Oprah

“[Lofton’s] authorial voice is, by turns, instructing, funny, ironic, snide, brilliantly analytical, undeniably astute . . . and feisty.”

— Feminist Collections

“Lofton’s careful and engaging work is sure to warrant responses. How wonderful that this book is the one to set the stage.”

— Journal Of American History

"Compelling and insightful. . . . [A] thorough and fascinating work that significantly aids our understanding of religion and spirituality in postwar America."

— American Studies Journal

"[Lofton] is a historian and cultural anthropologist, psychologist and popular culture analyst, theologian and therapist...[she] deftly and expertly shows how Winfrey opens windows of meaning for millions and draws them into an inchoate community of believers who find in the array of products endorsed by Oprah the keys to the fulfilled life."

— Church History

"But the eerie feeling I had while reading Kathryn Lofton’s account of the TV maven is that I have been breathing Oprah’s reality, vocabulary, consumer choices and worldview in the cultural air all around me. I have not been immune to the Gospel of Oprah, and the fact that her influence on me has been unrecognized makes it no less profound."

— Christian Century

"Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon is an important addition to the study of religion in America because it takes into account the religious impact of popular media. . . . What Lofton is advocating is that popular culture contains within it people and performances that shape religion in America."

— Journal Of Religion

"Thoroughly researched, engagingly written, deftly weaving together major currents of US religious and cultural history, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon will hold great interest for students and scholars in religious studies, American studies, and media and cultural studies, but Winfrey's fans may also enjoy this lively exegesis of their heroine."

— Journal Of American Stds

“"Lofton’s prose is highly readable, making it accessible to not only those steeped in religious and cultural studies, but to a general audience as well. . . . The text is more than an examination of a popular talk-show-host-turned media magnate. It places Winfrey within a larger exploration on how religion has been commodified through history."

— Journal Of Religion And Popular Culture

“It was only a matter of time before a bona fide brainiac conducted a study to prove what we already know: Oprah is a religious icon.”

— Popeater

“Lofton is at her best as a historian of American religion, insightfully locating Winfrey's signature confessionalism in the context of the "anxious bench" of 19th-century evangelical revival. She also does good work in taking seriously and helping define the term "spirituality" that is evident in popular beliefs about matters divine and transcendent. The book is a tenure maker.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Vitally important, both as an addition to cultural studies in general, and a challenge to the question of how to study American religion. Not only does she break new ground in thoughtful cultural analysis of a complicated American icon, she helps to solidify the potential for a new category of interdisciplinary religious studies scholarship.”

— Journal Of American Culture

“With ample alliteration and deft turns of phrases, Lofton (Yale) offers an excellent account of the "Empire of O" that is required reading for multiple audiences. Neither simply a biography (though Oprah Winfrey's life is important), nor an interpretation of the "religious" dimensions of Oprah's television and media empire (though those are crucial as well), this book nimbly weaves together economics, the power of media, gender and race dynamics, and the spiritual seeking that in part defines contemporary US culture.”

— Choice