With all the news swirling around the Church, Mitt Romney, and the "Christian Question", Becky and I heard about a great documentary entitled Article VI: Faith, Politics, America. Made by and LDS filmmaker, this documentary presented some fantastic points. Beginning with scenes of anti-Mormon protesters carrying on at Temple Square during Conference, to JFK and his famous speech before a group of Southern Evangelicals in 1960, this film examines the effect of Romney's campaign is having on Christian religions, attitudes concerning the Church, and the progress (or lack thereof) regarding a religious test for office.
Here is a short article about it:
ARTICLE VI Documentary Addresses Faith and Politics
Voters Encouraged to See the Film before Voting
SALT LAKE CITY, UT– Living Biography Media today announced the release of the feature documentary ARTICLE VI: Faith. Politics. America. The film is an intense discussion of the role of faith in politics. Article VI will be released January 15, 2008 on DVD, online, and in select theatres across the country. Director Bryan Hall has been working on the project for over two years, interviewing religious leaders and scholars as well as many regular citizens not usually heard from. The resulting documentary arrives at a time when this debate surrounding the intersection of politics and religion is heating up the campaign trail.
“The film started out as my journey to understand the many different beliefs of people from across the country,” Hall said. “I was amazed by the extremely diverse and very passionate opinions people have on this topic. I tried to provide an outlet for the debate and to successfully capture that passion.”
Ranging from shocking street encounters, to tender moments of compassion and understanding, Article VI reveals not only the conflict inherent in the interplay of religion and politics, but also the conflict inherent in the human beings who make up the American body politic, as they seek to advocate their core beliefs.
“This documentary comes along at just the right time to provide a thoughtful examination of the issues in an engaging format,” said Reed Dickens, Producer and former White House Assistant Press Secretary. “Everyone should see ARTICLE VI before voting.”
Directors Hall and Jack Donaldson have created not only a very timely and thought-provoking documentary, but also one that will surprise most viewers in its powerful ability to see themselves in many aspects of the film.
To view the trailer, please visit www.Article6theMovie.com. The film will also be pre-screened in New York, Orange County, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DC, Shreveport and Salt Lake City.
Becky and I were able to download it and watch the entire film during a temporary offer. After watching it, we decided it is something we want to own. It is not just a Mormon apologist piece, and actually never interviews a single Church authority. Instead, it lets the story be told by various evangelists, scholars, and various members of the general public. One might think that omitting Church leaders from this, while allowing various evangelicals make their opinions known would skew the presentation of the film, but that was not the case. In fact, I believe that the filmmakers allows the viewer to judge for themselves who is "Christian" in their behavior, and there is no questioning some of the positions.
I won't delve into all the points of the movie, because you must see it in its entirety, however, in the end you see that tolerance, understanding, and general good manners seems to win in any argument. Also, the importance of not hating those with which we disagree, even those rude folks outside of Temple Square. It was a great chance to see what is great about this country, and made me very confident about our role, as LDS, in contributing in religious discussions with our neighbors.
Great, great movie. Go to the website and try to download it, or at least portions. I don't buy DVDs much, but this one will be on my shelf because it is telling a story about religion and politics that will be relevant for years to come.
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