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What is Disney Religion?
Away from academic perspective the majority of people would quickly say Disney is not religious nor could it be called religion.
It is universally recognized that there are certain elements which qualify something as ‘religious’ or as ‘sacred’. Can we even think of calling something like Disney, a massive multi-billion dollar corporation, religion or religious?
That is the major problem Disney is a huge global empire, can the money be separated from the gospel? Most people would probably say, No, you simply cannot break down a fortress like The Disney Corporation.
Actually you can.
Away from academic perspective the majority of people would quickly say Disney is not religious nor could it be called religion.
It is universally recognized that there are certain elements which qualify something as ‘religious’ or as ‘sacred’. Can we even think of calling something like Disney, a massive multi-billion dollar corporation, religion or religious?
That is the major problem Disney is a huge global empire, can the money be separated from the gospel? Most people would probably say, No, you simply cannot break down a fortress like The Disney Corporation.
Actually you can.
Walt Disney walks around Disneyland.
People have forgotten that devotion and faith verses religious organization are two exceptionally different things. One does not have to be involved in the organized ‘church’ to be believing or devout.
There are many people who do not habitually go to their prescribed house of worship and at the very least they will go on special and auspicious occasions.
So why then can we not think of Disney Corporation as the organized ‘church’ visited only when necessary? I think that there is something in Disney that qualifies it as Religion. To believe one does not have to be involved in the organization.
To have their own faith private, within the family, predominantly separated from the ‘church’ or governing and commercial bodies. In this capacity we can immediately, at least for the purpose of our discussion, dispense with the major commercial issues attached to Disney Corporation.
This will allow us to look at Disney as a semi-organized religious institution. At the very least we can look at the religious teachings and gospels in Disney as expounded by their films
There are many people who do not habitually go to their prescribed house of worship and at the very least they will go on special and auspicious occasions.
So why then can we not think of Disney Corporation as the organized ‘church’ visited only when necessary? I think that there is something in Disney that qualifies it as Religion. To believe one does not have to be involved in the organization.
To have their own faith private, within the family, predominantly separated from the ‘church’ or governing and commercial bodies. In this capacity we can immediately, at least for the purpose of our discussion, dispense with the major commercial issues attached to Disney Corporation.
This will allow us to look at Disney as a semi-organized religious institution. At the very least we can look at the religious teachings and gospels in Disney as expounded by their films
Gisele Bundchen as Wendy Darling, Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan, and Tina Fey as Tinkerbell. *
In order to construct this examination we will be using as a foundation the Classic Disney animated films. These are the films made for families and the entertainment of children. This way the rest of Disney Corporation can be put aside. T
his is where Disney was born, Walt Disney himself started off making animated family films, and thus this is where Disney Religion is to found, in its original source and form. To see Disney as religion, we must be able to distinguish what elements constitute its religious core?
To do this we must first outline the elements that make up every religion. Although the religions of the world all have variation and differences, they all have common elements which classify them as ‘religion’.
It is almost impossible to single out one solid definition of what religion is or should be. Most dictionaries will tell you its etymological roots. That the word ‘religion’ has Greek and Latin origins and is related to this or that, the definition cannot tell us what religion is. Nor does it tell us what a ‘religion’ is made up of.
his is where Disney was born, Walt Disney himself started off making animated family films, and thus this is where Disney Religion is to found, in its original source and form. To see Disney as religion, we must be able to distinguish what elements constitute its religious core?
To do this we must first outline the elements that make up every religion. Although the religions of the world all have variation and differences, they all have common elements which classify them as ‘religion’.
It is almost impossible to single out one solid definition of what religion is or should be. Most dictionaries will tell you its etymological roots. That the word ‘religion’ has Greek and Latin origins and is related to this or that, the definition cannot tell us what religion is. Nor does it tell us what a ‘religion’ is made up of.
David Beckham as Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty. *
According to Dr. Gary Kessler; “William P. Alston, a contemporary philosopher of religion, offers a culture definition consisting of “religion-making” characteristics” (Studying Religion p. 21).
I completely agree with Alston’s nine characteristics. I think that they best represent how a ‘religion’ or faith should be organized. Furthermore they can be applied to Disney. The nine characteristics help us to develop an understanding of ‘The Religion of Disney’.
Alston says that not all of these traits must be present at once, but when enough of them are, that is when you find a religion or faith. Without question this model can be applied to Disney and its films.
They are as follows;
1) Belief in supernatural beings (gods).
2) A distinction between sacred and profane objects.
3) Ritual acts focused on sacred objects.
4) A moral code believed to be sanctioned by the gods.
5) Characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual, and which are connected in idea with the gods.
6) Prayer and other forms of communication with gods.
7) A worldview, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein. This picture contains some specification of an overall purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it.
8) A more or less total organization of one’s life based on the worldview.
9) A social group bound together by the above.
I completely agree with Alston’s nine characteristics. I think that they best represent how a ‘religion’ or faith should be organized. Furthermore they can be applied to Disney. The nine characteristics help us to develop an understanding of ‘The Religion of Disney’.
Alston says that not all of these traits must be present at once, but when enough of them are, that is when you find a religion or faith. Without question this model can be applied to Disney and its films.
They are as follows;
1) Belief in supernatural beings (gods).
2) A distinction between sacred and profane objects.
3) Ritual acts focused on sacred objects.
4) A moral code believed to be sanctioned by the gods.
5) Characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual, and which are connected in idea with the gods.
6) Prayer and other forms of communication with gods.
7) A worldview, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein. This picture contains some specification of an overall purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it.
8) A more or less total organization of one’s life based on the worldview.
9) A social group bound together by the above.
Roger Federer as King Arthur. *
Flora: Now sword of truth fly swift and sure, That evil die and good endure! [Phillip throws the sword at the dragon, which is hit deadly and collapses]
~ Sleeping Beauty
~ Sleeping Beauty
1983 hits
