Popstars & Preachers
The paparazzi are crouched on an unassuming street corner in downtown Los Angeles, poised like panthers waiting to pounce on their prey. Click click. Here comes Kourtney Kardashian in boyfriend jeans and a black crop top, a tiny Louis Vuitton backpack slung over one shoulder. She greets a hooded male figure, Justin Bieber, who’s doing his best ’90s dad impression in baggy Hawaiian boardshorts and box-fresh Nike Air Max sneakers. Click click. Kendall Jenner emerges from a black SUV, every bit the off-duty supermodel in a slinky nude knit dress. Next to arrive are actor Chris Pratt, singer Selena Gomez and big-name US basketballer Kevin Durant.
It’s pure paparazzi gold, a melange of celebrities so eclectic one can only assume they’re off to an Oscar’s after-after-party or mega pop concert. But on this balmy Sunday afternoon in the gritty city centre, the Kar-Jenners and co are going to church.
Over the past 50 years, organised religion – particularly Christianity – has been declining in the Western
