{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Digital Childhoods","provider_url":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir","author_name":"Layla Koch","author_url":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/author\/lmkoch\/","title":"Religion or Show: The Story of Marjoe Gortner - Digital Childhoods","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ynDVzgPQvT\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/religion-or-show-the-story-of-marjoe-gortner\/\">Religion or Show: The Story of Marjoe Gortner<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/religion-or-show-the-story-of-marjoe-gortner\/embed\/#?secret=ynDVzgPQvT\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Religion or Show: The Story of Marjoe Gortner&#8221; &#8212; Digital Childhoods\" data-secret=\"ynDVzgPQvT\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bildschirmfoto-2026-06-10-um-09.21.03.png","thumbnail_width":1326,"thumbnail_height":652,"description":"The figure of Marjoe Gortner represents one of the most complex and paradoxical cases in the history of American religious childhood. His performative strategies highlight the tight relationship between show business and religion, which turns his public persona\u2014difficult to separate from his agency\u2014into a \u201echildish thing.\u201d Born in 1944 and baptized with a name that blended Mary and Joseph, Marjoe was dedicated from birth to a career as an evangelist by his preacher parents. His upbringing was a rigid programming of his preaching abilities. At age four, Marjoe was already a renowned preacher, earning him the titles \u201cpreaching machine\u201d and"}