July 25, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info: Part of “The Long Search”, a BBC series hosted by Ronald Eyre – 52 minutes

Distributor: Ambrose Videos  has the entire series on DVD for $99

Summary: Traces the Indian religious experience in two highly contrasting locations: the bustling city of Benares where millions come to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges, and the small village of Bhith Bhagwanpur, unvisited except by professional story tellers and itinerant priests. The film concentrates its attention on the Hindu approach to God. But which God? For there are 330 million of them.

Posted in Worship Style, Culture, Older Films, Hinduism, East and South Asia | Print | No Comments »

July 25, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:  Part of “The Long Search”, a BBC series hosted by Ronald Eyre – 52 minutes

Distributor:  Ambrose Videos has the entire series on DVD for $99

Summary:  In the 1100 churches of Indianapolis, we see bewildering multiplicity of Protestantism. Churches with the seating and styling of deluxe first-run theaters. Services conducted with the professionalism of television spectaculars. And congregations that occupy every seat at four staggered services every Sunday. All are features of the US church-going boom. We discover that religion is not in a state of apathy in America; in some quarters it is decidedly big business.

Posted in Congregations, Older Films, Worship Style, Pentecostals, Churches, Sects, Mainline Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, North America | Print | No Comments »

July 25, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info: “The Long Search” – BBC/Time/Life (1977) – a series of 13 programs, 52 minutes each

Distributor:  Ambrose Video – $99 for the entire set on DVD

Summary:  A documentary on world religions and new religions, narrated by Ronald Eyre (who is irritatingly obtrusive in several instances).  Especially useful are Orthodox Christianity – the Rumanian Solution, which is helpful for illustrating religious symbolism and ritual, the pervasiveness of religion in people’s lives, and the place of religion in one then-Communist country; and African Religion – Zulu Zion, which focuses on new religions in South Africa, emphasizing the importance of dreams, ancestors, and place.  Other useful films in the series include Protestant Spirit: USA; Catholicism; and Judaism.  The film on Alternate Lifestyles in California is disappointingly shallow.

Film notice taken (with permission) from the “Teaching Resources” list in Meredith McGuire’s Religion: The Social Context, third edition. Her 5th edition (available from Waveland Press: see www.religionthesocialcontext.com) does not contain the resource list. I have only traced some of these films to current distributors. Please post updated information about them, if you have it. – JS

Posted in Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Eastern Orthodox, New Religions, Worship Style, Older Films, Pentecostals, Islam, Christianity, Evangelical Protestants, Catholics, Mainline Protestants, 1 - World Religions, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean, Africa & Middle East, East and South Asia, North America | Print | No Comments »