OCR Text |
Show nPiiANKs to 1 V : I ;i ber and quality of religious programs, television is bringing inspiration right into America's living roomTwenty million Amer icans who never attended church before, are getting religion via TV. Religious programs are now at an all time high, as shown in a recent Family Weekly survey. Three years ago, viewers in a typical television area could see only one hour and 15 minutes per week of religious programs. Today, they can see programs totalling seven hours and 17 minutes per week! When plans for new church telecasts take effect, it is safe to predict that more than 10 per cent of total television time will be devoted to religious programs. x In order to appeal to the widest possible audience, churches have relaxed many taboos, building their shows on subjects of human interest rather than on mere preachment. A tremendous variety of formats is being used to bring religion into the home, ranging from Hollywood type films like "This Is The Life" to Bishop Sheen's inspirational fireside chats. 1 .. II an amazing increase in the num- - ' ' TV's most popular shows, "This Is fyTheor Life," is produced by the Lutheran Synod and consists of 52 dramatic films centered on the litepf a typical family. Last year, "This Is The Life" climbed from a modest beginning of 9 stations to the top of the television ladder with 183 stations, ahead of high-rate- d comedy Church-Missou- ri shows; "I Love Lucy" and Milton Berle. A typical episode from "This Is The Life" B Ebhop Fulton J. t rae&snlxa TV Shn ca 1 takes us into the home of the Fisher family in Middleburg, U.S.A. There, we may find the Fishers involved in the romance of their daughter, the temptation of a basketball "fix" for their son, or the loss of a job. Underlying all of these episodes is the moral questioh: "What is right?" And this is answered, not or sermonizing, but by simple reference to the principles of Christian faith. The Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, Auxiliary Bishop of New York, is the author of the remarkable statement that Christ himself would be on television if he were on earth today. Bishop Sheen does not identify his "Life Is Worth Living" with any particular creed in the hope that his talks, seen on 166 stations, "may have a message for people of any faith, or of no faith." Delivered with no script, props, or supporting cast, his talks range from world politics to science and phi- BY wet en cf lh first cUrict cffrctiv fiotMng medium. GERHAEDT M. HOFF ent |