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June 14th, 2013
04:05 PM ET
Superman: Flying to a church near youBy Eric Marrapodi, Co-Editor CNN Belief Blog Baltimore, Maryland (CNN) - As the new Superman movie takes flight this weekend, filmmakers are hoping the Man of Steel lands not only in theaters, but also in pulpits. Warner Bros. Studios is aggressively marketing "Man of Steel" to Christian pastors, inviting them to early screenings, creating Father’s Day discussion guides and producing special film trailers that focus on the faith-friendly angles of the movie. The movie studio even asked a theologian to provide sermon notes for pastors who want to preach about Superman on Sunday. Titled “Jesus: The Original Superhero,” the notes run nine pages. “How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the greatest hero who ever lived and died and rose again?” the sermon notes ask.  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey on the set of "The Bible," the 10-hour miniseries Burnett produced and directed.
March 2nd, 2013
11:00 PM ET
Reality TV Goliath takes up Bible miniseries challenge, hopes for better outcomeBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - Mark Burnett is the king of reality television. His shows and spinoffs command hours of prime-time television real estate. The seal of his production company One Three Media appears at the end of “Survivor,” “The Voice,” “The Apprentice,” “Shark Tank,” “The Job” and “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” He will tell you each show was No. 1 in the time slot. He will tell you he will take on all comers in his bare-knuckle, ratings-driven world and beat them. He will tell you on any given day he has 150 video-editing systems churning through edits on his dossier, which spans the three major broadcast networks. But if you suggest he may not have the chops to take on a massive scripted dramatic presentation of the Bible as a 10-hour miniseries, his eyes will tell you he wants to throttle you. My bad. Burnett and wife, Roma Downey, have been barnstorming the country like roving preachers on horseback trying to evangelize the West. Their gospel is spreading the news of “The Bible” - their ambitious project that aims to tell the story of the Bible in 10 installments. It begins its weeklong premiere on the History Channel Sunday night.  Riaad Moosa has been known to crack jokes on the death of Osama bin Laden and his experiences of being singled out for searches at airport security.
November 14th, 2012
05:42 AM ET
Comic talks Muslim humor and IslamophobiaBy Robyn Curnow, CNN (CNN) - If laughter is the best medicine then few are more qualified to offer a prescription than Riaad Moosa. The South African comic-turned-movie-actor is a fully trained doctor, but it's his Indian heritage and Muslim faith that provide the basis for his stand-up material. "I'm a comedian who happens to be Muslim [and] my comedy stems on all forms of my identity," he says. FULL STORY The authors note that Jesus jokes have become popular just since the 1970s.
November 10th, 2012
10:00 PM ET
My Take: What all those Jesus jokes tell us
By Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey, Special to CNN Did you ever hear the one about Jesus being Mexican? Well, he was bilingual; he was constantly harassed by the government; and his first name was Jesus. Or, perhaps Jesus was Irish? He loved a good story; he never kept a steady job; and his last request was for a drink. Or maybe it’s possible that Jesus was Californian? He never cut his hair; he was always walking around barefoot; and he started a new religion. You may not have heard these Jesus jokes, but you’ve heard others. They represent a comedic trend that has animated the United States since the 1970s. More and more comedy gimmicks hit on Jesus, his ethnicity and his relationship to politics. Laughing with (and at) the Lord is now fodder for major motion pictures, barroom comedy tours, graphic novels, t-shirts and bumper stickers.  Actor Samuel Larsen, second from left, on "The Glee Project."
May 11th, 2012
08:54 AM ET
My Take: Gays are coming out on TV. Christians are, too
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN The New York Times reports this week that gays and lesbians are now commonplace on hit television shows. But Christians are coming out of the closet and onto our television sets, too. “Glee” may feature a gay couple (Kurt and Blaine), a lesbian couple (Santana and Brittany), and a transgender character (Unique), but it also includes the God Squad, a group of Christians that meet in school and struggle with the demands of their faith. On the first season of “The Glee Project,” a reality show that trolls for talent to feature on “Glee,” actor Samuel Larsen won a seven-episode role in part because of a tattoo on his chest quoting from Psalm 18 (“I will love thee O Lord my strength”). Larsen, who also sports long dreadlocks, obviously has that elusive “it” factor, but one reason he won "The Glee Project" was that "Glee" executive producer Ryan Murphy wanted to feature a Christian character on the show.  Actor Marshall Allman, who plays Don Miller in “Blue Like Jazz” film, with actress, Claire Holt, who plays “Penny.”
March 9th, 2012
05:00 AM ET
Donald Miller’s ‘Blue Like Jazz’ film set to openBy John Blake, CNN Raw, gritty, with some foul language - not the typical description of a Christian film. Yet that’s how some are describing the upcoming movie “Blue Like Jazz.” The film, based on a bestselling coming-of-age Christian memoir of the same name, is scheduled to premiere Saturday at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. “Blue Like Jazz” follows a pious, 19-year-old sophomore at a Texas college who decides to flee his conservative religious upbringing by transferring to one of the most liberal college campuses in America.
February 18th, 2012
05:38 PM ET
My Take: Houston funeral brings world inside black church
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Whitney Houston gave a lot of gifts to the world. She gave us the best rendition ever of "The Star-Spangled Banner." She gave us “I Will Always Love You.” But Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, where as a girl she sang in the choir, she gave us a church service — a chance for people of all races to see what church looks like inside the community that gave Houston (and us) her voice. “There are more stars here than the Grammys,” said Houston’s music director, Rickey Minor, and the service did feature pop star Stevie Wonder and music mogul Clive Davis, among others. But so much of popular music started in the black church, and today the black church talked back. CNN's Belief Blog – all the faith angles to the day's top stories In other words, this was an unapologetically Christian service, replete with references to salvation and “amazing grace,” where even the pop stars were transformed into gospel singers. People crossed themselves. They raised their hands to heaven. And the congregation kept shouting back: “Yes!” and “That’s it!” and “Praise the Lord!” 
December 13th, 2011
09:02 PM ET
In outrage over Lowe's controversy, moderation is drowned outBy Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) - Lowe's knows that it opened Pandora's box when the company "managed to step into a hotly contested debate" by pulling its advertising from the reality TV show "All-American Muslim." "Lowe's has received a significant amount of communication on this program, from every perspective possible," it said in a statement. "Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views." But "communication to the company" was far from the start of it. Almost anyone with an opinion, from bloggers to commentators and Twitters users, aired diverging views. And though the viewpoints getting the most coverage were from those with the biggest platforms, there is growing sentiment online that what Lowe's did was wrong but allowable.  Samira Amen, who's featured in "All-American Muslim."
December 10th, 2011
09:10 PM ET
Lowe's pulls ads from 'All-American Muslim' after 'ordinary' portrayal protestedBy James Hibberd, Entertainment Weekly (Entertainment Weekly) - A TLC reality show offering a positive portrayal of Muslim life has come under protest and at least one advertiser has pulled its support. Hardware store giant Lowe’s has yanked ads from the series after the Florida Family Association encouraged members to email the program’s advertisers. “The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish,” the group said about the show, a docu-soap chronicling everyday Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan that debuted last month. “Clearly this program is attempting to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to influence them to believe that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show.” FULL STORY Vocal Point performs on NBC's the Sing Off with host Nick Lachey.
December 8th, 2011
01:33 PM ET
The Mormon group – whether they like it or notBy Dan Merica, CNN (CNN) - When Shane Wright met with members of Vocal Point, a Brigham Young University a cappella group that was considering competing on NBC's singing show "The Sing Off," the main question he had for the nine male students had nothing to do with their singing talent. Wright, the artist manager at BYU, wanted to know if the team was prepared to not only represent themselves and their school but to be viewed through the audience's understanding of Mormonism. "I went around the room and asked the guys, how would you handle this or that type of question or situation," Wright said. "In our meeting we discussed several scenarios. I wanted to get them thinking about various situations before they were put in the fire." |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke and Eric Marrapodi with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.  |
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Editor’s note: 
Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.
