life. This Dec. 10, 2009, Reuters story summarizes the various tributes and events that are planned throughout the year. And Web sites like “Elvis 75″ are promoting other ventures.

The events include an all-day marathon of Elvis movies on the TCM channel on Jan. 8, an exhibit of Presley’s impact on pop culture at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and a new Jailhouse Rock doll from the Barbie collection. Cirque du Soleil will unveil a tribute to Elvis with a Las Vegas show that premieres at the end of January. And there will be a special exhibit of Elvis costumes at Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, where his ex-wife and daughter will cut a birthday cake.

The death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, also seemed to some to approach Elvis-like levels of mourning.

Gary Laderman, author of Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States, told USA Today that Jackson’s “life story, though troubling in many ways as it unfolded, will become a morality play of sorts. Like other saints, he will be forgiven by his public, and I expect, an inspiration and role model, in some ways, for those who want to make music, become famous, or leave a mark in this world.”

Apart from Jackson, 2009 saw the death of a number of other prominent celebrities. They include Farah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, Walter Cronkite, Natasha Richardson, David Carradine, Karl Malden and, just before Christmas, the 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy.

Here is a list of 20 well-known figures who died in 2009.

This Web site has extensive lists of celebrities who died each year back to 1950.

Whether any of the recently deceased celebs approaches the level of devotion given to the likes of Presley and Jackson seems unlikely. But their deaths can reflect the same phenomenon in smaller ways, experts say.

Stories and Resources

• Read “When The Gods Die: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett Take the ’70s With Them,” a June 25, 2009, column at ReligionDispatches.org by Anthea Butler, a historian of American and African-American religion who specializes in popular culture. In the piece, she describes Jackson as “a pop theologian.”
• Read “The Tragic End of Michael Jackson,” a June 26, 2009, commentary at The Huffington Post by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the popular writer and a friend of Jackson’s.
• Read “A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson,” a June 26, 2009, Beliefnet column by Deepak Chopra.
• Read “Michael Jackson and Saint Guinefort,” a June 29, 2009, post at the First Things blog by Richard Scott Nokes, who argues that the singer is “a martyr to our culture’s true god: Celebrity.”
• Read “Praying Upon a Star: Michael Jackson Spectacle Highlights Online Rituals,” a July 12, 2009, essay at ReligionDispatches.org by Pauline Hope Cheong, an associate professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University.
• Read a July 1, 2004, article by Carlin Flora about celebrity worship syndrome. It’s posted on the Psychology Today Web site.
• Also see ReligionLink’s guide to experts on religion and pop culture for more sources.

National sources

• Shmuley Boteach is a rabbi who has often concerned himself with the actions of celebrities. On the death of Michael Jackson, he issued a statement. Contact via his Web site.
• Shira Gabriel is an assistant professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., who has conducted three studies on celebrity worship, one of which focused on how it boosts the worshipper’s self-esteem. Contact 716-645-0227, sgabriel@buffalo.edu.
• Gary Laderman is a professor of American religious history and cultures at Emory University in Atlanta. He is the author of Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstacies, the Living Dead and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States (2009). Laderman contributed a blog entry to Beliefnet.com on the subject of celebrity, fame and faith. Contact via Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643 (office), 404-276-8263 (cell), elaine.justice@emory.edu.
• Gerardo Marti is an ordained pastor and an assistant professor of sociology at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He is the author of Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church (2008). He blogs on religion, race and popular culture at Praxis Habitus. Contact 704-894-2481, gemarti@davidson.edu.
• Stephen Prothero is a religion professor at Boston University and author of American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. He writes frequently about the intersection of American popular culture and religion. Contact 617-353-4426, prothero@bu.edu.
• Christopher R. Smit is an associate professor of media studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and the editor of A Michael Jackson Reader: Essays on Popular Music, Sexuality and Culture. Contact csmit@calvin.edu.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Kathryn Lofton is an assistant professor of American studies and religious studies at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. She is writing a book about Oprah and religion and wrote an essay on Michael Jackson and the religious imagery around his death for Sightings. Contact 203-432-0828, kathryn.lofton@yale.edu.
• The Rev. Kurt C. Wiesner is an Episcopal priest in Littleton, N.H., and author of the blog One Step Closer: Religion & Popular Culture. See his blog entry after the death of Michael Jackson. Contact 603-444-3414, kcwiesner@allsts.org.

IN THE EAST

• The Rev. Richard Baker is pastor at St. Malachy’s Catholic Church in New York City. The church calls itself “the actors’ chapel” and ministers to a large number of actors who live and work in New York City. Contact 212-489-1340.
• Anthea Butler is a historian of American and African-American religion, specializing in African-American religious history, religion and popular culture. She is an assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. She contributed an essay titled “When the Gods Die” to the ReligionDispatches blog after the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Contact 585-275-7465, anthea.butler@rochester.edu or abutler2@mail.rochester.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Alison Hill is a television and radio producer and contributor to the Web site AssociatedContent.com. She has written about the religion of celebrity in the U.S. Hill lives in Asheville, N.C. Contact 828-633-0391.
• Conrad Ostwalt Jr. is a professor of philosophy and religion at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. He has written extensively about religion in the movies, with an emphasis on depictions of the Apocalypse, and is the author of Secular Steeples: Popular Culture and the Religious Imagination. Contact 828-262-3089, ostwaltce@appstate.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• John R. May is a professor of philosophy and religious studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and editor of New Image of Religious Film and Image & Likeness: Religious Visions in American Film Classics. Contact 225-578-3129, jmay2@lsu.edu.
• William Weston is a sociology professor at Centre College in Danville, Ky. At his blog, “Gruntled Center,” he wrote of Jackson, “Michael Jackson is being inducted into the musical pantheon of American civil religion.” Contact 859-238-8789, beau.weston@centre.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Greg Boyd is senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn. In March 2008, he and Scott Boren delivered a sermon on the dangers of worshipping celebrities. Contact 651-487-0001.
• Bob Cornwall is pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Mich. He has blogged about the attention given to Michael Jackson’s death. Contact 248-644-0512.
• Erika Doss is chair of the department of American studies at Notre Dame. She has written about Elvis Presley as an object of devotion, including an entry, “Believing in Elvis: Popular Piety in Material Culture,” in the book Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion and Culture. Contact 574-631-7316, Erika.Doss.2@nd.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Pauline Hope Cheong is an associate professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. She wrote “Praying Upon a Star: Michael Jackson Spectacle Highlights Online Rituals,” a July 12, 2009, essay at ReligionDispatches.org. Contact 480-965-8730, pauline.cheong@asu.edu.
• Craig Musselman of Grace Community Church in San Antonio, Texas, delivered a sermon titled “Why Michael Jackson’s Life and Death Matters.” Contact 210-222-2030.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Mary Hodder is a graduate student at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information Management and Systems and a blogger who contributes to the Web site Napsterization.org. She wrote an entry on celebrity worship on the Internet after Michael Jackson’s death. She writes, “most people need something to worship, and most people have given up serious religion … Michael Jackson and other celebs are the replacement.” Contact rantme@napsterization.org.
• Tim Reed is a professor of English and American studies at Washington State University in Pullman. He is responsible for the Web site Popular Culture, which looks at mostly American popular culture. Contact reedtv@wsu.edu.