Officials from several religious traditions, including the National Council of Churches, have partnered with former talk show host and author Oprah Winfrey to promote a new television series championing belief as the “most basic human need.”
“This was never intended to be just another TV show,” announced Winfrey. “I wanted to find a way it could entertain, enlighten, uplift people in their own beliefs.”
Winfrey’s new documentary series, “Belief” premiered October 18 and will run for six Sunday nights. The series’ goal is to use the stories of individuals to explore the ways in which faiths around the world bind human beings together.
In an October 12 conference call to discuss the purpose of her series with other spiritual leaders, Winfrey expounded on her vision for the project.
“I want people to see that the thread of love between the aboriginal father and his son, and the rabbi in Hungary and his son is the same. We are all capable of experiencing that.”
The project was born from Winfrey’s stated mission of leading people to transcend their individual souls and find the unity they share as inhabitants of the same planet. The celebrity media mogul, who doubles as a type of therapist for many of her followers, wants them to see diversity as a harmonious “rainbow” rather than a cause of strife.
Rather than specifying religious beliefs and their cultural and political effects. Winfrey frequently used expressions such as “people of faith,” and, “diversity” to describe those she would be depicting in her show, even so far as to credit diversity as the real purpose of human beings on earth. According to Oprah, the stories her series presents are united by the “most basic human need”: belief.
“If you wanted feel good, feel connected. It’s like a big old community gathering around the world that you don’t normally see on TV,” Winfrey exclaimed.
Winfrey’s guests expressed similar optimism.
“What I love most about belief is that it is a beautiful confirmation of God’s creation,” enthused Jim Winkler, National Council of Christian Churches (NCC) General Secretary and President. The NCC, an ecumenical organization primarily anchored by old-line Protestant denominations whose members have struggled with significant membership loss, focuses on promoting interfaith dialogue and peace advocacy. Since Winfrey’s belief series is intends to make the audience realize that all hold the same core of religious belief and ought to recognize this, it is natural that NCC has a particular interest in connecting itself to the project.
Winfrey mentioned Pope Francis as an inspiring faith leader, whose work she views as similar to the intentions of her series. Identifying her favorite aspect of Pope Francis as his inclusiveness, Winfrey called him, “a man of God.” As a controversial figure whose convictions cannot be completely placed within the political Left or the Right, Francis is often claimed and interpreted by both sides in favor of their positions.
The faith leaders on the conference call expressed appreciation for Oprah as a cultural figure essential to the spiritual growth of society.
“Oprah continues to minister to people around the world through her incredible life work,” endorsed Rabbi Jill Jacobs Executive Director of Jewish human rights group T’ruah.
In a closing prayer, those on the conference call asked God: “We pray that you would use belief to draw us closer to each other.
Comment by Aron on October 26, 2015 at 5:11 pm
The NCC and Oprah – such a combo.
Ironically, Oprah probably has had more influence on the religious landscape of America than the nearly defunct NCC. She’s defined herself (loosely) as a Christian (without ever bothering to live like one), then told people there are many paths to God. Something with the bombastic (and empty) name National Council of Churches in the United States packs less wallop than the mere name “Oprah.”
Comment by John Thomson on October 27, 2015 at 11:50 am
“Spiritual but not religious” translates as “I’m just as shallow and materialistic as people with NO religion, but I’ll call myself ‘spiritual’ to make it sound like I’m deep.”