From Play to Policy: Rethinking Religion in America

Manon Portos Minetti has just finished their first year as a PhD candidate on Dr. Sara Polak's ERC project "Worlding America: How Play Shaped the United States between New Media and New Politics," and is set to continue working on this project for the coming three years. In this interview, Portos Minetti not only discusses their research, but also the road they had to take to get to where they are today.

Having done a double Bachelor’s programme in History and Art History at the University of Amsterdam, with a minor in North America studies, Portos Minetti continued their studies in the MA North American Studies at Leiden University. Last year they started their research on the role of play in religion. This turned out to be an interesting, yet difficult angle. Questions such as “If there is play in religion, what do they do and how do they do it?” became their main focus. This brought Portos Minetti to televangelism; the use of media, such as radio or television, to preach and promote religion. The way hosts spoke on such broadcasts had clear resemblances to the way game show hosts speak, letting Portos Minetti connect play to religion through, what they call, “game showification.” Portos Minetti argues that instead of TV making people passive, the play element of TV shows is making them more active, and therefore more open to outside influences.

However, do evangelicals view this in the same way, and do they believe in what they are preaching? According to Portos Minetti, it is not so much the question whether they really believe it or not, because what they are believing is deciding government policy at the moment. A lot of policy of president Trump is being written by evangelicals, which means that it has a big impact on everyone’s daily life. This also immediately points to the relevance and importance of Portos Minetti’s research. While the use of play in US history remains an understudied subject, especially in relation to religion, it is something that everyone comes across and interacts with, consciously and subconsciously.

Portos Minetti, furthermore, researched this topic by applying an interdisciplinary approach, which in today’s age and society is more important than ever before. In order to look at a topic from a different perspective, instead of staying inside the box, it is important to think in an unconventional way, even if it defies the established order. By combining all these aspects, Portos Minetti makes a great contribution to the academic world. 

Defying the established order is also what represents Manon Portos Minetti. Having grown up as a child with a migration background, they experienced many forms of discrimination. An important moment in their life was therefore when at university they, for the first time, had a teacher who looked like them, willing to teach not only about Europe’s and US’ history and society, but also about cultures and societies outside of the perceived norm. While their road was not a straight one and they met with many obstacles, it was through the support of their community and mentors that they were able to get to where they are now. Working hard not only to overcome stereotypes, setbacks and prejudice, but also to support themself, Portos Minetti shows that you don’t need to have all the normative checks to get to where you want to be. 

To conclude with a philosophy of Portos Minetti; “if you are ever struggling to see what works or unsure of what to do next, throw some spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks!”

Interview by LeidenGlobal intern Fleur van Tellingen
April 2026