One approach to infusing religion
in a film is to utilize a secular lens to keep overt religious content hidden such
that only its messages that can be stated in a secular way come through. The
basic values of a religion can be transmitted without specific religious
belief-claims possibly turning off some viewers. Given the mass audience that a
typical film can reach, the medium is a good means for presenting people with
values that come out of religion but have their own intrinsic worth apart from
the related religious belief-claims. Film can play a role, therefore, in
enabling the values of a religion to survive the religion’s downfall. From
watching the film, A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood (2019), a viewer would not know that Fred Rogers was an
ordained Presbyterian minister. His wife says at one point in the film that
Fred reads scripture and prays daily, but that is the only clue in the film
that his religious faith is the source of his motivation for and messages on
his show, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.”
The full essay is at "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."
