Religion as makeover: Reality, lifestyle and spiritual transformation

Abstract

In this article I discuss the relationship between religion, spirituality and processes of makeover and transformation as presented in a number of British reality television shows. Programmes including The Monastery, The Convent and Make Me a Muslim placed participants in scenarios where they experimented with adopting religious or spiritual practices as part of their journey of self-transformation. I argue that the nature of transformation in these programmes is in line with standard reality and makeover television practices. However, it also makes a claim to be more 'authentic' than these because of its unfolding within the more traditional environs of religious communities from which makeover culture's narratives of transgression, repentance and salvation were originally derived.The trailer shows women in what appears to be a spa setting, carrying baskets with mobile phones and other trappings of 21st-century life to be stashed away. The voiceover tells us that 'Modern life is all me, me, me, quick fix cures and instant happiness. Follow four women as they search for deeper meanings.' The women in the trailer are shown having spa treatments and relaxing as signs point to 'products' including 'conscience cleanser', 'spiritual scrub' and 'faith mask'. The door to this 'spa' bears the slogan 'All over Soul Massage'. Then the punchline -this is no 'ordinary' spa treatment: 'For forty