I took a class called "Mormon Media & Culture" at UVU in 2024. For my final paper I needed to take 3 papers we had read and analyzed to come up with my final paper. I had a stack of papers to chose from and could have chosen so many different topics we covered, for some reason I ended up with 2 papers my professor himself had written at one point during his career which was kind of fun. I highly recommend all 3 papers cited here as they were all worth a read.
For this paper, I wanted to connect how authority within the LDS church takes away from personal religiosity. I started with the paper written by Rosemary Avance titled Worthy “Gods” and “Goddesses” as she sees authority inside the LDS church as patriarchal and dogmatized which then led me to the paper titled Mormon “Family Values” Versus Television by David W. Scott. This paper emphasized authority within the LDS church and internal struggle between institutional devotion and personal religiosity. I was then able to add the article titled Religiosity in South Park, also written by David W. Scott, emphasizing how personal religiosity is taking over institutional worship. I will use Peter Berger’s view that religion is socially constructed leaving people with less desire for institutional dogma and more individual spirituality instead.
Worth “Gods” and “Goddesses” The Meaning of Modesty in the Normalization of Latter-day Saint Gender Roles by Rosemary Avance
Summarize
According to Avance, from a very young age, members of the LDS church are socialized to know gender differences, modesty standards, and church guidelines. Starting at 18 months through adulthood they receive lessons on Sundays, read Church published magazines, books, pamphlets, and more. The church is an active presence in their lives, constantly reminding them of the doctrine and standards. “Latter-day Saints are socialized to internalize and appropriate both Church dogma and Church-sanctioned standards of modesty, normalizing both temporal and eternal gender-based roles.” (Avance, 12) She explains how these institutionalized messages serve as justification to enforce patriarchy while women grow up as second-class citizens always afraid they might inadvertently lead men astray if they don’t dress according to church standards. Those in authority within the LDS church have always put out guidelines as a way to control members’ behavior with recurring themes such as modesty, purity, chastity, virtue, and ideal motherhood from an early age. Even in adulthood, those who are “faithful” or rule-abiding members, can notice the presence or absence of others' membership garments as a form of social control.
Analyze
Avance shows how LDS authority uses modesty and chastity to socialize members into accepting standards at a young age that are then self-policed by other members throughout their entire lives. This is not a new concept as modesty guidelines have been in place inside the LDS church for decades becoming existing knowledge and part of the cultural practices still used today. Avance notes that LDS women have become co-creators of normalized gender roles to distract them from seeing their true potential as powerful women in a patriarchal world. She points out similar practices used to keep women submissive in Islam by the wearing of a hijab.
Mormon “Family Values” Versus Television: An Analysis of the Discourse of Mormon Couples Regarding Television and Popular Media Culture by David W. Scott
Summarize
The research in this paper is based on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model and Peter Berger’s idea that religion is socially constructed. Hall divides viewers into three different categories, those who follow the preferred position, those who negotiate, and those who oppose the readings. Six different LDS couples were interviewed for this paper, and all are active, faithful members who read the guidelines set by those in authority. The preferred position, in this paper, meant that they mainly agreed with the guidelines set by those in authority within the LDS church which led them to stay away from viewing things on television that were threatening to the family. They avoided programs with alternative lifestyles, especially those involving homosexuality. “Those whose construction of television was most consistent with the discourse of church leaders were the least likely to watch much (if any) television.” (Scott, 20) The negotiated position was a little more complex. These couples mostly agreed with the guidelines set by those in authority within the LDS church but they would remove themselves from the shows they were watching by seeing the characters as fictional or just actors and not having any impact on their religious views. They would be able to overlook certain parts of their programs by highlighting other parts that had good family values. The resistant position was only practiced by one couple in the study. While they also have read all the guidelines given by those in authority within the LDS church, they saw them as guidelines and nothing more. Both agreed that too many members took the words from leaders too literally without weighing their own personal religiosity. They like to have the ability to personally resist watching certain media through choice and not obedience.
Analyze
Many studies have been done about religion and why individuals follow their own personal views at times even if they contradict what they have been taught. Peter Berger is one of those Sociologists who believed that religion was socially constructed making it more about personal belief and not institutional discourse. During the study most of the participants chose to use their personal beliefs as well as the guidelines offered by those in authority within the LDS church to alter their television viewing habits proving Berger's theory correct. While this was just a small sample of a conservative religious group, it showed how Hall’s encoding/decoding model worked on those who were given religious media guidelines to potentially test their ability to personally filter out negative television content rather than to just listen to their church leaders.
Religiosity in South Park: Struggles Over Institutional and Personal Piety Among Residents of a "Redneck Town" by David W. Scott
Summarize
Since World War II we have seen a decline in Institutionalized religion. Large churches are losing members as people are calling themselves “spiritual” instead of religious and finding ways to worship in other places besides large buildings. South Park also encourages private religious worship over institutional practices by using satire to show how damaging large denominations can be by pointing out group thinking, blindly following authority, dogmatic ritualism, and how religion uses fear to keep members loyal.
Analyze
The religious organizations portrayed in South Park are done so with satire and one is never preferred over another. The consistency in which all of them are equally criticized highlights the fact that the creators of South Park also emphasize Peter Berger’s theory on religion that it is socially constructed. They use satire to make fun of sacred text and rituals while portraying God as a Buddhist. They reinforce personal religiosity over institutional worship as nothing is too sacred to make their episodes.
Reflect & Apply Knowledge
Authority is a powerful tool. Many of the concepts in the paper written by Avance were not new to me, but she did an excellent job relating it all together into a cohesive paper. She talks about patriarchal authority being used in the LDS church to teach women from a young age that their bodies are sacred and essential for their future as mothers. She also explains that these women are then told it is their responsibility to dress modestly as men cannot control their own thoughts. Authority has been institutionalized and dogmatized inside the LDS church for many years making it easier to follow guidelines without question.
Authority is also a main topic of conversation in the paper on Mormon Family Values Versus Television. For years, general conference talks, articles in magazines, and lessons in Sunday school would give us gentle reminders on what kind of programs we should avoid watching on television. Like Avance mentioned in her paper, members are taught from 18 months old how to be good Latter-day Saints. How do you justify living in two different worlds when you have been told your whole life to avoid certain topics on Sundays but you live in the real world the other six days of the week? Seeing shows on television and associating the roles as make believe or “not real” to avoid contradicting your personal religious beliefs makes complete sense. Instead of questioning the authority that made the guidelines in the first place, altering their own personal views is easier.
After reading both articles where authority seemed to be a problem as it was dictating a way of life without leaving room for personal interpretation, I was pleasantly surprised by the South Park article. I had never once seen an episode of South Park but was vaguely aware of the crude and satirical nature of the show. Peter Berger’s view of religion being a social construct was very noticeable immediately and the notion that the creators were not fans of institutionalized dogma was very front and center. The article reinforced my view on patriarchal authority and the need for more personal religiosity.
While there have been many changes over the years when it comes to authority within the LDS church, there are still many changes that could be made. Too many members are being taught, since they are little, that guidelines are more than what they are, guidelines. Instead of just blind obedience they need to be taught to make informed decisions, to not just go along with the group, but to be an individual who can have personal beliefs that sometimes can be contradictory to what others may think.
Bibliography
Avance, R. (2010). Worthy “Gods” and “Goddesses.” Journal of Religion & Society.
Scott, D. (2003). Mormon “Family Values” Versus Television. Critical Studies in Media Communication.
Scott, D. (2011). Religiosity in South Park: Struggles Over Institutional and Personal Piety Among Residents of a “Redneck Town.” Journal of Media and Religion.
Worth “Gods” and “Goddesses” The Meaning of Modesty in the Normalization of Latter-day Saint Gender Roles by Rosemary Avance
Summarize
According to Avance, from a very young age, members of the LDS church are socialized to know gender differences, modesty standards, and church guidelines. Starting at 18 months through adulthood they receive lessons on Sundays, read Church published magazines, books, pamphlets, and more. The church is an active presence in their lives, constantly reminding them of the doctrine and standards. “Latter-day Saints are socialized to internalize and appropriate both Church dogma and Church-sanctioned standards of modesty, normalizing both temporal and eternal gender-based roles.” (Avance, 12) She explains how these institutionalized messages serve as justification to enforce patriarchy while women grow up as second-class citizens always afraid they might inadvertently lead men astray if they don’t dress according to church standards. Those in authority within the LDS church have always put out guidelines as a way to control members’ behavior with recurring themes such as modesty, purity, chastity, virtue, and ideal motherhood from an early age. Even in adulthood, those who are “faithful” or rule-abiding members, can notice the presence or absence of others' membership garments as a form of social control.
Analyze
Avance shows how LDS authority uses modesty and chastity to socialize members into accepting standards at a young age that are then self-policed by other members throughout their entire lives. This is not a new concept as modesty guidelines have been in place inside the LDS church for decades becoming existing knowledge and part of the cultural practices still used today. Avance notes that LDS women have become co-creators of normalized gender roles to distract them from seeing their true potential as powerful women in a patriarchal world. She points out similar practices used to keep women submissive in Islam by the wearing of a hijab.
Mormon “Family Values” Versus Television: An Analysis of the Discourse of Mormon Couples Regarding Television and Popular Media Culture by David W. Scott
Summarize
The research in this paper is based on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model and Peter Berger’s idea that religion is socially constructed. Hall divides viewers into three different categories, those who follow the preferred position, those who negotiate, and those who oppose the readings. Six different LDS couples were interviewed for this paper, and all are active, faithful members who read the guidelines set by those in authority. The preferred position, in this paper, meant that they mainly agreed with the guidelines set by those in authority within the LDS church which led them to stay away from viewing things on television that were threatening to the family. They avoided programs with alternative lifestyles, especially those involving homosexuality. “Those whose construction of television was most consistent with the discourse of church leaders were the least likely to watch much (if any) television.” (Scott, 20) The negotiated position was a little more complex. These couples mostly agreed with the guidelines set by those in authority within the LDS church but they would remove themselves from the shows they were watching by seeing the characters as fictional or just actors and not having any impact on their religious views. They would be able to overlook certain parts of their programs by highlighting other parts that had good family values. The resistant position was only practiced by one couple in the study. While they also have read all the guidelines given by those in authority within the LDS church, they saw them as guidelines and nothing more. Both agreed that too many members took the words from leaders too literally without weighing their own personal religiosity. They like to have the ability to personally resist watching certain media through choice and not obedience.
Analyze
Many studies have been done about religion and why individuals follow their own personal views at times even if they contradict what they have been taught. Peter Berger is one of those Sociologists who believed that religion was socially constructed making it more about personal belief and not institutional discourse. During the study most of the participants chose to use their personal beliefs as well as the guidelines offered by those in authority within the LDS church to alter their television viewing habits proving Berger's theory correct. While this was just a small sample of a conservative religious group, it showed how Hall’s encoding/decoding model worked on those who were given religious media guidelines to potentially test their ability to personally filter out negative television content rather than to just listen to their church leaders.
Religiosity in South Park: Struggles Over Institutional and Personal Piety Among Residents of a "Redneck Town" by David W. Scott
Summarize
Since World War II we have seen a decline in Institutionalized religion. Large churches are losing members as people are calling themselves “spiritual” instead of religious and finding ways to worship in other places besides large buildings. South Park also encourages private religious worship over institutional practices by using satire to show how damaging large denominations can be by pointing out group thinking, blindly following authority, dogmatic ritualism, and how religion uses fear to keep members loyal.
Analyze
The religious organizations portrayed in South Park are done so with satire and one is never preferred over another. The consistency in which all of them are equally criticized highlights the fact that the creators of South Park also emphasize Peter Berger’s theory on religion that it is socially constructed. They use satire to make fun of sacred text and rituals while portraying God as a Buddhist. They reinforce personal religiosity over institutional worship as nothing is too sacred to make their episodes.
Reflect & Apply Knowledge
Authority is a powerful tool. Many of the concepts in the paper written by Avance were not new to me, but she did an excellent job relating it all together into a cohesive paper. She talks about patriarchal authority being used in the LDS church to teach women from a young age that their bodies are sacred and essential for their future as mothers. She also explains that these women are then told it is their responsibility to dress modestly as men cannot control their own thoughts. Authority has been institutionalized and dogmatized inside the LDS church for many years making it easier to follow guidelines without question.
Authority is also a main topic of conversation in the paper on Mormon Family Values Versus Television. For years, general conference talks, articles in magazines, and lessons in Sunday school would give us gentle reminders on what kind of programs we should avoid watching on television. Like Avance mentioned in her paper, members are taught from 18 months old how to be good Latter-day Saints. How do you justify living in two different worlds when you have been told your whole life to avoid certain topics on Sundays but you live in the real world the other six days of the week? Seeing shows on television and associating the roles as make believe or “not real” to avoid contradicting your personal religious beliefs makes complete sense. Instead of questioning the authority that made the guidelines in the first place, altering their own personal views is easier.
After reading both articles where authority seemed to be a problem as it was dictating a way of life without leaving room for personal interpretation, I was pleasantly surprised by the South Park article. I had never once seen an episode of South Park but was vaguely aware of the crude and satirical nature of the show. Peter Berger’s view of religion being a social construct was very noticeable immediately and the notion that the creators were not fans of institutionalized dogma was very front and center. The article reinforced my view on patriarchal authority and the need for more personal religiosity.
While there have been many changes over the years when it comes to authority within the LDS church, there are still many changes that could be made. Too many members are being taught, since they are little, that guidelines are more than what they are, guidelines. Instead of just blind obedience they need to be taught to make informed decisions, to not just go along with the group, but to be an individual who can have personal beliefs that sometimes can be contradictory to what others may think.
Bibliography
Avance, R. (2010). Worthy “Gods” and “Goddesses.” Journal of Religion & Society.
Scott, D. (2003). Mormon “Family Values” Versus Television. Critical Studies in Media Communication.
Scott, D. (2011). Religiosity in South Park: Struggles Over Institutional and Personal Piety Among Residents of a “Redneck Town.” Journal of Media and Religion.
[Paper written for COMM 3780 class UVU Summer 2024]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
