Current television programming is said to becoming increasingly secular, encouraging religious traditions and beliefs less and less. Few characters of either daytime or primetime programs are shown to have a deep, meaningful, religious faith. To the casual viewer, daytime soap operas are certainly products of secularized television, as characters are shown to be dishonest, vengeful, and unfaithful beings.
College junior Rachel Mendelson discovered, during her internship on the ABC soap opera All My Children, that religion seem to be a subject that is avoided. Mendelson, during her work term, was challenged with creating her own soap opera. Having a background in Judaic Studies, she wished to incorporate this faith into her show somehow. Mendelson had difficulty doing so because she says, "religion really is not discussed or addressed very much."
If, however, one looks a little more closely at soap operas, religious content can be found. While characters are not often guided by their religious faith, many do suggest that they try to follow the moral teachings of their particular religion. In both "Days of our Lives" and "Passions," Christianity appears to be the faith that is most often the basis for religious themes.
|
