Religion

2000 Years of Freedom and Honor: the Cochin Jews of India (80 min.)
DS135.I62S64 2000
Summary: Explores the religious, cultural and economic life of the Cochini Jews in their native India, even as we follow the younger generation to a new life as Israelis.

Among the Non-believers (49 min.)
BP 42.L585 1993 v.5
Summary: Asks whether Muslims suffer particular discrimination or difficulties living outside the Muslim world, compared to other minorities. And does life in a secular society compromise their faith?

Ancient Civilizations. Ancient India (47 min.)
DS425 .A75
Summary: This program examines the religious tension between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, and the historical events that shaped the great Indian civilizations from the Morian Empire through the Mogul Empire.

Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage (30 Min.)
BQ6450.J32 B47 1992
Summary: In the 17th century the followers of Kobo Daishi began to trace the footsteps of their beloved saint. Along the way, they dedicated temples to him, eighty eight of them in all. This holy journey became known as the pilgrimage of the eighty eight sacred places of Shidodu. This documentary is about this pilgrimage.

Candle in the Wind (58 min.)
BL940.S65C36
Summary: Documents the struggle and survival of Christians, Jews, and Muslims inside the U.S.S.R. in the twentieth century. Includes rare archival and smuggled footage of persons engaged in religious practices and interviews with Soviet officials, dissidents, and Western experts on Soviet affairs.

China, the Spiritual Fugitives (15 min.)
BP605.F34 C55 2002
Summary: Examines the controversy surrounding the Falun Gong religious organization in China. Adherents claim that their practices are good for the mind and body, while the government claims that Falun Gong is a dangerous, obsessive devotion.

Days of Awe in Argentina (55 min.)
F3021.J5D39 1987
Summary: A history of Argentine Jewry, counterbalanced with their current battles with anti-Semitism, assimilation and loss of Jewish identity. Focuses on the Jewish communities in Moisés Ville and Buenos Aires.

Dreams of Tibet (60 min.)
DS786 .D74 1997
Summary: Journalist Orville Schell explores the West's recent interest in Tibet and its growing awareness of an endangered religious and cultural heritage. Includes excerpts of several Hollywood feautre film interpretations of Tibet.

Exile: The Dalai Lama (60 min.)
BQ7935.B777 A76 2002
Summary: This documentary focuses on the Dalai Lama's attempts to perpetuate the Tibetan culture. Includes an exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama plus rare footage of his trips to refugee camps in India and Pakistan.

The Experience of God (56min.)
BL266 .M98 2000 vol.2
Summary: Joseph Campbell demonstrates how Tibetan Buddhists make a spiritual exercise from the ritual experience of death. Traces the stages of the Tibetan Book of the dead.

Eyes Wide Open (63 min.)
DS132 .E94 2008
Summary: Filmmaker Paula Weiman-Kelman follows a diverse group of American Jews on their first trips to Israel, many of whom find themselves radically changed by the experience.

The Falashas (29 min.)
DS135.E75F35 1987
Summary: A study of the social and religious life and customs of Ethiopian Jewry. Views Jewish ritual and practice as observed for generations in isolation: circumcision, Kashrut, the Sabbath, Torah study, and prayer. More recently, some young people are sent to Israel to make a living and later help family members establish a home.

A Harmony of Great Religions (28 min.)
BL1975 .H37
Summary: Looks at the variety of religions found on the island of Taiwan, such as Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism.

The Image of God (27 min.)
DS36.8.A72 1991 pt.3
Summary: Bill Moyers interviews Afaf Marsot, professor of Near and Middle Eastern history at UCLA, Yvonne Haddad, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts, and Michael Suleiman, political science professor at Kansas State University. They discuss the role of religion and religions in Arab society and also Islamic fundamentalism and the media's portrayal of that religious group.

Islam, Empire of Faith. The awakening (56 min.)
BP55 .I8522 2000
Summary: Examines the spread of Islam and the Islamic Empire following the death of Muhammad. Illustrates the artistic, architectural, scientific, and medical advances. Describes the Crusades and the Mongol invasion.

Islam, Empire of faith. The messenger (56 min.)
BP55 .I852 2000
Summary:Examines the life of Muhammad, the revelation, the writing of the Qur'an, creation of the first mosque, and the persecutions and early battles of the first Muslims.

Islam, Empire of Faith. The Ottomans (56 min.)
BP55 .I8523 2000
Summary: Examines how the Islamic Empire was transformed by the Mongol invasions and the emergence of the Ottomans, and Süleyman the Magnificent.

Islamic Mysticism: The Sufi Way (26 min.)
BP189.I38 1997
Summary: Traces the history of Islam and shows ruins of its empire which stretched from India to Spain. Presents the rituals, dance, art, music, and philosophy of Sufism, which some consider the heart of Islam.

Jerusalem: Between Heaven and Earth (156 min.)
DS109.9.J455 1997 pt. 1-3
Summary: Explores the history, religion and politics of Jerusalem as seen through the eyes of three major faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Kiryas Joel (60min.)
LC3575.K57K579 1994
Summary: Ed Bradley reports on the public school controversy in the controversy is about whether or not New York State's legislature has the right to establish a separate and distinct public school district in the Satmar Village of Kiryas Joel to meet the unique special population.

Legacy of the spirits (52 min.)
BL2490.L44 1990z
Summary: Describes the religion of voodooism and gives an account of its history in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. Filmed in New York, the work contains interviews with participants and depictions of ceremonies.

Life and Liberty-- for All Who Believe (28 min.)
HM271.L52
Summary: Discusses the importance of the basic American value of freedom as well as religion in our lives. Examines groups that may be using freedom to destroy freedom and emphasizes the fundamental belief that in order to protect one's own rights the rights of others must be protected.

Living Islam (6 videocassettes, 49 min. each)
BP42 .L58 1993
Summary: This six part series is about Islam as a living idea and how that idea is lived by Muslims in today’s world. It explores the history, the faith and the culture of Islam.
Pt.1: Foundations
Pt.2: The Challenge of the Past
Pt.3: Struggling with Modernity
Pt.4: Paradise Lives at the Feet of the Mother
Pt.5: Among the Non-Believers
Pt.6: The Last Crusade

A Month for the Entertainment of Spirits: African-Guyanese Spiritualist Ceremonies (29 min.)
F1435.1.C39 M39 1995
Summary: Documents the rituals practiced by Blacks who follow the "cumfa" religion, which is based on dancing, drumming, and spirit possession and is influenced by African and Christian traditions. During August (the month in which Guyanese slaves were emancipated), descendants of Yoruba ex-slaves engage in libation ceremonies to communicate with their ancestors. Three other ceremonies are also documented.

Nazrah: A Muslim Woman’s Perspective (55 min)
HQ1170 .N39 2003
Summary: A diverse group of Muslim women living in the Pacific Northwest discuss their views on Islam, Islam’s image in the popular culture, and their feelings about women in Islamic culture.

The Need to Know (47 min.)
BL458.N44 1997
Summary: Looks at the religious attitudes that support denied access to education for women and examines what the world has lost by excluding women from the intellectual loop. From the series Women, a true story

Paper Clips (84 min.)
D804.33 .P37 2006
Summary: Students at Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee attempt to collect 6 million paper clips as part of a school project on the Holocaust.
Special features (disc 2, 60 min.): 1 bonus scene ("A Sabbath lesson at Ground Zero"); 2 additional interviews (with Holocaust survivors Bernard Igelski & Rachel Gleitman); bonus interview excerpts; 4 extended scenes ("Whitwell Post Office : ’Something’s going on over here!’"; "The railcar’s journey to Whitwell"; "Whitwell churches : ’It doesn’t matter which one you belong to--’"; "Dedication of the Children’s Holocaust Memorial").

Point of Attack (23 min.)
JV6483 .P65 2004
Summary: Looks at the U.S. government’s policy since September 11, 2001 towards immigrants from Middle Eastern and South Asian countries that are predominantly Muslim. Charges that the compulsory registration of men from these countries and the mass detention and deportation of Muslim immigrants are discriminatory actions based on religion.

Rama ke nama = In the name of God (95 min.)
BL2015.P57R25 1994
Summary: Focuses on the campaign of the fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishap (VHP) to raze a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya and build a Hindu temple on the spot that they claim was the birth place of Ram. Through interviews and commentary, this documentary examines the religious and political conflict that eventually led to the mosque's destruction in 1992, and ensuing religious violence which left 5,000 dead and caused thousands of Muslims to flee India.

Religion, A World History
This ten-part series examines religion from spiritual, historical, social, and political viewpoints. From the roots of various belief systems to New Age religious practices, each program outlines a particular aspect of humankind’s quest for spiritual fulfillment. 10-part series, 51-59 minutes each. (from Films for Humanities and Science web-site)

Pt.1: The Roots of Belief: Animism to Abraham, Moses, and Buddha (51 min.)
BL80.2 .R668 2003
Summary: The first part of the ten-part series Religion, a world history. Neanderthals begin burying their dead in sepulchers that simulate their huts in an attempt to connect with the spiritual world. When God first speaks to Abraham, he becomes the father of three great religions: Judaism, and subsequently Christianity and Islam. Moses leads the children of Israel out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Buddha, "The Awakened One," teaches humans to transcend their worldly desires. This program traces these stories, and their inevitable path toward the institutionalization of religious practice.

Pt.2: The three pillars: Confucius, Jesus, and Mohammed (54 min.)
BL48 .T57 2003
Summary: The second part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. This program studies the identities of the founders of Confucianism, Christianity, and Islam. Discusses: how the tenets of Confucianism spread to the Chinese social and political structure, and the principles of yin and yang. Analyzes the significance of Jesus as a for Christians. Examines Muammad and the religion he created as codified in the Koran. Discusses how intrinsic temples, churches, and mosques are to the practice of each religion.

Pt.3: Testament: the early church and the Jewish Diaspora (52 min.)
BR165 .T47 2003
Summary: Traces the birth of Christianity through the Acts of the Apostles, to the development of the first Christian communities. Examines the Jewish diaspora from ancient times to the present and provides a historical perspective on political events in Israel and the Middle East.

Pt.4: Crescent and cross: rise of Islam and age of Crusades (58 min.)
BR270 .C74 2004
Summary: The fourth part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. This program portrays the Crusades as a response to the rapid rise of Islam. It looks at various orders of Christian monks and their role in the preservation of religious, artistic, and cultural aspects of civilization. The Inquisition – the Church's response to the rise of heresy and the practice of witchcraft and magic in the Middle Ages -- illustrates the ultimate in religious intolerance.

Pt.5: Reformation: Luther and the Protestant Revolt (52 min.)
BR305 .R44 2004
Summary: The fifth part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. This program traces the history of the Protestant Reformation, the path of its founder, Martin Luther, and the subsequent rise of sects including Calvinism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, and Methodism. Topics discussed include the Council of Trent, the renewal of Catholicism in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the rise of religious orders founded by St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Vincent de Paul.

Pt.6: Sacred Space: Art, Architecture and the Role of the State (58 min.)
BR270 .S23 2004
Summary: The sixth part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. Roman, Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo religious art, along with Christian iconograpy, are examined as reflections of the religious and political attitudes of the periods in which they were created. This program also examines the role of the Christian Orthodox Church and the schism of 1054 that permanently divided its members, the degree of reverence accorded to Mary as Christ's mother by Catholics and Protestants is compared, and relations between church and state.

Pt.7: Holy days: Christian and Jewish Feasts and Rituals (59 min.)
BC590 .H65 2003
Summary: The seventh part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. Christmas, Easter, Passover, Yom Kippur, Bar or Bas Mitzvah, and other significant feasts and rituals of the Christian and Jewish faiths are discussed in this program. Jesus is shown as the role model for Christian behavior as exhibited by the early martyrs and saints. Protestantism's rejection of saints as religious icons is examined. The spiritual characters of specific modern "saints," including Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Sister Emmanuelle, are examined.

Pt.8: A Separate Peace: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Shintoism (53 min.)
BL80.2 .S47 2003
Summary: The eighth part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. This program examines the structure and major tenets of these four eastern religious philosophies. The role of the spiritual master in Hinduism is defined, and the belief in transcendental power and a multitude of deities is explained. The history of Buddhism is traced from the 6th century BC. Reincarnation and nonviolence are discussed as major beliefs. Chinese Taoism, especially its stress on the equilibrium of forces, is examined. Shintoism, a Japanese religion, is presented as a form of animism in which nature is composed of a multitude of deities: the kami. Shintoism's coexistence in Japan with Buddhism is explained as follows: "Shintoism is in charge of birth and marriage; Buddhism is in charge of death."

Pt.9: Changing Christianity: From Schism to Ecumenism (55 min.)
BR477 .C43 2003
Summary: The ninth part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. The French Revolution explodes, and the Church, at the center of the controversy, must redefine its relationship with political power. This program focuses on religious controversy throughout the ages to the 19th century, when Christianity finds a new vitality and having paved the way for modern Catholicism, and the Protestant Ecumenical movement, also of the 1960s, is credited with reconciliation among the various Christian denominations.

Pt.10: Different Paths: Shamanism, Cults, and Religion on Demand (57 min.)
BL80.2 .D54 2003
Summary: The last part of the ten-part series Religion: a world history. In animism, good and bad spirits exercise an influence on humans. The shaman communes with the spirits in order to heal his tribal constituency. These and other less traditional beliefs, practices, and rituals are the topics of this program. Millenarianism is discussed as a nostalgic belief in a 1,000-year reign of the saints either before, or immediately after, the return of Christ. Astrology is examined as a New Age religious tool, and the upsurge in New Age religions is attributed to modern disillusionment with organized religion.

Religion, Rap and the Crisis of Black Leadership (28 min.)
E185.615.R39 1994
Summary: Bill Moyers interviews activist, author and teacher Cornel West about the state of African-American society, its struggle for liberty, and its living, vibrant traditions.

The Right to be Mohawk (17 min.)
E99.M8R53 1989
Summary: Presents the Mohawk struggle to preserve their land, language, religion, history and world-view in the face of white demands and encroachments.

Sacred Games (59 min.)
F1435.3.R3 S23 1988
Summary: Presents how the Maya people of Chamula, Mexico see the world and how their symbolic world is renewed in the annual carnival celebrations.

The Three Pillars: Confucius, Jesus, and Mohammed (54 min.)
BL48.T57 2003
Summary: This program studies the identities of the founders of Confucianism, Christianity, and Islam. Discusses: how the tenets of Confucianism spread to the Chinese social and political structure, and the principles of yin and yang. Analyzes the significance of Jesus as a prophet for Muslims and as God incarnate for Christians. Examines Muhammad and the religion he created as codified in the Koran. Discusses how intrinsic temples, churches, and mosques are to the practice of each religion.

Tolerance : Dedicated to Mawlana Jalal-Al- Din Rumi (30 min.)
BR1610.T64 1995
Summary: Focuses on Mawlana-Jalal-Al-Din-Rum, a 13th century apostle of tolerance. His teaching encompassed the ideas of tolerance, urging human beings to respect each others' faiths, ideals, orientations, cultural values, and developing the ability to get along despite divisions in nationality and religion.

A Veiled Revolution (26 min.)
HQ1170 .V44 1990z
Summary: Examines the transformation of modern Egyptian women to wear the traditional Islamic dress and veil. Also discusses their struggle for the right to work and to study the Koran within the framework of their own Islamic traditions.

Why the hate?: America, from a Muslim Point of View (44min.)
DS44 .W49 2003
Summary: This program explores the mixed emotions felt by many Muslins toward the United States. Explores aspects of American culture that view as threatening. Correspondent, Chris Bury examines these issues through individual interviews.

With God on Our Side: George W. Bush & the Rise of the Religious Right in America (100 min)
BR1642.U5 W58 2004
Summary: Follow-up to the 1996 television mini-series, With God on our side : the rise of the Religious Right in America. The first half of the film documents the rise of conservative Christians as a political force in the United States. The second half focuses on President George W. Bush’s connection with evangelical Christianity and how his beliefs inform his political decisions.

Women of Islam: Veiling and Seclusion (50 min.)
BP173.4 .U43 2004
Summary: Farheen Umar travels throughout Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and the United States to interview Muslim women about Western assumptions about the practice of wearing veils. Explores the historical origins about veiling and confronts common misconceptions about the tradition of covering in Muslim society.

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