In the Christian faith, there are different ideologies which have separated Catholicism and Protestantism. A significant portion of the world’s population practices Christianity due to its long history going all the way to the creation of the world, as per the Bible. However, the split from the main Catholic Church happened due to a feeling that the Church was not catering to their radical and newfound ideologies. Notably, this difference in Christian faith has been witnessed in through literature and entertainment (Bergesen & Greeley 5). Books and movies have been released which show the difference in belief in such concepts as idolatry, sensuality, and forgiveness. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate the influence of books and movies in upholding the faith and belief system of Protestants and Catholics.
In the book, the authors explore the question of religious imagination and how religious concepts are portrayed in movies, one of the popular cultures in the modern society. The authors show that although the religious affiliations of movie producers are not consequential, some movies tend to align with specific religious ideologies (Bergesen & Greeley 5). In particular, the concept of God has been shown using various metaphors which associate this concept with people’s attitudes towards issues concerning life and death. Additionally, the authors give a social analysis of the different forms of imagery used in popular movies to represent religious concepts (Bergesen & Greeley 5). In this regard, an average person using the book can be able to tell the basis of religious concepts used in movies and the inclinations that these movies tend to have towards religious ideologies.
Although the movies we watched are meant for the general public, the religious ideologies and principles represented in them shows the difference in faith and belief between Protestants and Catholics. Field of Dreams and Stranger than Fiction show a Protestant perspective of religious imagination while Dogma and All that Jazz represent a Catholic perspective. In Field of Dreams, the theme of religion is represented by baseball where the main protagonist has to build a baseball field as per instructions given by a voice and visions. The movie’s themes of dedication, love, and forgiveness can be related to Protestant imagination in the fact that the protagonist hopes to have closure with his father who died when he was a child (Hann Paragraph 6). In the same way, Protestants believe that each individual has the opportunity to atone for their misgivings to God, who is the eternal and ever-loving Father. Similarly, Stanger than Fiction is based on a character who hears a voice that narrates his life as it happens. In protestant religious imagination, the voice can be compared to that of God which is continuously telling Christians what they have done in their lives and the areas to change (Ebert (a) Paragraph 6). Additionally, the main protagonist who has basically been forbidden to have any sort of love life, finds a woman who he falls in love with. The relationship is set up for failure because his life ends in the book, meaning he will die in real life as well. The choice between life and death is explored in the movie in relation to Protestantism where incidents such as Abraham’s willingness to kill his son upon the request of God are explored.
In contrast, Dogma represents the Catholic religious imagination of angels found on earth. Particularly, the movie focuses on two brothers who are angels banished from the heavens (Ebert (b) Paragraph 9). In Catholicism, angels play a crucial part in connecting human beings with God. Additionally, the representation of God as a human being goes hand-in-hand with some Catholic beliefs associated with God and Jesus Christ. The movie focuses on the concepts of sensuality and the presence of God in people’s lives (Ebert (b) Paragraph 11). Notably, this contrasts with the Protestantism perspective which does not focus on angels but rather on God himself manifested in the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). Moreover, All that Jazz depicts the Catholic religious imagination related to the struggles between death and living in a person’s life. Catholicism observed where the main character interacts with the Angel of Death (Canby Paragraph 11). What’s more, the movie shows the process of dying which Catholicism relates to every person. Protestantism goes against this belief since its ideology is based on God choosing the best time for a person to die, all for the glory of God (Canby Paragraph 11). Hence, both movies show a religious imagination in relation to loneliness, death, and a person’s destiny.
All in all, an analysis of the four movies shows that the points illustrated in God in the Movies are indeed used to represent religious concepts. The basis of the analysis has to be made in relation to Protestantism and Catholicism. While each movie is different, Field of Dreams and Stranger than Fiction are associated with Protestantism. On the other hand, Dogma and All that Jazz are associated with Catholicism. Hence, it can be observed that books and movies can have a significant influence in the lives of protestant and catholic Christians.