| Religious Themes & Beliefs in Days of our Lives |
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| Days of our Lives fills its storylines with love, lust, tragedy, greed, and vengeance - the basic ingredients of any soap opera. However, the writers also manage to incorporate religious beliefs and the concept of God on a regular basis. This may be seen through the morals of characters or through religious ceremonies that often occur in Salem. |
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| "How can I have faith in a God who's letting my brother get taken away?" |
| In one particular episode (May 1, 2002) of Days of our Lives, Hope and Bo Brady have to say good-bye to their son J.T. who has turned out to be the biological child of another man, Glen Reiber (J.T. was switched with Hope's biological child at birth). Shawn-Douglas, the oldest son of Hope and Bo, must now let his little brother go. As the family gathers to await Glen's arrival to take J.T. to another state, most try to use their faith in God to bring them through this tragic time. Shawn (Bo's stepfather, Shawn-D's grandfather): Caroline and I talked on the way over about what we could do to make this day easier. Some of us are deeply angry with God right now for allowing J.T. to be taken away from this family, but as my wife reminded me, we have so much to be grateful for. Will everyone join hands as we offer up a prayer of thanks? Shawn (praying): Thank you Lord, for the blessing of John Thomas Brady in our lives. All of us here have loved the hours that we've been with the little guy, and now, today, J.T. is going to a new family. Doug (Hope's father): It's a lot to ask for us to be happy for them, isn't it? Caroline (Bo's mother): Well, everybody in this room, younger or older, can remember a day when God seem to be asking the impossible of us. For Shawn and me, our faith got us through that. Of course, faith isn't so fashionable these days, but...when your heart is breaking, faith is the rock you cling to. Shawn-D: How can I have faith in a God who's letting my brother get taken away? As seen in this dialogue, Shawn and Caroline, Shawn D's grandparents, have an unshakeable faith in God. Their faith is only strengthened during difficult times. Shawn-Douglas, however, has a much harder time finding hope in God now that he is losing his little brother. This scenario repeats itself years later when Shawn-D's half-sister Chelsea accidently kills Zack (Hope and Bo's biological child) while driving Bo's SUV. Shawn-D becomes angered with God for letting such a tragedy happen. Mimi Lockhart (then his girlfriend, now his ex-wife) uses her stronger faith in God to comfort Shawn-D. Shawn-D: The only thing I need is for Zack to be okay for God to leave us alone! Mimi: You don't mean that. You're just upset. Why don't we go to the chapel? Shawn-D: And what? And pray and everything is gonna be okay? I don't buy it anymore! This particular storyline especially illustrates certain characters' (Alice, Hope, Mimi) unwavering dedication to God while contrasting their faith to Shawn D's lack thereof. Throughout this storyline, however, Shawn-D does again find solace in God as he learns that Zack's liver will be used to save his goddaughter, Claire's life. *** Caroline: Alice would you like go to the chapel and join Kate and Victor to pray for the baby? Alice: I think God can hear me just fine from here. |
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| Shawn-D (to Belle, his goddaughter's mother): She's got to make it, right? God wouldn't be that cruel. |
| "Oh my God, what if I accidentally killed my own little brother? I would never be able to forgive myself. Bo and Hope... they'd go ballistic." |
| Faith in the Wake of a Tragedy |
| Religious Ceremonies & Rituals |
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| On Days of our Lives, all marriages are conducted by a priest or minister. Not all take place within the physical church but all can be said to be religious ceremonies. In a recent wedding (that didn't actually go to completion, of course), Sami Brady vowed, in the eyes of God, to love her husband-to-be Austin. Sami, a known villaness, is even too overcome by a betrayal she has committed against Austin to allow the wedding to continue. She knew that she had to be truthful, even mentioning that she had "sinned against the church." When couples decide to be married on Days of our Lives, it is not uncommon for many of them to mention their desire to be united in the eyes of God. This demonstrates, on the part of the writers, an effort to incorporate traditional religious beliefs into the show. In another recent episode, Shawn-D and Mimi were married in a ceremony performed by Father Jansen, Salem's Catholic priest. Mimi, a holder of strong morals and relgious beliefs, soon afterward feels guilty about keeping a secret from her new husband and goes to see Father Jansen in Confessional. Upon telling the priest that she has been lying to Shawn about his goddaughter's true paternity, Father Jansen tells Mimi that "in the eyes of God, you and Shawn are not married." However, in typical soap opera fashion, Mimi gives not into her moral convictions rather continues to lie to her husband until the truth comes out and their marriage crumbles. Confession is another popular tradition Salemites like to partake of. Catholicism seeming to be the denomination of choice, characters often hurry off to Confessional to rid themselves of any guilt caused by a wrongdoing. At the end of a storyline involving his wife being brainwashed by Dr. Alex North, John Black murders the doctor and then feels the need to confess to the priest. Confession is also popular with the younger people of Salem. Chelsea Benson, having successfully broken up her father's marriage to Hope, struggles with guilt and opts to go to Confessional to quiet her conscience. By writing Confession into the show, the writers show that amidst the murder, revenge, greed, and lust, soap opera characters do have morals and religious convictions and that they try (however little) to abide by them. |
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| "I can't go through with this, Austin, I'm sorry." |