Shrines on the Dashboard

I'm struck by the number of shrines I see on dashboards around Chicago.   Plastic Marys, plastic crucifixes, miniature Buddhas, or any of the various Saints.  I assume other major cities are no different, but this is something I did not see in the rural areas of my childhood.  Why does this seem to be a urban phenomenon?  I mean it seems kind of strange that rural and/or Southern people are often stereotyped as the religious zealots of America.

And do these shrines really reflect the priorities of modern life?  In this day of feigned reality (Survivor, Joe Millionaire, etc.), and Hollywood idol worship (How many bloggers spent time not only watching the Oscars, but discussing the various atrocities (fashion and otherwise) of the evening,) it would seem to be a misrepresentation of people's values.  In a time where people clutch their cell phones like Rosaries, and spend more time with text-messaging than religious texts, these plastic idols look like relics who's survival is due more to oversight than reverence.

Then again, maybe dash-mounted cell phones are the new holy figures, with little plasic mounting trays instead of doilies.  Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase "Dashboard Confessional."