We live in a time where the influence of the media can be felt in all aspects of our lives; from subjecting us to endless gossip on celebrities or to keeping us informed on current events. In our globalized era, this seems fine to most people until certain issues are put under the media’s microscope. This is where controversy arises, and one such issue that ignites peoples’ tempers is religion.There are more than 5 billion religious people so it should not be hard to see why this is so significant. Although free speech in the media has increased over time in many countries, religious issues still remain sensitive subjects. Furthermore, the media is often censored with what it can and cannot depict in religious ideologies, witnessed in many different forms of media.
In 2003, Dan Brown published the Da Vinci Code, a mystery novel in which the investigation of a murder of a famous figure led the main characters on a wild chase where they discover that Jesus Christ has descendants and they even uncover his bloodline with the aid of many clues. Although a work of fiction, this revelation angered many Christians who viewed the novel as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican City called for a boycott of the film version of the book and both the book and the film were censored and banned in numerous countries, including Lebanon, Pakistan, China, and Samoa. This kind of response is not limited to the film industry or to Christianity. In reality, there have been similar negative reactions when the media attempted to depict things that had religious connotations.
In 2005, a Danish magazine featured a cartoon depiction of Muhammad, which caused uproar. In some creeds of Islam it is believed that the depiction of their prophets is prohibited. Thus when the cartoon depiction surfaced this led to a general outcry by many and manifestations in Denmark by angry protesters, which led to the censoring of that feature. Following this event, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the writers of the cartoon show South Park, known for its raunchy satire, had intended to feature Muhammad in one of its episodes but were banned from doing so by the Comedy Central Network (Telegraph).
One of the main issues surrounding religion and media censorship is the sentiment that there is an entitlement for religious issues to be censored when they offend those whom they may target. The main intent of many media outlets nowadays is not usually to tell the truth or remain in people’s comfort zones – that would be boring. Often the intent is to surprise, entertain, or evoke emotions with the audience and thus when addressing many issues – the media can take quite controversial stances. With many of the popular shows of today, such as cartoon Family Guy or South Park, where often religion has been a target – the intent of the producers again is not to teach or to relay any truths but rather to entertain their viewers.
In addition, the basis of most of these shows is to satirize and it is not limited to religion; rather, they satirize politics, sexuality, race, gender and a variety of other issues that are pertinent to a number of people. This is why at a time when many see freedom of speech as a significant liberty; we need to ask ourselves whether the censorship of media on religion can always be accepted. If we take that stance then it is possible that little would be available as nearly everything can be something which people can take offense at. On the other hand, religion is a particularly complex issue as it has been around for many years, and often an insult upon a person’s religion can be seen as an insult upon everything that that person believes in and stands for. In that case, is it fair, for that person to have to condone his or her religion being depicted in a way they feel is wrongful or insulting?
Our world population is growing and with a greater number of people comes a greater number of different views and opinions on worldly matters. In the past, conflicting views, especially on matters that were close to people’s hearts such as religion, sometimes led to extremely negative or violent responses. However gradually in our era, there has been a growing acceptance of divergent views and it will be significant to observe whether this can continue onwards in the future.
