What the Christian Denominations Have to Say
United Methodist Church | National Council of Churches of Christ | Moravian Church Unity Synod | Moravian Bishops' Conference
United Methodist Church:
The unprecedented impact the media are having on Christian and human values within our society becomes more apparent each day. We express disdain at current media preoccupation with dehumanizing portrayals, sensationalized through mass media "entertainment" and "news." These practices degrade humankind and violate the teachings of Christ and the Bible.
For the sake of our human family, Christians must work together to halt this erosian of moral and ethical values in the world community by:
- encouraging local congregations to support and encourage parental responsibility to monitor their children's viewing and listening habits on TV, movies, radio, and the Internet,
- encouraging local congregations, parents, and individuals to express their opposition to the gratuitous portrayal of violent and sexually indecent shows by writing to the stations that air them and the companies that sponsor them,
- encouraging individuals to express their opposition to the corporate sponsors of these shows by the selection and purchase of alternate products.
National Council of Churches of Christ - USA
We strongly object to what we see as the misuse of the First Amendment, by commercial interests, as a cover for a quest for profit. Free speech and free press have their places within a context of social responsibility and a concern for the common good. We hold media industries accountable for what they produce and distribute, and challenge them to act as good citizens in society.
We commit ourselves to work through government and with industry to find ways to respect free expression while abhorring and selectively eliminating media violence, the moral equivalent of a harmful substance. We commit ourselves also to support families and churches in theiwr aspirations and strategies for more appropriate media choices.
NCCC Statement on Violence in Electronic Media and Film, 1993
Moravian Church Unity Synod
Moravian Church Unity Synod has called for action regarding the impact of cinema and television:
Whereas there is a need for Unity Synod to address itself to the subject of the negative influence of the cinema and television on youth and family life, therefore be it
Resolved (1) that the Unity Synod encourage each Province to take steps to counteract the influence of the life style portrayed on television, particularly where premarital sex, marital infidelity and divorce, as well as physical violence are glorified, and be it
Resolved (2) that the Provinces of the Unity be encouraged to develop positive images of youth and family life, in cooperation with other churches and agencies, as well as with the aid of the press, radio, and television wherever possible.
- Par # 877, Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, 1995
Moravian Church Unity Conference of Bishops
The Moravian Church Unity Conference of Bishops in 1999 have called for a response to the negative influence of media; they issued this statement as part of their Pastoral Letter:
Throughout the ages, God has called forth voices to speak a needed message. We raise that voice in alarm for the lowering, even outright elimination or moral standards and propriety in our societies, especially by the film and television industries and other media…. The church has an opportunity to offer pastoral counsel and education for a responsible use of the media.
- A Pastoral Letter to the Congregations of the Unity
June 17, 1999
Laurel Ridge Camp and Conference Center
Laurel Springs, NC