Buffy the Vampire Slayer slaying church attendance among women, study claims

[ZombieHorde]

By Martin Beckford

The report claims more than 50,000 women a year have deserted their congregations over the past two decades because they feel the church is not relevant to their lives.

It says that instead young women are becoming attracted to the pagan religion Wicca, where females play a central role, which has grown in popularity after being featured positively in films, TV shows and books.

The study comes amid ongoing controversy over the role of women in the Church of England. Last month its governing body voted to allow women to become bishops for the first time, having admitted them to the priesthood in 1994, but traditionalist bishops have warned that hundreds of clergy and parishes will leave if the move goes ahead as planned.

The report's author, Dr Kristin Aune, a sociologist at the University of Derby, said: "In short, women are abandoning the church.

"Because of its focus on female empowerment, young women are attracted by Wicca, popularised by the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Young women tend to express egalitarian values and dislike the traditionalism and hierarchies they imagine are integral to the church.

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More at link
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2603343/Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer-slaying-church-attendance-among-women-study-claims.html

[glowing]

1. I would have to say its more fun..

[Kutjara]

2. Way to trivialize Wicca.

"Ooh, lookie," the Telegraph says, "isn't it precious that the fluffly-headed little girlies have turned to the 'religion' depicted in their fave TV show! Don't worry, when they grow up, they'll come back to a real man's religion." Forgive me if I'm wrong, but Wicca was around a long time before it was "popularized" by Buffy.

At least Wicca isn't a religion cooked up purely to facilitate the divorce of a philandering (male) monarch.

[ZombieHorde]

6. You are right, many people do not take it as seriously as they do other religions.

Most people have no idea what Wicca is about.

Though this is partially the fault of Wiccan adherents as they generally do not advertise. Most peoples exposure to Wicca comes from tv shows, such as Buffy and Charmed, and movies.

I personally first heard about Wicca, as opposed to witchcraft, from a tv show about 20 years ago.

[Kutjara]

7. Considering how downright crazy...

...many of the so-called "respectable" religions are, it it doubly insulting that a life-affirming, nature-centric faith like Wicca should be sneered at. No doubt, a lot of that is due to Wicca being viewed as "merely a woman's religion," and therefore less serious and important.

I'm not religious in any way, but I have a hell of a lot more respect for faith traditions that respect nature, people, and life than ones that glorify death, suffering, and blind obedience.

[ZombieHorde]

8. more respect for faith traditions that respect nature, people, and life than ones that glorify death

I completely agree. Though I imagine that those that have respect for "ones that glorify death, suffering, and blind obedience" would have no respect for ones "that respect nature, people, and life".

[DeSwiss]

10. Excellent points!

[Igel]

14. Yeah, probably 70 or 80 years.

Adherents claim more, but it appears to be "reconstructed" from a variey of sources, cobbled together in part with lots of add-ons. Mostly--entirely?--by men.

[Occam Bandage]

31. Yes, it has been around since the ancient days of...er...the 1920s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

[Phredicles]

3. I've noticed that a fair number of men gravitate towards Wicca, too,

but it is true that most of the Wiccans I know are women. It's not shocking; how many established religions value women, or reward them for their devotion?

[ZombieHorde]

9. a fair number of men gravitate towards Wicca

Wicca was popularized by a man named Gardner, who believed that many of todays Wiccan rites came A.Crowley, another man. So it would seem off to believe that Wicca was anti-male in any way. I think that the balance of power between the sexes is so strong in many Wiccan groups, that some see it as anti-male when compared to other religious groups.

[Warpy]

4. "they IMAGINE are integral to the church?????"

There's what's driving them away, right there. It's all in your head, honey, just put the money in the collection plate and don't think too much about the male god, male intermediaries, and all the stupid and inconvenient rules--most of which are aimed directly at limiting your behavior and not that of men.

I'm not surprised female believers are turning away from the desert sky god religions. They really aren't relevant to a woman's life except in the ways they try to limit it.

If they can find validation in a religion that is right now inventing itself, one that doesn't patronize them the way the topic sentence does, then more power to them.

[PassingFair]

16. Yeah, that was particularly galling....

Don't forget "Your uncleanliness makes you unfit for promotion"...

[BrklynLiberal]

5. When God was A Woman by Merliln Stone

http://www.amybrown.net/women/book.html
The question most pressing - perhaps the one that has most insistently caused this book to come into being - is this: What effect did the worship of the female deity actually have upon the status of women in the cultures in which She was extolled? In this book, archeologically documented, is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Known by many names - Astarte, Isis, Ishtar, among others - she reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. Worshipped for fertility, she was revered as the wise creator and the one source of universal order. Under her, women's roles differed markedly from those in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Women bought and sold property, traded in the marketplace, and the inheritance of title and property was passed from mother to daughter. How and when did the change in our perception of God (and woman) come about? By documenting the wholesale rewriting of myth and religious dogmas, the author reveals a very ancient conspiracy: the patriarchal re-imaging of the Goddess as a wanton, depraved figure. This is the portrait that laid the foundation for one of culture's greatest shams - the legend of Adam and fallen Eve. It is time to bring the facts about the early female religions to light. They have been hidden away too long. The facts in this book will help you understand the earliest development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and their reactions to the female religions and customs that preceded them. With these facts, you will be able to undestand how these reactions led to the political attitudes and historical events that occurred as these male-oriented religions were forming - attitudes and events that played a major part in formulating the image of women during and since those times.

[DeSwiss]

12. Thank you so much....

...for that link!!!

[BrklynLiberal]

30. It is a superb book..

[DeSwiss]

11. Buffy, Wicca, or whatever....

...it takes to get people to wake up and smell the coffee -- then I'm all for it. Besides, the Zombie savior story is about as lame as they come.

- And its not even original....

K&R

[Kutjara]

13. "Zombie Savior Story"

:rofl:

I love it! I am totally stealing that!

[DeSwiss]

18. Feel free....

...to spread it far and wide.

[Az]

15. Joss Whedan has them on the path to atheism

Joss is a fairly outspoken atheist. Not afraid to be open about his lack of belief in gods.

I may not agree with Wicca but at least it is far less dogmatic than various forms of Christianity and thus represents no where near the threat that Christianity can. Without dogma people can be reasoned with. Dogma tends to make things nonnegotiable.

[DeSwiss]

17. AZ, sometimes you have an absolute gift for understatement....

"Dogma tends to make things nonnegotiable.

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

- Otherwise, why call it dogma????

[elshiva]

20. I did not know that!

Yes, he and the other writers on Buffy use a lot of religious mythology including christian mythology. So, do a lot of other fantasy writers. Show does not really promote any particular religion, it's fiction, people...

[Az]

21. Yep... big fan o his over here

We have a little nest of atheists that are fans of his over here. But he does make very effective use of various religious myths as subtexts in his stories. But you definitely get his atheism coming through strong in Firefly.

[elshiva]

22. Yes, I am a big, big fan of his work, so much

so that DuStrange gave me the nickname "Buffy."
I love Firefly, too, but how does that show atheism?
Just interested and BTW, Az, I am now an atheist.

[Az]

23. The main char

First episode has him falling out with his faith. The rest of the series he has a chip on his shoulder against religion (more of an apostate than an atheist). The preacher is on there as a foil to his anger.

[elshiva]

24. Yes, now that you mention it

Captain Malcolm Reynolds was a Christian at the Battle of Serenity, but after all that brutality how could he not at least question his faith...

[Dorian Gray]

27. Not an atheist

myself, but I'm also a huge fan of Wheedon (Can't wait for Doll's House (or is it Dollhouse?)) to start this fall!

I never watched Firefly, and just saw the first episode last week. I'm looking forward to viewing that whole series. Not to mention Dr. Horrible!

[elshiva]

19. Whatever.

I hate when people "blame" fictional characters/works of fiction for the spread of Wicca.

This is a silly as the Harry Potter is "a satanic plot" shit...

:crazy:

[New Dawn]

39. Note that this article was written by the Tory Telegraph

The Telegraph is a right-wing, pro-Conservative Party paper in England.

[Evoman]

25. I don't know why people switch between religions, trying to find the right one

when it's a hell of a lot easier to just drop out altogether. Takes a lot less work...and a lot less twisted rationalization.

It also seems really weird that people drop out of religions because they are traditional or don't like hierarchies. I mean, if you think the teachings and core of the religion is rotten and has no truth, that's one thing. But because of organization. I dunno, it's weird.

It's like ceasing to accept evolution because your science professors were mean to you, and you don't like the publish or perish nature of science.

[blueatheart]

28. always thought it was weird myself

but most people do not choose their religion, their parents, and often society chooses it for them. What is crazy is people who choose a religion because its teachings go along with their personal beliefs, ethics and morals, then say that they get their morals, ethics and beliefs from their religion.

[BrklynLiberal]

29. Do you recall Woody Allen's character in "Hannah and Her Sisters"?

One of the funniest religious searches ever.
When he tried out Protestantism, he started out by buying some white bread and a jar of mayonaise.

[knitter4democracy]

32. It's more like switching colleges.

You don't fit into the one, its program doesn't meet your needs, something bad happens on campus that you need to get away from, it's too close to family, whatever, so you transfer to a new college that meets your needs better.

Some people graduate and say they don't need college anymore and are fine, and some of us switch to a new grad school and keep taking classes forever. ;)

[Evoman]

33. I don't buy that analogy.

Maybe it's apt if your just talking about switching churches or even denominations. Baptist or Lutheran...it's still god and jesus.

But to accept a whole different Truth (tm) because your not happy with the churches organization?

Following your analogy, it's more like being a Chemistry Major, and then deciding to drop out and attend Alchemy College, all because you don't like your lab TA.

[knitter4democracy]

34. You don't think religions are equal?

Colleges are all very different, and the reality is, all forms of Christianity are very different, as well as different from other religions. If someone's on the path of faith, path to enlightenment, etc., there are many twists and turns on that path, and sometimes, that path leads them into some pretty odd territories.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is very, very different from the evangelical church I grew up in. Still same God and same Jesus, sure, but different theology and strikingly different practice--to the point that I'm uncomfortable with evangelical Christianity anymore, it's so foreign to me. It's not that large a leap from Eastern Orthodoxy to Buddhism or Islam, really--same God, same repetitive prayer, same key concepts of faith. It's not that large a leap from Buddhism to the Hindu faith or Taoism and on and on and on.

I knew a doctor who, instead of going on to residency, went to chiropractic college and practiced both together. Not all that different in big ideas but very different in the details. He's pretty happy, last I heard, and doing well. Putting very different concepts together or moving back and forth on a continuum of faith isn't that far from many people's realm of experience.

[Evoman]

35. I suppose I could see from your perspective how it's possible.

The problem is probably that I can't get away from a rational, scientific method of thinking, where you consider evidence before deciding what to think. I've never thought of truth or knowledge as something I should be comfortable with or something that should be "a good fit" for me.

To be completely honest, I don't understand how religious people can seriously consider that sort of decision making process a "path to enlightenment".

[knitter4democracy]

36. And that rational, scientific method of thinking hurts my brain.

My dad's an engineer, my brother's an engineer, and my husband's a doctor, and I have to translate in my head before I can talk to them. I think in terms of metaphor and story and symbol, and they think in terms of proof and algorhythms. It's a totally different way of thinking.

[Evoman]

37. I wouldn't say I think in terms of algorithms. I'm not mechanistic.

I just conciously limit the effects of emotion on my thinking. And if I ever felt I believed something because "it made me happy" or "it feels right" with no other justification, I pay more attention to it.

I am also extremely wary of stories and symbols, since for too long they have been away for the elites of world to control the common person. Contrary to popular belief, I think belief in stories and engaging in tradition serves to make thinking more rigid, more close-minded. It makes you do things just because thats the way they have always been done. It leads to strong belief with no underlying base of truth.

I'm not the typical science or engineering kind of guy...far from it. I'm just extremely cautious of emotions and personal experiences, and don't understand why others aren't.

[knitter4democracy]

38. That makes sense.

My brother's a lot like that. It's part of why I'm Eastern Orthodox and he's agnostic. :)

[onager]

26. My theory: the damn BBC/ITV did more damage than Buffy!

I've recently been catching up on the old (or Ye Olde) ITV/BBC "Sharpe" series here in Egypt. It ran in the early 1990s, consisting of 16 episodes adapted from the historical novels by Bernard Cornwell. The stories are (mostly) set in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars.

With Sean Bean in the lead and an always solid supporting cast (Brian Cox, Pete Postlethwaite, Elizabeth Hurley, Alice Krige, etc.), this was some very good viewing.

But more on-topic, of the episodes I've seen so far, all the female roles are strong, intelligent characters. And often fiercely independent characters as well.

e.g., Sharpe's common-law wife "Commandante Teresa" (Assumpta Serna), a leader of Spanish guerilla fighters. When another woman opines, "You're lucky to have Sharpe," Teresa glares at her and says: "No, he's lucky to have me."

In one episode, a captured British woman relays a message that seems incomprehensible. It turns out to be a line from an Alexander Pope poem, which reveals where she is being kept prisoner.

As for religion, another episode features an evil Spanish priest who wants to re-start the Inquisition. (History Geeks will remember that the Inquisition lasted in Spain until Napoleon invaded the country and stopped it.) He uses a friendly convent as a jail for Uppity Women, especially while he's stealing their money. (Alice Krige, who has a great cat-fight with the Mother Superior.)

Of course, there are other perfectly good reasons to watch the series. As one happy viewer noted at IMDB:

What red-blooded girl could argue with 102 minutes of a mud-smeared Sean Bean swashbuckling in tight breeches? (Excuse me while I have an attack of the vapors...) It's a fun movie with a lot of action and great costumes, acting, and production values. BUT. . . I think the strong point of this series of movies is that it's likely to make you want to read the series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. Even for people who don't normally like to read historical/military fiction, they're a rollicking great read and packed with fascinating detail and character development. The movie is a tasty appetizer; the book is a satisfying meal. In this case, watching the movie won't ruin the book for you, and vice versa. Differences aside, they're done in the same spirit.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108108/usercomments

(Edit to fix BBC reference. The series was actually co-produced by ITV and BBC-America.)