Joseph Smith Came to Twilight

When I first saw the question "what is the relationship between Mormonism and Twilight", several answers sprung to mind. 1 - Both are equally difficult to follow. 2 - We are seeing greater exposure of both (see: Mormon ad's on TV and an influx of door knockers). 3 - Both have ultra devout followings. It wasn't until I did some good solid academic research (google) to find out that Stepahie Meyer the author of the Twilight series is in fact a Mormon (Aleiss, 2010). It is without doubt then that throughout the book series, whether intentionally or subconsciously, aspects of Mormonism would at some point become incorporated into the storyline. A quick read shows this is the case, particularly with the main character Bella who displays many traits of Mormonism on film (Aleiss, 2010). Abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, acffeine are just some of the dietrary constraints demonstrated by Bella that are in line with Mormon belief (Aleiss, 2010). Then there is of course the supernatural overlap between humans, and the divine, with particular reference on the path towards divinity (becoming warewolf/vampire in the film), another critical point of Mormon belief structure - becoming divine not a vampire (Aleiss, 2010). Interesting to think how many instances of an individual's religious convictions have influenced text or media for the better or worse. In this example, for me personally I couldn't care less as I have no interest in the Twilight series but I wonder how the storyline would have changed had such mormon influences been absent. With the main character a promiscuous drug taking party girl, would the movies still be as appealing, if not more?

References:
Aleiss, A (2010) Mormon Influence, Imagery Run Deep Through 'Twilight', Huffington Post, News Article, viewed 15 March 2012,
http://huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/mormon-influence-imagery_n_623487.html 

Media As A Spiritual Conduit

When one considers the role of the preacher, the shaman, text upon Holy Scriptures, the Church, Temples and realistically any sacred place or person, their existence and actions are based entirely around the principle of channelling the divine. Meyer (2012) describes these scared places and beings as purely mediums for initiating an intimate experience within the divine. This is considered to have opened an immediate connection between the natural and the divine and is necessary in almost all instances for a fulfilling spiritual connection. Media and media forms have shown to be extensions of such connections, whereby through visual or aural stimulus and in the absence of a physical presence or encounter, an individual can initiate a wholly fulfilling spiritual experience with a holy presence (Meyer, 2012). It is easy to see how the role of religious media can be seen as a further extension upon this channel. Spiritual connections through media are considered to be as effective in initiating the desired response as their physical counterparts, showing that whilst physical separation between the individual and the medium may exist, spiritual separation can be avoided through such access. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

Conversely, Meyer (2012) also makes mention of the renouncement of the compounding properties media holds over religious worship through the dismissal of religious media. Meyer (2012) states dismissal of religiously based media is evident within certain (mainly orthodox) religious communities. It can be assumed that opting out of such methods of worship is chosen with a move towards a more physical sense of worship and an assumed spiritual closeness that media is unable to elicit. There are of course certain aspects of religious worship that media cannot replicate. Touch, taste, smell, fellowship and community are but a few and whilst media-based worship would seldom be recommended for extended periods of time, it does serve its purpose in the absence of immediate access. 

References:

Meyer B. 2012. Religious Sensations: Media, Aesthetics, and the Study of Contemporary Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 159-170. London and New York: Routledge.

Image Source: http://pixabay.com/en/aerial-antenna-communication-15669/

A Short Reflection On Demons

Courtesy of Pixabay

I thought I would momentarily reflect upon the nature of demons and why I personally do not believe that they can be classified as good. Let’s first consider the association between demons and evil. Their relationship between demons, hell and Lucifer is unwavering. It is safe to say that there cannot be such a relationship between all three entities in the absence of evil. My reasoning for this is through the fact that a demon exists for reasons of pure evil, and that should such a demon have any association with goodness, then a demon would not be existing as itself. For the demon to become or “turn” good they are in essence renouncing their demonic properties and therefore can no longer be seen as having a demonic nature. So essentially I believe that for a demon to exist as wholly or partially good would require a reclassification of being. Through this reclassification we would no longer consider the demon as possessing demonic properties or relationships and therefore call a demon a demon. 

Image Source: http://pixabay.com/en/gravestone-cemetery-dead-death-1671/

On Sacred Separation

Identifying the lines which separate the spiritual and everyday facets of religious life is an important component of truly understanding religious worship. This well established Durkheimian paradigm for the compartmentalisation of the spiritual from the everyday (profane) is necessary for a fundamental understanding in the importance and reverence that is placed upon all things spiritual. In elevating and separating such principles from everyday life, an increased sense of importance and sacredness is developed within the worshipper towards the worshipped. In contrast with such principles is the development of interrelated practice involving both the sacred and profane with transitions between both becoming apparent in religious and non-religious contexts (McDannell, 2012). To demonstrate one such occurrence, McDannell (2012) critiques the divergence from the norm with reference towards the American Christian movements, and their increasing focus upon the amalgamation of both the sacred and profane. McDannel (2012) identifies one such instance whereby contemporary religious practices have become removed from their spiritual context, reapplied in a profane context (the transition of good between worshippers), and in doing so further reinforced spiritually and profanely within the individual.

The usefulness of the categories “sacred” and “profane” is also questioned through the discussed case studies. It is stated that in the religious transition which has become evident in American Christianity, it is no longer necessary to categorise sacred and normal aspects of life as they become further intertwined (McDannell, 2012). Whilst such classifications may become perceived as becoming redundant as the sacred and profane fall in line with one another, a reclassification of both would be deemed unnecessary as arguably religion and life will never truly become universal. For an individual to live a purely spiritual life whereby every profane aspect and encounter was handled in a spiritual context would be impossible. It is therefore still necessary to have such classifications although a shift towards categorisation of assimilated aspects may be necessary. Nevertheless the identification of such a paradigm shift is of significance in understanding the evolutionary nature of religious practices.

References:

McDannell, Colleen.  "Scrambling the Sacred and the Profane."  In Religion, Media and Culture:  A Reader, edited by Jolyon Mitchell, Gordon Lynch and Anna Strhan, 134 - 145.  London and New York:  Routledge, 2012

First Post (finally)

Ok to kick-start this blog I wanted to commence my personal reflections upon the way that mainstream media sources report religious issues. It is safe to say that a (significant) degree of reporting bias can be seen when reviewing most religiously-affiliated media reports. This is evident to a greater extent when world religious issues in particular, often relating to Muslim violence, are reported upon. It may be considered a bold statement profess such an opinion but it one simply views the nightly news, 9 times of out 10 any newsworthy religious issues will be a) conflict related and b) almost exclusively relating to Islamic issues. Another thing I have noticed in my (albeit biased) media exposure, is that issues surrounding the dominant or “self” religion, i.e. in western societies almost exclusively Christianity, become suppressed in the native country. There are of course arguments validating this perspective in that western media agencies are run as businesses, and that nothing grasps the focus of the target audience than a religiously foreign issue (Shafaat, 1986). This is of course not limited to western media agencies, where biased reports surrounding Christian-affiliated issues are portrayed throughout Islamic media channels such as Al-Jazeera. To contrast this perspective it was interesting to see that, for example, in religiously dominant countries, a degree of media bias against the home religion can exist. I found a news article showing such an occurrence, where in this instance certain levels of reporting within the BBC deliberately promoted anti-Christian sentiments, later outwardly confessing the blatant religious bias – for ratings sake (WND, 2006). It is easy to understand how the lines of business can become tangled within such reports, however in doing so it becomes difficult for the viewer to perceive religiously-worthy news issues from those which are news “fluffers”.

References:

Shafaat, A, (1986) Western Media’s Bias: We are Not Helping Against It, Islamic Perspectives, Website Report, viewed 9 March 2012
http://www.islamicperspectives.com/MediaBias.htm

WND (2006) BBC Confesses Bias on Religion, Politics, WND, News Article, viewed 9 March 2012

http://www.wnd.com/2006/10/38506/