Summary: A self-proclaimed "freelance monotheist," Karen Armstrong is on a mission to bring compassion, the heart of religion, as she sees it, back into modern life. In this edition of the Journal, Bill Moyers sits down with Armstrong for a nuanced discussion of her Charter for Compassion initiative, a global call for all people-religious and non-religious alike-to apply the Golden Rule in their...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Amish rarely allow themselves to be photographed or filmed, yet several members of the isolated religious community agreed to appear in this eye-opening documentary. Filmed on location in Pennsylvania and Ohio Amish country, the program goes beyond stereotypes and common misconceptions, presenting a fully human portrait of a misunderstood people. Interviews with Amish men and women-some...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Out in the streets of more than 100 countries, The Salvation Army is at war. Its zealous officers, soldiers, and adherents fight daily battles to minister both spiritually and physically to homeless addicts and the desperately poor-people whose lives have hit rock bottom. Filmed at The Salvation Army Gateway, a shelter and drop-in center in Toronto, this powerful program spotlights the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The path Steven Rockefeller has taken on his intellectual and spiritual journey would very likely surprise his great-grandfather, the tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Sr. A convert to Buddhism, Steven Rockefeller has been teaching Religion at Middlebury College in Vermont for almost 20 years. Centering on what he calls "the democratic reconstruction of religion," Rockefeller has steeped himself in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Many who followed the Terri Schiavo case struggled to make sense of the flurry of opinions it generated. This NewsHour program, recorded during the last days of Terri Shiavo's life, presents two opposing yet thoroughly reasoned perspectives on the issues. Beth Israel Medical Center neurologist Dr. Russell Portenov explains the medical justification for removing the feeding tube, while Dr....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Car thief, heroin addict, drug dealer-how can a person escape a life like that? This ABC News program examines the life-changing friendship between Merrill "The Doctor" Jackson and the Rev. Joann Muller-the first, a criminal from the streets of Philadelphia; the second, a Christian minister determined to change him. Using intimate interviews and footage of crime-infested neighborhoods, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In the years since the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of abortion, the political scene has changed dramatically enough to threaten this landmark decision. On the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this ABC News program surveys the current landscape of opinion and political alignment, examining the shift of momentum concerning abortion rights. Correspondent Dave Marash reports from Minnesota,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Confronting one of the most complex and potentially divisive issues on the American cultural landscape, this ABC News program examines the intellectual and political forces that support the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. The video focuses on the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that has generated widespread enthusiasm-and criticism-for making I.D. part of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The implementation of the 1996 welfare reform act's Charitable Choice provision has proved controversial in the extreme. In this program, supporters and opponents alike give a clear sense of what is at stake as they examine the application of Charitable Choice in Indiana, Massachusetts, and North Carolina-states with distinctly different political cultures and religious landscapes. These...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As common courtesy becomes less common and good taste is all but a contradiction of terms, Americans continue to push the envelope of socially acceptable behavior. Does the Golden Rule still apply, or are people too busy to care about the feelings of others? This program probes the apparent erosion of decorum in the United States, which has had a profound impact on respect for authority, trust...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Using nightmare images from America's past-the noose, the lynching tree, and other emblems of cruelty-Dr. James Cone sheds light on the lingering presence of hatred and terror in our national consciousness. Cone, a Union Theological Seminary professor and author of the highly acclaimed God of the Oppressed, talks with Bill Moyers about the meaning of these and other symbols.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Leila Ahmed, professor of women's studies at Amherst, argues the case for revision of the widely-held views in the Islamic world about the role of women, using examples from history and the role played by women in the contemporary world. She explains the origin of the veil, and discusses the issue of marriage and women's rights within marriage.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the controversy over intelligent design and science education heats up, open-minded discussion about the issue can be in short supply. This ABC News program sorts through arguments on both sides, examines the debate in the context of America's larger political climate, and explores its fundamental questions: Are evolution and I.D. incompatible? Is exposure to both ideas harmful or beneficial...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Are advocates of the intelligent design theory really creationists in disguise? To what extent has the I.D. argument widened America's cultural divide? And if a clear winner emerges, who loses? This program thoroughly examines those questions, describing the theory's quasi-scientific origins and documenting the Pennsylvania court battle over teaching I.D. in biology classes. A historical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program takes a penetrating look at what is happening to American culture as honesty comes to be measured less by truthfulness and more by the reasons for lying and the degree of deception involved. What is to become of a society in which professional ethicists are required to help companies recapture a culture of integrity, a role previously reserved for religion? Experts include Laura...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Throughout history, homosexuality has been censured by some of the world's major religions-and often punished to the severest degree. This program studies the scriptures and doctrines of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to understand why, and then contrasts their stances with those of Hinduism, Sikhism, and the Rome of Hadrian. A compassionate and compelling discussion of gay marriage and child...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: An opaque veil, gloved hands, and long black flowing garments-these are among the images that Westerners most commonly associate with Iranian women. In this program, National Geographic photographer Alexandra Avakian sets out to dispel long-held stereotypes as she ventures behind the veils of women in Iran, ultimately discovering a tough and spirited female community. The New York City native...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: In 2005, a handful of Danish cartoons sparked a worldwide debate over freedom of expression-and the freedom to express religious outrage. Was a violent Islamic backlash against caricatures of the prophet Mohammed justified? Can democracy and fundamentalism coexist in the global community? This program travels to Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as to France and Denmark, in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Prehistoric art often renders animals in spiritual, even divine, form-but primitive beast images can also reflect a degree of humanity. This program sifts through the complexity of the animal-god concept, identifying the place of the lion, the giraffe, the wolf, the elephant, and many other creatures in a wide range of myths and religions. With detailed observations of sculpture, carvings, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Part three of the series From Jesus to Christ follows the story of the first attempts to record the life of Jesus: the Gospels. The Gospels were products of social and religious reconstruction in the period after the war, ranging from roughly 70 to 100 CE The program looks at how these stories were passed down before they were written, and how the writing of each Gospel reflects the experiences...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1998
View online at AVOD
Summary: In many Middle Eastern countries, honor is so highly prized that it is considered more valuable than life itself. This program examines the code of conduct that makes each woman a sacred vessel of her family's honor-and the practice of atoning for any family member's breach of that code with her blood. Scholars, judges, and clergymen discuss the culturally sanctioned practice of "honorable...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although they may not look exactly like their counterparts in China, North America's Chinese Buddhist temples are closely linked to them through symbolism and traditions that go back more than 1,500 years. This video looks at structural symmetry, north/south building orientation, and interior layout; architectural elements like pagodas, columns, and courtyards; the lotus flower as a design...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As controversy swirls around the issue of same-sex marriage, gay and lesbian couples in North America and abroad are speaking out for the right to marry. Filmed in British Columbia after the legalization of same-sex unions, this program introduces the victorious litigants, who share their views on marriage, religious and political opposition, child adoption, and, most of all, love. Interviews...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Is polygamy a degrading and harmful practice that only benefits men, or a misunderstood aspect of American subculture that deserves a break? This ABC News program gives the subject careful attention by interviewing women with widely varying polygamist experiences. Some practitioners portray it as a healthy institution that eliminates jealousy and isolation. Another woman condemns it, recounting...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006