Miss America's God

Mandy McMichael is J. David Slover Assistant Professor of Ministry Guidance at Baylor University.

Introduction 1. Miss America as Sex 2. Miss America as Entertainment 3. Miss America as Competition 4. Faith of the Pageant, Faith and the Pageant 5. Faith in the Pageant Conclusion: Born Again: Miss America 2.0

McMichael deftly brings together a multitude of voices to examine the alliance between religion, mostly conservative Christianity, and the Miss America pageant. The resulting story is strikingly smart and compulsively readable. --Darren J. N. Middleton "Perspectives in Religious Studies" Miss America's God is not only an enjoyable read, but also an incredibly versatile book that could be a useful text in countless course syllabi. From American Studies to Cultural History to American Religion to Gender and Sexuality, McMichael's work provides a valuable contribution to understanding and thinking about the evolution of gender roles in American society as seen through the nation's oldest pageant. --Andrew Gardner "Baptist History and Heritage" McMichael's extensive ethnographic study demonstrates the depth and sincerity of her scholarship and gives weight to her critique. No one could accuse the author of an armchair understanding of the Miss America Pageant and its contestants, as she spent many years surveying and speaking with hopefuls... All of her painstaking ethnographic work was undertaken in an effort to decipher pageant narratives and situate them within American religious history' (9). In this effort, McMichael deserves a crown, sash, and bouquet of roses. --Carissa S. Wyant "Reading Religion"