Every year, thousands of Ukrainian Christians undertake a pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia, a sacred place. Between prayers they share news, brag about their wealth, take pictures of chapels, give interviews, witness miracles. Witness miracles?
In 2012, Stephen Vaughan and Kay Ferreter are invited to address the congregation at St. Joseph's Redemptorists Church in Dundalk, Ireland for the Solemn Novena Festival. In a powerful speech, the pair describe their experiences being gay and lesbian in Ireland, feeling excluded by Catholic doctrine, and the importance of a more inclusive church.
Jesus never traveled more than one hundred miles from His birthplace during His three-year ministry, and His life has changed the world.
Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.
Murder, rape, satanism and necrophilia is the staple diet of millions of teenagers who listen to the lyrics of extreme heavy metal music. This World investigates the potential links between "death metal" and a series of gruesome crimes around the world. In Italy a group of young death metal fans formed a satanic cult called the Beasts of Satan. At least four gruesome killings resulted. But death metal musicians deny that they have any responsibility for the actions of people who profess to be their fans. With exclusive access to the families, one of the killers and graphic police footage, the film tells the inside story for the first time. We hear from the musicians, the children and the parents from Oslo to California and ask just how far can music go in its ability to shock, and just how damaging might it be?
Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.
Twenty years ago, novelist Salman Rushdie was a wanted man with a million pound bounty on his head. His novel, The Satanic Verses, had sparked riots across the Muslim world. The ailing religious leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini, had invoked a little-known religious opinion - a fatwa - and effectively sentenced Rushdie to death. This film looks back on the extraordinary events which followed the publication of the book and the ten year campaign to get the fatwa lifted. Interviews with Rushdie's friends and family and testimony from leaders of Britain's Muslim community and the Government reveal the inside story of the affair.
The slave ships during the XVII and XVIII century transported millions of colored people from Africa to America carried within it the seed of a religious cult that would help the slaves in the Confederacy for their freedom. This is the story of the formation of African roots syncretic cults that worship spirits of two faces: black continent mystical entities hidden behind Catholic imagery.
An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
Can the Holy Spirit direct a movie? In this fast-paced documentary from the director of the popular films Finger of God, Furious Love, and Father of Lights, Darren Wilson sets out to make a movie that is completely led by the Holy Spirit. No plan, no script, no safety net--just go wherever he feels the Spirit leading him to try and discover the adventure God has for him. Whether it's the riches of Monte Carlo, a heavy metal concert, or the oldest city in the world, the result is a film that not only challenges and excites, but also reveals a God who is far more alive and active than you ever imagined.
In this two-part Channel 4 series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as 'a process of non-thinking called faith'. He describes his astonishment that, at the start of the 21st century, religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. Science, based on scepticism, investigation and evidence, must continuously test its own concepts and claims. Faith, by definition, defies evidence: it is untested and unshakeable, and is therefore in direct contradiction with science. In addition, though religions preach morality, peace and hope, in fact, says Dawkins, they bring intolerance, violence and destruction. The growth of extreme fundamentalism in so many religions across the world not only endangers humanity but, he argues, is in conflict with the trend over thousands of years of history for humanity to progress to become more enlightened and more tolerant.
Join critically-acclaimed author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and world-renowned theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss as they discuss biology, cosmology, religion, and a host of other topics.
The film shows the genesis of the El Rocío pilgrimage and unveils the economic, socio-political and religious reasons and interests that nurture the phenomenon.
They are young, all-American girls who enjoy horse riding, karate and Sherlock Holmes. But there's more to Brynne, Tess and Savannah than wholesome pursuits - they're exorcists. The girls believe much of the world's population is possessed by evil spirits which are causing addiction, depression and suffering. In a fight against the devil's army, they have been touring America performing public exorcisms on their believers. Now they are taking the fight to a city they think of as one of the most spiritually corrupt in the world - London. But what will Brits make of these evangelical American exorcists?
Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is a play retelling the Jesus story, with Jesus as a gay man living in the 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas. This documentary follows the troupe, playwright, and audience around the world on a five-year journey of Terrence McNally’s passion play, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.
Meet the Mormons examines the very diverse lives of six devout Mormons. Filmed on location and across the globe, Meet the Mormons takes viewers on a journey into the day-to-day realities of individuals living in the U.S., Costa Rica, Nepal and beyond. From their individual passions to their daily struggles, each story paints a picture as rich and unique as the next while challenging the stereotypes that surround the Mormon faith.
When two friends collect money for the so-called "suffering in America" in the streets of Accra, is it for fun, political provocation, or a prophecy? Two Swiss filmmakers will answer these questions with the help of seven musicians from Ghana-M3NSA, Wanlov The Kubolor, Adomaa, Worlasi, Akan, Mutombo Da Poet, and Poetra Asantewa-who have written new songs and produced video clips especially for the documentary film Contradict.
This documentary offers a deep, candid, and historical look at the Christian experience of America's largest and best-known tribes: the Dakota and Lakota. Its exploration into Native American history also takes a hard and detailed look at President Ulysses S. Grant's Peace Policy of 1873, which was, in effect, a "convert to Episcopalianism or starve" edict put forth by the American government in direct violation of its Constitution. The devastation it had on the values of the people affected were dramatic and extremely long-lasting. Grant's policy was finally ended over 100 years later by the Freedom of American Indian Religions Act in 1978. Interlaced with extraordinarily candid interviews, this documentary presents an insider's perspective of how the Dakota and Lakota were estranged from their religious beliefs and their long-standing traditions.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a religious group with eight million followers in multiple nations, including Australia. A knock on the door and an earnest offer to share their teachings is the only interaction most people will have with this god-fearing organisation. Few would know the extreme nature of their beliefs. The conduct of the religious group came under scrutiny in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
