Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate was quoted throughout an article titled “Oscar Prophecy: Bet on God. You Can't Lose” that appeared on March 6 in PoliticsDaily.com, an online newspaper with about 9 million monthly visitors. The author of Religion and Film: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World, Plate discussed the reporter’s basic premise, that “religion is everywhere in the movies, and more than ever and in more forms than ever” and that “for growing numbers of Americans, going to the movies has replaced institutional church-going as their principal religious and communal experience.”
"I think that religion is actually the most interesting where it is the least assumed," said Plate. "In other words, films don't have to be about saviors, priests, and rabbis . . . I think the 'analogy' approach is safer for mass audiences. Films like Scorsese's 'Last Temptation' and, on the flip side, Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' are powerful for some, and repulsive for others. It depends on what side of the fence one is on."
The article was written by American Academy of Religion prize winner David Gibson, a contributor to leading newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.
"I think that religion is actually the most interesting where it is the least assumed," said Plate. "In other words, films don't have to be about saviors, priests, and rabbis . . . I think the 'analogy' approach is safer for mass audiences. Films like Scorsese's 'Last Temptation' and, on the flip side, Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' are powerful for some, and repulsive for others. It depends on what side of the fence one is on."
The article was written by American Academy of Religion prize winner David Gibson, a contributor to leading newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.
