Religion and the Theater
Godawa (2009) quotes Geoffrey Hill’s comparison of the modern movie theater to a religious temple is an illustration of what people need in their hearts. The message tries to explain the problems that human being has gone through in the past and how the theater and the temple attempt to address the problems (Godawa, 2009). The message is that people are looking for something to satisfy their souls and identify with in life.
The parallels between the temple and the theater are that people go there to get motivated and uplifted. People at the temple sit in the pews and carefully wait for the message from a preacher. The people in the theater await moral lessons from artists (Godawa, 2009). Temples and theaters pull crowds to address their life issues. The life issues may include addressing moral values in society. Theater and temples have the same goal since they strive to impact people’s moral values. Temples influence the worldview of the members while theaters affect the moral uprightness of the viewers (Godawa, 2009). Temple and theater have a long-lasting impact on the behavior of people.
The theater has taken the role of impacting society. I do not believe people embrace the morals from the movies with the same impact as those from the temple. The theater cannot impact the belief system and behavior of people as the temple. However, the theater can be impactful on the dress code and the lifestyle of people. The theater has a positive impact in affecting moral values but still undermines the values and beliefs that people learn in the theaters. The society should identify the negative impact of the theaters to avoid penetration of wrong beliefs in the family and individual lives.
References
Godawa, B. (2009). Hollywood worldviews: Watching films with wisdom and discernment. InterVarsity Press.
