Associate visiting professor Joel Campbell teaches students how to examine world religions through media and culture
For students studying communications at BYU–Hawaii, learning about religion happens not only through doctrine but through media, culture and lived experience. They say their experience in the program is often their first exposure to faiths outside their own.
This exposure comes from a course titled Media and Religion. Currently, that course is being taught by Joel Campbell, an associate visiting professor in the Faculty of Arts & Letters. According to Campbell, the class discusses major world religions while also analyzing how religion intersects with media and popular culture.
Campbell said the course is designed to help students understand religion as both a way of communicating and a way of life. “Sometimes religion can become a culture, or culture can become religion,” he said. For some Americans, he added, sports such as football can function in ways similar to religion by creating rituals, shared beliefs and deep devotion.
Campbell said he joined BYU–Hawaii for a one-year appointment during the 2025-2026 school year. Prior to joining, he shared he taught communications at Brigham Young University in Provo for 23 years. Campbell also said he worked as a reporter and editor at Deseret News before joining academia.
Campbell said his interest in religion and media developed alongside his professional experience. As a scholar, he said he previously participated in programs designed by the Freedom Forum, which brought together journalists, scholars and religious leaders to discuss topics such as religious freedom and media representation. “I got exposed to religious freedom law and people from diverse faiths, and that really energized me,” he said. He shared that often, religion and politics are off limits to talk about at professional conferences, but the Freedom Forum allowed discussions about shared beliefs and differences.
Media and Religion reflects that approach, Campbell said. Rather than focusing the class on doctrine, he said, students get to focus on the basics of major world religions while examining how religion is portrayed by the media. Campbell said the class examines Judaism, Islam, Eastern religions and Christianity, while also studying what religious devotion looks like in modern popular culture.
Campbell said, “Taylor Swift is not a religion, but Taylor Swift has religion-like devotion.” He said her fans engage in certain rituals, shared language and have a collective identity. He said the course also examines interpretive communities. Interpretive communities is a concept developed by Brigham Young University scholar Dan Stout, who explained how popular figures, from Harry Potter to Elvis Presley, can inspire deep attachment.
Another guiding principle taught in the course, Campbell said, is called holy envy. He said this term, developed by Krister Stendahl, encourages respect for other faiths by recognizing practices we admire even if doctrinal differences persist.
It’s a guiding principle I like to teach. We may disagree on doctrine, but there are things other faiths do that we admire.
Campbell said he often cites Islam as an example, noting his admiration for the devotion shown through five daily prayers. Students in the course also get the opportunity to go on what Campbell called a sacred space tour. In this tour, the class visits different religious sites and churches. During the fall 2025 semester, he said students visited several religious sites, including the Byodo-In-Temple, the Muslim Association of Hawaii, Temple Emanu-El and Kawaiaha’o Church. Through visiting these sites in person, Campbell said, students move beyond abstract ideas. “It puts a human face on religion,” he said. “You meet real people who care about their families, their communities and serve others.”
Campbell said student reflections often highlight how this course changes perspectives. He said one student’s insight stood out: “I thought I would learn a lot about different people and different cultures, but what I didn't understand was that it was going to change me.” He said his goal in teaching the course is for students to approach other faiths and look for shared values rather than accentuate differences.
“In this class, we’re not trying to convert anyone,” Campbell said. “We’re trying to understand what motivates people and how belief shapes the way we see the world.” He said he hopes students carry that understanding beyond the classroom into their daily lives after taking the course.
We’re trying to understand what makes people click, what makes their religion click, what makes them love God or serve God. And I think that’s what’s important.