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: “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: The Bible Belt: Politics of the Second Coming – Canadian Broadcasting Company (1972) – 90 minutes

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

Summary:  Examines the rise of fundamentalist Protestant sects in Western Canada during the 1920s and 1930s and their impact on Canadian politics then and now.

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, Politics, Evangelical Protestants, Sects, North America | Print | No Comments »