July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:   “Thank God and the Revolution” (1981) – 57 minutes

Distributor:  ???????????? (formerly Icarus Films, but it’s not in their current catalog)

Summary:  Outstanding illustration of many theories about the role of religion in social change in Nicaragua.  It includes Liberation Theology, base Christian communities, a brief historical background, and interviews with people from all strata of society – rural villagers to cabinet officials.  The folk hymns in the soundtrack are moving.

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 War/Pacifism, Liberation Theology, Conflict, Change, Latin America & Caribbean, Social Activism, Catholics | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:  “Solidaridad: Faith, Hope, and Haven” (1989) – 57 minutes

Distributor:  ??????????

Summary:   A documentary about the work of the Vicaria de la Solidaridad, a Catholic organization in Chile that has provided support for victims of human rights abuses.

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 Ethics, Human Rights, Older Films, Conflict, Latin America & Caribbean, Social Activism, Catholics | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info: “Shrine under Siege” (1985) – 42 minutes

Distributor: Icarus Films

Summary:  SHRINE UNDER SIEGE describes the coalition formed by Fundamentalist U.S. Christians and militant Israeli Jews to destroy the Dome of the Rock, Islam’s third holiest shrine, and to build a new Jewish temple in its place. The documentary explores the theological background to this unusual coalition and places it within the context of the increased political power of fundamentalism in the U.S., and the rise of extremist religious parties in Israel, as demonstrated by the election of Rabbi Meir Kahane to Parliament

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 War/Pacifism, Older Films, New Christian Right, Conflict, Politics, Africa & Middle East, Islam, Judaism, Evangelical Protestants | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:   “Sanctuary” ( 1983) – PBS Frontline – 60 minutes

Distributor: ??????????

Summary:  Examines the 1980s Sanctuary Movement, which engaged in civil disobedience to Immigration Service regulations by giving assistance to refugees from political oppression in Central America.

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 War/Pacifism, Older Films, Conflict, Social Activism, Christianity, North America | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:   “Romero” (1989) – Directed by John Duigan, starring Raul Julia – 105 minutes

Distributor: Available from Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Summary:   Feature film based on the story of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, 1980 victim of a political assassination.

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 War/Pacifism, Older Films, Liberation Theology, Conflict, Change, Latin America & Caribbean, Politics, Social Activism, Catholics | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:  “The Radio Priest” (1989) – PBS – 58 minutes – color & b/w

Distributor: ??????????

Summary:  An interesting documentary about Charles Coughlin, the controversial right-wing Catholic radio preacher of the 1930s.

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 Older Films, Conflict, Politics, Catholics | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info: “The New Klan” (1978) – Corinth Films – 58 minutes 

Distributor: ??????????

Summary:   Vivid images of the contemporary Ku Klux Klan.  Useful for discussion of symbols and rituals in a quasi-religious secret society

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 New Christian Right, Quasi-religion, Ethnic Identity, Older Films, Conflict, North America | Print | No Comments »

July 24, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info: Holy Terror – CGuild (1986) – 58 minutes

Distributor:  ??????????

Summary:  Portrays the religious legitimation of the New Right (esp anti-abortion) activism of the 1980s.

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 Older Films, New Christian Right, Conflict, Social Activism, Politics, Christianity | Print | No Comments »

July 24, 2011 by Jim Spickard.

Film Info:  Battle for the Bible – PBS “God and Politics” series (1987) – 60 minutes.

Distributor ??????????

Summary:  Illustrates a contemporary conflict between Christians who want to enforce a conservative orthodoxy in their denominations versus others who want to maintain their denomination’s tradition of freedom of conscience for individual believers.

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 Older Films, Conflict, Politics, North America | Print | No Comments »

June 26, 2007 by Jim Spickard.

Film Title: Call to Witness: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Ordination in the Lutheran Church — by Pam Walton — 59 minutes

Distributor: Pam Walton Productions

Summary: (from the distributor’s website)

What People are Saying. . .

“Call to Witness is both an elegy to shattered lives and ruined careers and a testimony to the courage and commitment of queer pastors and their partners who are engaged in one of the most important and controversial battles of our time.”
– Outfest 2000, The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

“Call to Witness goes behind the angry rhetoric to paint a compelling picture of a denomination’s struggle to come to terms with its gay and lesbian congregants. It is an enlightened meditation on an issue that threatens to tear our nation apart and should be required viewing for both sides of the cultural divide.”
– Chris Bull, Washington Correspondent, The Advocate / Co-author, Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s.

“The stories in Call to Witness need to be heard if we are to seriously engage in the ’study of sexuality’ that is currently underway in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That study has multiple sides and this video presents one seldom heard by the people in our pews, or in the public.”
–Bishop Emeritus Paul Egertson, Southwest California Synod, ELCA.

“In just sixty minutes, Call to Witness captures not only an important piece of history, but also illustrates why religious debates are so essential to our struggle for civil rights.”
– Jim Mitulski, GLBT Outreach Coordinator, James Hormel Center, San Francisco

The Video Includes . . .

> The stories of Rev. Steve Sabin in Iowa, who was outed by his bishop, supported by his congregation, and “tried” by the national church because he refused to resign; Rev. Jane Ralph in Missouri, who was forced out of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with no recourse; and Pastoral Minister Anita C. Hill in Minnesota, who at the time was working to be ordained as an openly lesbian pastor. (Rev. Hill was ordained in an act of ecclesiastical disobedience on April 28, 2001.)

> The stories of two San Francisco congregations that defied the ELCA in 1990 by calling Revs. Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart, and Jeff Johnson, openly gay and lesbian pastors not on the approved ELCA roster.

> An interview with Reverend Joseph Wagner, ELCA Division for Ministry, and Bishop Charles Maahs, ELCA Conference of Bishops.

> The vigilant work of Luthern Lesbian and Gay Ministries as they support pastors and congregations who are being forced out of the ELCA.

Posted in Congregations, Gays/Lesbians, Conflict, Christianity, Mainline Protestants, Religion and ..., North America | Print | No Comments »