I just randomly happened across this article, which I think is going to be particularly relevant to those of you doing projects having to do with the "religious" aspects of seemingly non-religious phenomena (sports events, initiation rituals, etc.). The author, Gregor Goethals, gives a powerful — almost eloquent, even — argument for seeing religious or quasi-religious processes at work in, believe it or not, popular TV. This is not because the themes represented there are particularly solemn or spiritual, but because, as he puts it, they "mediate[] and legitimate[] a belief in the American way of life." In other words, much television programming "provides an opportunity" (also his phrase) for the viewer to re-experience, reaffirm, and thereby remind him- or herself of the values that are central to the society, such as (in the example from the selection quoted here) the overriding importance of winning, or the power of personal trust and individual charisma. The article is definitely worth reading.
I would suggest that in our day the power of images to objectify invisible values and meanings has been appropriated by secular institutions. To the degree that traditional religious groups in American culture have emphasized the word and de-emphasized images, they have deprived themselves of an effective force for transmitting their own symbols. It may be that our sacramental needs and capacities have, ironically, been best understood and most creatively used by secular institutions.
From soap operas to news to sports, commercial telecasting performs a fundamentally sacramental function: it mediates and legitimates a belief in the American way of life. It assists in an important way in shaping our loyalty to the American socio-political-economic system. Witnessing to sentiments and aspirations that transcend denominational beliefs, television provides a common vision. Even though the medium often caricatures and distorts the variousness of America’s diverse communities, the nation has become dependent upon it for articulating public symbols.
If we look closely at different kinds of programs, we may discern certain residual elements of traditional religious communication and psychology. The dynamics and formal structures of some programs parallel some Catholic and Protestant forms of communication. For example, parallels to the Catholic sacramental model, in which a sacred event is re-enacted within carefully measured boundaries of time and space, can be found in the formal dynamics of sports events and civil ceremonies, such as the Super Bowl or the presidential inauguration.
When through an unusual coincidence President Reagan’s second inauguration was telecast on the same day as the 1985 Super Bowl, the entire day seemed liturgically orchestrated, as viewers moved from one sacred event to another. Through their TV sets millions of viewers shared in a solemn event in the political life of the nation. Later that day viewers once again entered the White House to participate in another great occasion. This time, through the miracle of technology, two sacred spaces -- the White House and the Super Bowl stadium -- were united as President Reagan tossed a coin to begin the Super Bowl. The newly inaugurated commander in chief thus ceremoniously opened the event that symbolizes to many the value of competition and the importance of being "No. 1." Standing before a large landscape painting of the American West, the Gipper seemed to personify the heroic image of a winner. Later, the Super Bowl half-time show reinforced our patriotic sentiments, as marching bands and drill teams formed a large American flag on the football field. And the screen offered yet one more sacred exchange when the president called to congratulate the victorious coach.
[...] Some Protestant forms of communication may be so integrated into secular American culture that we fail to see their religious roots. The Protestant evangelical model, which tends to stress charismatic leadership, may be useful in understanding the widespread perception of certain public figures as "trustworthy." Viewers watching a presidential news conference may be dimly conscious of the image of a Protestant minister standing behind a central pulpit, framed by two flags, delivering a sermon to inspire faith and conviction. The intention of the presidential conference is, of course, to inform the press and public. But ritualistically speaking, it is much more: it is an opportunity for the public to confirm its trust in the president and loyalty to the nation. The event is an occasion to see the president perform much like a persuasive, charismatic preacher. He confronts his adversaries, calls us to look at the "facts," returns us to time-honored values, articulates the differences between good and evil and then makes the right choice.
[...] Upon returning home, we may join our fellow Americans in front of the television set. Forgetting the idiosyncratic, unspeakably diverse crowds of strangers, we become drawn through television to the familiar faces, myths and visions of the American Way of Life, thereby putting ourselves in touch with a shared vision of the human order -- a vision that engages our loyalties and makes sense of our world.
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