I never thought we were that religious

[Giliell]

I have the news turned on and I'm listening with half an ear. The topic is the Chilean miners. Well, I live in what was once a mining area and there is still one mine here and they shot a short clip from that mine. And they depicted the miners as if they were praying each day before going underground and greeting their patron saint each time and trusting god, blah, blah, blah
Mind, they didn't catch any miner uttering a loud prayer, they only got some people saying how they felt for their colleagues and that they know the anxiety and so on.
I live here, I know the miners' culture, it's my culture.
I know that we are traditionally a catholic area, but I also know that people don't have the habit of praying daily, they didn't even pray every day before going down even in my grandpa's time when religion was much more in the centre of everyday life.

I was wondering:
-Why does the generally quite neutral mainstream state television ptu up such a Potiomkin village?

-Could this be true for a lot of other areas where we only get a picture transmitted via the media and have no actual experience?

 

[ImprobableJoe]

I'm a billion miles away in America, and our media is doing the same "Jesus loves the Chilean miners, all the Chilean miners of the world" song and dance. I don't live there, but I live in a culture that embraces the mental defect of religious faith, although few people seem to be particularly religiously observant in their private lives. Give them a public opportunity to showboat about Magic Man in the Sky, and they jump all over it so that everyone else can see how faithful they are... and that goes for the media as well.

 

[nemesiss]

i read an article with regards to evolution, where the conclusion was that when people were living with more certainty in their lives would embrace evolution over the creation myth. but was alot of uncertainty in their lives the would more likely embrace the creation myth over evolution.

perhaps this is a similar situation, where alot of uncertainty makes people more religious.
it was quite uncertain if the miners could have been saved, and with the days passing by it became more questionable if they could be rescued.

or maybe its just that we love to see tragedy
if the mine collapsed and their was no sign of life, people wouldn't give a crap.

 

[Giliell]

Well, I know that Latin America is still much more religious than Germany, which isn't particularly religious, only if you want a job in health care :roll:
It annoys me that they didn't really catch those Gereman miners praying or saying anything about Jesus. They filmed them in a moment when they took down their helmets to honour their Chilean colleagues and then they shot a picture of St. Barbara. And made it look like those German miners were devoutly religious :evil:

 

[Asrahn]

i read an article with regards to evolution, where the conclusion was that when people were living with more certainty in their lives would embrace evolution over the creation myth. but was alot of uncertainty in their lives the would more likely embrace the creation myth over evolution.

perhaps this is a similar situation, where alot of uncertainty makes people more religious.
it was quite uncertain if the miners could have been saved, and with the days passing by it became more questionable if they could be rescued.

or maybe its just that we love to see tragedy
if the mine collapsed and their was no sign of life, people wouldn't give a crap.

Hope is a powerful thing. You have a good point there.

As for other uncertainties, education's always a nice option to combat them :>

 

[monitoradiation]

I don't think that the area is necessarily that religious. The media is probably looking for people that looks like they're doing something at the site of the rescue - People who're at the site have a few options:

1. Do something useful
2. Pray.
3. Leave.

People who pray THINK that they're doing something, and people who have nothing to do don't stay there. And that's what the media happens to catch.

 

[lilablassblau]

German mainstream media likes the "feel good parts" of religion and is fond of depicting most religions as a feel-good-party. It annoys me any time I see a show or report, especially on the puplic news stations that make religion look as if it's just a lot of fun and good for all people. Serious debate about religion is almost impossible without being stuck into the right corner right away. I hate that when people attempt to criticize religions over here that each time it is most of the media that is accusing the critique of being a bigoted racist. I barely ever hear a more balanced viewpoint. Just to think how idiotic the debate about Islam is being held, makes my blood boil. Either people are accused of being Islamophobic and racist or that's what they actually are. I know there are more balanced and especially more rational people in my country, but for some reason they don't make it into the headlines.

Okay, I stop ranting now (which is really not that easy, given that we Germans call nagging a hobby).

Otherwise I will go on forever what annoys me about the media, politics, TV, puplic debate,....