It wasn't just Chef

Michael Gove of Times UK argues that South Park has backed off from their Scientology episode not just because of Isaac Hayes or Tom Cruise, but because of certain other recent events.

The whole climate in which religion is discussed has chilled notably in the past few months. After the Danish cartoon controversy, the momentum is with those people who use their particular, narrow faith to silence other voices. If you doubt that’s so, just ask why no British newspaper felt that it could reproduce those cartoons. And reflect on why the British and American governments had to apologise for the offence caused. What were governments doing saying sorry for the independent actions of free citizens? Bending before a very ill wind.

Then he talks about Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's shirt and collar for awhile, though I really don't understand why. But his point about South Park and religious discourse is both very sobering and not exactly correct. I somehow doubt Parker and Stone are bowing to an "ill wind" now when they never seem to have before. But that doesn't mean that others are standing up with them, and a lack of support at the corporate level is probably what led to the re-airing of the episode being cancelled.

Despite what we may think about how secular our society is, religion is trumps in nearly all matters, and the lack of it or hostility toward it marks you like no other category, as a recent study (reported on here by Kevin Drum) shows. Atheists are simply the most distrusted minority in America. Or perhaps, more accurately but no less distressingly, atheists are the minority for whom Americans feel the least compunction about expressing their distrust and prejudice.

Yeah, and let's see what religion is doing today. Oh, and how about American Christianity's stance on torture? Jesus, save us from our faith.