Religion Enters Media Mainstream

Big Public Response to Christian Message
A lot is written, said and shown about religion these days. Of course the people governing the media govern also the positive or negative religious propaganda. Religion, once hailed as a meaning system of people of all ages, seems to be at the behest of media, as it may seem after the media highlight on Da Vinci Code and Judas Gospel. All of a sudden media seem to have taken control of the religion and people’s belief system.
Obviously, the demand for religious content in the media also continues to grow. This can have its downside, as “The Da Vinci Code” revealed. Along with these a host of other earlier banned books have also come into the light. But it also means that doors are opening up for guardians of religions who want to get their message across. From the death of Jesus to the present times the Church seems to have grown and matured to handle negative religious propaganda tactfully.
A Boom in the West
Domestic sales of religious products in the United States are likely to reach $9.5 billion by 2010. The estimate comes from market research publisher ‘Packaged Facts.’ During the recent annual awards for religious television programs. The head of the judging panel, Jane Drabble, a former BBC executive, expressed her surprise at the good quality of the contestants. The winner was “A Test of Faith,” based on the London terrorist bombings of last July 7. The runner-up was an experimental series, “Priest Idol,” which chronicled the efforts of Anglican priest James McCaskill in trying to revive a dying parish. “The Monastery,” showed the experiences of five men, who spent 40 days in an abbey, won a merit award. The programme attracted 2.5 million viewers, and a sequel is being planned.
In another instant, The catholic church and the Church of England have joined forces in calling for reforms in the BBC Charter. Their prime concern is that the Government ensures that the BBC not only commissions religious programmes but that it demonstrates a real commitment to broadening religious references.
Reality shows
Television is also opening up to religious programmes. The BBC is giving the finishing touches to a project that will depict the life of Jesus and the events leading up to his crucifiction.
Reality-type religious programs are gaining popularity. ‘The Independent’ observed that in order to attract the attention of a new generation, religion needs to entertain. And the human-interestangle, typical of reality television shows is one way to do this.
Channels from London will telecast “The Convent,” portraying the experience of four women spending six weeks in a community of nuns. Channel 4 will transmit “Six Feet Under: The Muslim Way,” about a London-based Muslim funeral service.
The same is true in the United States. “God or the Girl,” a five-part series started on Easter Sunday, broadcast on A&E Television. The four protagonists had to decide whether to enter the seminary or to opt for marriage. A U.S. version of “The Monastery” is under way. Five men and five women from a variety of backgrounds are depicted as they spend 40 days in a monastery,
“We’re interested in exploring how people like us can live a good and purposeful life and what the 1,500-year-old monastic tradition can teach modern people,” explained the producer, Sarah Woodford.
Publishing Boom
In the print sector a wave of religious books is hitting the stores. Authors are anxious to ride the coattails of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” Offerings include Michael Baigent’s “The Jesus Papers,” which denies Christ died on the cross. Books criticizing Brown are also enjoying success; Erwin Lutzer, an evangelical minister, has sold 300,000 copies of his “The Da Vinci Deception.”
Other books include “Divine,” a parable about a modern Magdalene figure, by Karen Kingsbury, described as a Christian fiction writer. Her books have sold more than 4 million copies. And Bart Ehrman will be coming out with “Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene.” The book looks at some of the issues raised by Brown, and denies there is evidence of any marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. On a lighter note, religious comic books are also selling well. There is a project to turn the lives of the saints into comic books. It’s part of an effort to attract young people to the Catholic Church.
In Hong Kong, meanwhile, a comic book version, in a number of installments, of the New Testament is being published. Apeiron Production Company was commissioned to publish the text by Australian-based property developer Larry Lee Siu-kee.
Lee said he was spurred to do it after the recent publication of what he called falsehoods. “By stating their stories as fact, like in ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ they are poison for young people, many of whom will think it is real,” he explained. Lee said that the 6,000 copies of the first installment have been flying off the shelves, prompting him to print a further 20,000 copies.
From print to the
electronic media.
The best-selling series of apocalyptic “Left Behind” books are now being converted into a video game. The game, “Left Behind: Eternal Forces,” made its debut at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles.
It was not alone. Another producer was marketing games based on the “Veggie Tales” series of Christian videos for children. And another was pushing “Bibleman: A Fight for Faith,” reported about a superhero who stands up for the word of God.
One of the best-selling Christian based video games, “Catechumen,” produced by the San Diego-based Christian Game Developers Foundation, has sold 80,000 copies. This falls far short of such successes as the 5.1 million copies of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”
Other initiatives to get the religious message across include a satellite radio station for New York City. The Catholic archdiocese there recently announced a venture with Sirius Satellite Radio to establish a channel. It has to be noted that of the 17,000 licensed terrestrial radio stations in the United States, 1,700 are Protestant or evangelical Christian in nature, and 130 are Catholic.
Indian Response
While we see a revival in the west with regard to the positive propagation of faith through literature and television shows, the Indian Media too is gaining momentum in a slow pace. On the one hand the protesting groups managed to ban the movie version of Da Vinci Code in some states, positive move to religious propaganda is yet to take place in a large scale. Quite a few instances of protests have captured media attention. Apart from that a few religious congregation and the laity have brought out some awareness through the cost effective e-mail and the church run magazines.
In his message for the World Commu-nications Day, Pope Benedict XVI urged the media to “contribute constructively to the propagation of all that is good and true”.
The Pope also noted that Christians are called to share God’s message with others. This call stems from recognition of Christ’s dynamic force within us, “which then seeks to spread outward to others, so that his love can truly become the prevalent measure of the world”. A force that is increasingly finding an outlet in the media.
The times are good for religion to make a positive entry into the media mainstream. The Church can not remain silent all through as a silent spectator, Instead time is ripe for religion to make the best use of the media without losing its own identity.