How is Pop Culture Like Religion?

How is Pop Culture Like Religion?

While many might think that Pop Culture and Religion sit on opposite ends of the spectrum, in many ways they are one and the same. Religion is often thought of as a set of values, beliefs, and spiritual traditions that are practiced by a larger community of people who share those common beliefs. Additionally, Religion tends to be legitimized by a dated history, and is a source of meaning, purpose, and order for the individual and the communities that it belongs to. Like Religion, though usually not as dated and historical, Pop Culture phenomena often share the same practices and purpose as religions do. People devote themselves to the values, beliefs, and "spiritual activities" that pertain to the specific genre of Pop Culture that they have a passion for. Like Religion, individuals devote themselves to a 'sect' of Pop Culture as a way of forming an identity for themselves, and as a means of finding a sense of belonging to a larger community that shares the same passions they do. But when do we draw the line between Religion and Pop Culture; at point do we say that they really are the same?