Channel surf around the television landscape, and it’s not hard to find experts earnestly discussing politics or economics or even home decorating. But you’ll rarely encounter anyone talking about spiritual matters, unless it’s a megachurch pastor with an 800 number scrolling across the screen.
by Neil Genzlinger
Excerpted from the New York Times
"Global Spirit," a series that begins on Sunday on Link TV (and can be viewed free at linktv.org/globalspirit), is hoping to change that, and to capitalize on what the program's creators see as a growing interest in spiritual exploration. Each week the show will bring together scholars and other experts from different religious and philosophical backgrounds, not to sell a faith or argue hot-button issues, but to discuss universal themes like forgiveness or the nature of the spiritual journey.
"Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going?" said Phil Cousineau, the program's host, paraphrasing the title of a Gauguin painting. "In a sense, we're asking those three questions in every program."
Mr. Cousineau, a lecturer and author whose books include "Soul: An Archaeology," has the job each week of moderating a genteel discussion between people who may not have ever met but may find they have much common ground. In the opening installment, titled "The Spiritual Quest," Karen Armstrong, the scholar and author, who was once a nun, and Robert Thurman, the Columbia professor, who in the early 1960s was a Buddhist monk, share their stories and their thoughts on subjects like compassion and militarism.
:Forgiveness and Healing" features Edward Tick, a psychotherapist who counsels war veterans, and Azim N. Khamisa, who after his son was killed in a robbery teamed up with the killer's grandfather to spread a message of reconciliation and peace.
The discussions are broken up with short documentaries related to the guests and topics. In the "Forgiveness" installment, for instance, Dr. Tick accompanies Vietnam veterans back to that country to meet and learn from the people they once thought of as the enemy.
"We have been trying to come up with a theme that describes the show, and right now we're thinking: 'It's an internal travel series,' " said Lorraine Hess, a creator and executive producer of the program, along with Stephen Olsson.
Diane Winston, a professor of media and religion at the University of Southern California, said that although there have been occasional attempts to use television to examine spiritual themes — Bill Moyers, for instance, has such programs on his résumé — the subject has generally been seen as having little commercial potential.
Now, however, might be an opportune time for such an endeavor, she said: other niche-television markets have proved fruitful, and spiritual tourism (travel to holy sites and places of meditation) is booming. Also, she noted, the number of people who identify themselves as spiritual but claim no religious affiliation — and thus might be more open to accepting a range of ideas — is growing. ... Read the full article here.