Page 111 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

100 Articulating culture in the media age

Glenn: . . . the biggest problem I see today in our society when it comes to
men mentoring boys is that we do not have . . . as an Aboriginal family
would . . . a tradition. Aborigines have a coming out party like a bar
mitzvah. They say, “Son, you are going to be a man if you do this
walk . . . and you do this.”... I think the problem is for Americans that
we do not have something like a rite of passage that teaches our boys....
Most boys don’t know they are men until their dad says, “I’m really
proud of you son, now you are a man.” A lot of those boys do not get
that affirmation ever or their dad is passed away or they are still searching
for that “Dad, am I a man? You never really told me I was a man?”

One of the challenges of this research is to get people to begin talking
about media in relation to religion and values. Glenn’s fundamental posi-
tion on media is to be critical, saying at one point that the media are
entirely secular and therefore only about “the almighty dollar.” He feels
they have “a tremendous role in how kids look at where they are in
society.” And, “I think the media is very slanted in their politics, their
views. They have an agenda they want to push and they are so . . . just out
there. I firmly believe they are not in touch with reality.”
In an earlier interview, Glenn has said some things about one television
program in particular, and the interviewer raises this with him, particularly
the fact that he has identified Touched by an Angel as a good program, but
not “in terms of actual spirituality.” She asks him what he means by this.

Glenn: Well, I think what the show did was that it gave you the sense that
there was a greater, higher being and that there are ways to make
moral, good decisions. But that isn’t all there is to spirituality.
Spirituality is multiplicity. I think the show itself didn’t go that deep. It
was an overview that would give you an indication. If you were sitting
on the fence you might go “Gosh, there are good people out there and
maybe I can find that peace that comes from making a decision.” . . .
It is almost “goody-two-shoes.” There is a big difference between that
and spirituality. Spirituality is very, very, to me, deep and exudes from
the inside out and it is something you don’t get from a TV or a book.
To me, it is a relationship with the Lord. It is a personal relationship
with Him. . . . I feel good when I read some books that are along those
lines, but true spirituality is a relationship that you share with Him
that really penetrates you inside in the deepest parts of you. Whereas
the book can only give me book knowledge and say, you can look at
life this way and that is kind of spiritual or here’s some spiritual notes
for you to take and keep in mind.

The clear indication is that, for Glenn, faith and spirituality are deeply
connected with “a decision” (indicative of his Evangelical faith) and with a