This is one of the most intellectually stimulating books written in current times about the impact of globalisation on Christianity and Hinduism. It contains a novel approach in applying an assortment of methodologies for the study of media and religion. This is truly a 'must read' among the books on religion, communication, mass media and culture studies.

Professor Y A Sudhakar Reddy,
Professor and Head, Centre for Folk Culture Studies,
School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India.

As a contextualised case study outside the expected geographic and temporal contexts, it provides important insights into...interactions between religion, media and markets. Jonathan James thus presents us with a unique opportunity to look carefully at the evolving global situation in the new century through the lens of a particularly complex, layered, and compelling case study.

Professor Stewart M Hoover,
Professor. School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA (from the foreword).

Jonathan James has written an important book about a little understood subject; Christianity in contemporary India. He has a clear grasp of theology and fine grasp of history. Here he brings the two together in an intriguing account of televangelism and its impact on traditional Christian practice throughout India. Dr James provides a nuanced account of the conjunction of religion, politics, social practices and technology that is well worth reading.

Professor Brian Shoesmith,
Professor of Media Studies and Liberalism, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and
Adjunct Professor, Edith Cowan University, Australia.

McDonaldisation, Masala McGospel and Om Economics by Jonathan James, takes the American phenomenon of televangelism out of its usual context into India and seeks to understand its outworking in a new historical, cultural, religious, political, and economic setting.

The book, based on an ethnographic study of Church and Hindu community leaders from India likens global televangelism to 'McDonaldisation', because of its standardized, "one size fits all" approach. 'Glocal' televangelism, the fusion of American and Indian televangelism, is referred to as 'Masala McGospel,' because the Indian elements in the programs are overshadowed by the American grammar and logistics of global televangelism. Hindu televangelism, a relatively new phenomenon, is also creating a disjunction because of the blending of New Age spirituality with the Charismatic (American) marketing and commercial techniques.

With an incisive foreword by eminent scholar, Stewart Hoover of the University of Colorado, the book is a must read in this interesting new field of studies -- religion in a transnational, global context.

Here are some unique features of the book: