Anti-Religion TV
 

I've been tivoing SG1 for a while and, ironically, just noticed that all the big ebil in the universe is religion and it is always defeated with science & reason.
The Ori and the Goa'uld are all evil who use religion to oppress and harm others.
Sweet!

The Asgard are usually good guys, though. And they seem to use religion as perimeter security.

However, they never use it to oppress or profit from others and there are always systems in place for those that treat them as divine to know their true nature once they reach a level of sophistication where they are ready to deal with the Asgard.
Another aspect is that they set protective systems in place and then leave them to develop on their own with no interference, unlike those that use religion for profit, oppression and gain. The role of gods, it seems, was thrust upon them by primitive Earth cultures due to their advanced technological status, not the other way around.
Good point though.

It's too bad that they'd never be able to have SG-1 meet Jehovah... Too big a can of worms.

He would have been just another asshole with a snake in his head.
I agree, people would have freaked.

One way or another, pretty much all mainstream TV is anti-religion to some extent, as is most of the creative community in Hollywood, if you believe the conservative press.

Think about it ... whenever there is a religious group on an episode of Law and Order you know that something bad is about to happen ... mass suicide, child molestation, pastor murdering someone who finds out that he has been seeing gay prostitutes ... religious folk on sitcoms are generally the butt of the jokes (sorry for the proximity of the gay ... butt usage there, but this is stream of consciousness writing while I'm at the nuthouse) ... even shows ostensibly about religion don't cast it in a good light, whether it's the Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Big Love, or the Book of Daniel.

I don't watch that show and not much fiction television other than a couple of science fiction shows. Thanks for the info.

What's wrong with the Vicar, Wolf? I think it shows the Church of England in a good light. There is a great, gentle sense of humour, and well written scripts. Unfortunately we don't see it on free-to-air TV any more, and if you do not have cable, well that's tough (we don't). We have the videos and DVDs though.

Religion is always picked on because all religions attract extremists, and it is the extremists who spoil it for everyone else. That is the only thing I have against religion. I am not religious now, but I was in my youth, but politics, extremism, and a lust for power, always corrupt religions. Man needs religion, whether it is a conventional one, one like yours and El's, or just a person's career or sport/hobby. Most people feel a hole in their lives, and search for something to fill that void.

I'm sure there are some religious people who object to even gentle humor about their beliefs, but yeah, I think the Vicar of Dibley is generally very positive and sweet. :)

I don't like stereotypical portrayals of religious people (omg they're all fanatics!) any better than I like stereotypes of non-religious people, people of various sexual orientations, etc. But a little healthy skepticism is a good thing in art IMHO -- like Tolstoy, who was a devout Christian but still explored issues related to religion very diligently. The attitude that we can't joke about or ask questions about religion can be very destructive.

Vicar of Dibley isn't poking fun at religion it's poking fun at little village society. I'd say it's very affectionate towards C of E. Father Ted is a different matter.

Science and reason are no more of a threat to religion than schools are a threat to ignorance. Build all the schools you want and provide all the education that can be delivered and ignorance will still be plentiful. There are no scientific arguments or reasonings that will defeat religion. The human mind cannot evolve out of this. In fact, as society grows more impersonal and world events become more alarming, religion will only strengthen. As bluesdave noted:

Atheism has peaked!
 

We've already hit the peak of atheism. If you think SG-1 is a legitimate influence for atheism, think again. Religious groups can just as easily use the structure of the program to promote their various religious beliefs.

Yay for subversive SF!