Beliefnet on PBS Board Enforcement of Bylaws: Should Religious Content Be Allowed?
The Rev. Barry Lynn wrote an interesting post about PBS's Board voting to enforce a ban on sectarian programming for its local stations this month, but exempting certain stations that air specifically sectarian religious programs. What Lynn does not address is advocacy for preferred religious teachings on shows that are otherwise secular. This is one of the loudest left-partisan hypocrisies where left-leaning executives wink at establishment clause violations so long as it suits their ideology or the religious perspectives of fellow partisans.
For example, on today's Sesame Street program rerun on my local PBS station, a muppet read a story as part of skit, concluding that "Cinderella joined a Yoga class and lived healthily ever after." Yoga is to Hinduism what the stations of the Cross are to Catholicism: a physical practice of the faith. Each practice is part of its respective religion's teachings, principles and belief system. While I saw Sesame Street depict a farm family's routine as including a dinner time prayer which was not clearly affiliated other than being monotheistic, this was incidental, whereas in its direct messaging to children, it advocates some religions as healthy and omits or revises others. That is an establishment clause issue where public funds go to support these programs and stations.
It is a problem with children's shows because those who are propagandists (not all of course) among PBS decision makers reason that adults who watch specific religious programming on some local stations have already made up their mind and the religious programming makes no difference to others. However, in the case of children's shows, PBS allows programming content which purports to know better than parents what religions are "healthy" and which are not. If the segment dialogue I related above said, "Cinderella was then baptized into Christ and lived healthily forever after," there would be an outrage about the establishment clause violation unless of course the programmers turned it into a parody or satire using other elements. Where is the liberal value of equality and fairness in honoring the law where PBS is concerned?
For those who are not Hindu or pagan, the Hindu and pagan insertions within Sesame Street are sad; Sesame Street otherwise has a great learning program, although some of it could be a bit less manic in pace.
The Yoga religious practices make their way into Sesame Street often. If the purpose was to encourage children to be physically fit, then why not advocate a form of physical fitness that doesn't also double as a religion? Baseball, gymnastics or tennis for example? These are fit sports and also teach focus. Otherwise, to be equal, fair and accommodating, shouldn't Sesame Street also air advocacy of each and every religious practice its viewers might hold sacred? Surely such a burdensome requirement illustrates why sneaking favored religious content into children's shows shouldn't be allowed in the first place.
If the Yoga advocated is merely for fitness, then I expect many will soon demand that the physically beneficial aspects of their respective faiths be equally represented on Sesame Street. Politicizing religion is bad enough. Doing it to kids using tax payer dollars is especially invasive.
For example, on today's Sesame Street program rerun on my local PBS station, a muppet read a story as part of skit, concluding that "Cinderella joined a Yoga class and lived healthily ever after." Yoga is to Hinduism what the stations of the Cross are to Catholicism: a physical practice of the faith. Each practice is part of its respective religion's teachings, principles and belief system. While I saw Sesame Street depict a farm family's routine as including a dinner time prayer which was not clearly affiliated other than being monotheistic, this was incidental, whereas in its direct messaging to children, it advocates some religions as healthy and omits or revises others. That is an establishment clause issue where public funds go to support these programs and stations.
It is a problem with children's shows because those who are propagandists (not all of course) among PBS decision makers reason that adults who watch specific religious programming on some local stations have already made up their mind and the religious programming makes no difference to others. However, in the case of children's shows, PBS allows programming content which purports to know better than parents what religions are "healthy" and which are not. If the segment dialogue I related above said, "Cinderella was then baptized into Christ and lived healthily forever after," there would be an outrage about the establishment clause violation unless of course the programmers turned it into a parody or satire using other elements. Where is the liberal value of equality and fairness in honoring the law where PBS is concerned?
For those who are not Hindu or pagan, the Hindu and pagan insertions within Sesame Street are sad; Sesame Street otherwise has a great learning program, although some of it could be a bit less manic in pace.
The Yoga religious practices make their way into Sesame Street often. If the purpose was to encourage children to be physically fit, then why not advocate a form of physical fitness that doesn't also double as a religion? Baseball, gymnastics or tennis for example? These are fit sports and also teach focus. Otherwise, to be equal, fair and accommodating, shouldn't Sesame Street also air advocacy of each and every religious practice its viewers might hold sacred? Surely such a burdensome requirement illustrates why sneaking favored religious content into children's shows shouldn't be allowed in the first place.
If the Yoga advocated is merely for fitness, then I expect many will soon demand that the physically beneficial aspects of their respective faiths be equally represented on Sesame Street. Politicizing religion is bad enough. Doing it to kids using tax payer dollars is especially invasive.
