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Editor's note:
A few years ago, if you told someone that rom-com giant Hugh Grant was starring in a horror film, they’d probably think you were joking. Even more so if you said the other characters are Latter-day Saint missionaries.
But that’s exactly what “Heretic” is: a thriller with heavy doses of dialogue and theology. And this movie’s not the only headline entertainment featuring Latter-day Saint women this fall. “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a reality show following a group of mom friends in Utah, launched this September and was soon renewed for a second season.
Like “Heretic,” its portrayal of the church set off debate – to put it mildly. Many viewers seem fascinated by Latter-day Saint teachings about modesty, sex and alcohol – and some of the cast’s willingness to break them.
But Rebecca Janzen, a professor at the University of South Carolina, notes that religious characters are often depicted as saints or "sinners in need of salvation," reflecting broader questions about women’s role in society. That’s especially true if their faith “is considered conservative, or prone to stereotyping – both of which apply to Latter-day Saints.”
In short, the way religious women are depicted “may say more about the rest of America than the church itself.”
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Commentary and Analysis
In the future, a program like AI Jesus could be used to hear confessions around the clock. But with no experience of having a human body, it cannot engage or absolve human sins. By Joanne M. Pierce for The Conversation
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Hefazat-e-Islam supporters stage a protest after Friday prayers at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, demanding an immediate ban on International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
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