Category "Religion"

Behind Scientology's high celebrity profile lies an organisation on its knees. In this powerful documentary, a band of former elite members emerge from the secretive religion to allege extreme cruelty, slave labour and financial greed. "It may have a philosophy that's religious, but it's strictly business", says former scientologist Joe Reaiche. Joining at the age of 19, Joe advanced quickly through the mysterious levels of learning at the heart of Scientology. At each level he was asked for a fee, which would eventually amount to approximately 250 000 dollars. When Joe voiced his doubts about the church, he was expelled, and all communication with his wife and children cut off. "What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality", says Senator Nick Xenophon. Read more & Watch...

We look at a number of Cults that are operating in Ireland, including ‘The House of Prayer’, ‘Palmarians’ and ‘Scientologists’. We speak with ex Scientology members as they blow the lid on one of the most famous cults of all time! ‘Exposed: Ireland’s Secret Cults!’ takes a close look at a number of cults operating right here in Ireland. The first of these cults is Christiana Gallagher’s House of Prayer in Achill Co. Mayo. We go undercover to examine the source of her seemingly lavish life style and look at the credibility of some of her “God given” predictions about the future of the world, as well as those running ‘The House of Prayer’ in her name. Read more & Watch...

UNREPENTANT: KEVIN ANNETT AND CANADA’S GENOCIDE (2006) documents Canada’s “dirty secret” – the planned genocide of aboriginal people in church-run Indian Residential Schools – and a clergyman’s efforts to document and make public these crimes. First-hand testimonies from residential school survivors are interwoven with Kevin Annett’s own story of how he faced firing, “de-frocking”, and the loss of his family, reputation and livelihood as a result of his efforts to help survivors and bring out the truth of the residential schools. Read more & Watch...

A French documentary about the Church of Scientology's infiltration of their judicial system, the occupation of Clearwater, FL, and the church's influence on powerful politicians in Europe. Read more & Watch...

Carlton TV got a scoop when reporter Ali Braund went undercover with a hidden camera in the Poole organization. They also used other sources in making this landmark documentary about the The Church of Scientology. The cult tried to sue the documentary makers, but it was dismissed as an abuse of the courts. The documentary discusses: Conway and Siegelman survey; security checking (Sec Check); deceptive recruitment; L. Ron Hubbard; Robert Vaughn Young; plan to eradicate Suppressive Persons from the Earth; myths about L. Ron Hubbard’s life; Read more & Watch...

In Greek mythology, ancient Greece's most powerful god wages an epic struggle against his father for control of the universe. It's the ultimate power struggle as the Olympians challenge the Titans in mythology's greatest showdown. This is a pivotal battle that experts believe may have been ancient code for a real world event-one of the greatest natural disasters the Earth ever experienced. Clash of the Gods is a documentary series that premiered in 2009 on the History channel. The program covers many of the ancient Greek and Norse Gods, monsters and heroes. Read more & Watch...

The number of faith schools in Britain is rising. Around 7,000 publicly-funded schools, one in three, now has a religious affiliation. As the coalition government paves the way for more faith-based education by promoting ‘free schools’, the renowned atheist and evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins says enough is enough. In this passionately argued film, Dawkins calls on us to reconsider the consequences of faith education, which, he argues, bamboozles parents and indoctrinates and divides children. Read more & Watch...

An examination of the commercialisation of Christmas in America while following Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt.) The film also delves into issues such as the role sweatshops play in America’s mass consumerism and Big-Box Culture. From the humble beginnings of preaching at his portable pulpit on New York City subways, to having a congregation of thousands – Bill Talen (aka Rev. Billy) has become the leader of not just a church, but a national movement. Read more & Watch...

Penn and Teller are magicians who have a hit TV show called “Bullshit” on Showtime. In the show they mock, criticize and point out common misconceptions held traditionally by others. I do not have showtime at home but I have watched some of their videos on you tube and they were informative, not to mention hilarious. Here’s one of their episode in which they make fun of the bible and points out to its logical fallacies. There are tons of such logical fallacies in every religious text (why you ask? because these crappy pieces of literature were all written by semi-literate charlatans pretending to be God!!) and a half-hour show can only point to so many. Read more & Watch...

This episode takes a look into a Georgia school board debate about whether or not they should teach what's in the Bible about the creation of living things. This is claimed to be as much a 'science' by its supporters as evolution. The truth is, they want their religion in the school system and for all the other students to learn of their religious beliefs. What they are really doing is teaching what's in the Bible which is for a private school, not a public school. Penn and Teller will explain why in this episode of Bullsh**! Read more & Watch...

WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON delves into the heart of America's 50-million member Evangelical community, using intimate portraits and archival footage to explore how literal belief in Biblical prophecy - including the Rapture and Armageddon, exerts a dangerous influence on U.S. relations in the Middle East. The film opens with portraits of three Evangelical families, James and Laura Bagg, a Connecticut couple who work as military jet- propulsion engineers, Tony and Devonna Edwards in McAlester, Oklahoma, and Dr. H. Wayne House in Salem, Oregon. Read more & Watch...

This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Read more & Watch...

The History of the Devil is wickedly good, informative and concise. A no-frills Welsh film produced in association with SBS Australia and distributed by Siren Visual, it’s roughly 52 minutes in length and packs a fair dinkum amount of history into its slender running time. The documentary itself is made up entirely of mostly still images alternating sporadically with talking heads; religious scholars, theologians and reverends. Directed by Greg Moodie and written and produced by Dave Flitton, it was researched by Eibhleann Ni Ghriofa, Deirdre Learmont and Craig McGregor. Read more & Watch...

In this short documentary, Dawkins takes a look at the purpose of human existance and asks the earthshaking question – Why are we here? Pointing out that religious stories of human purpose fail miserably, Dawkins indicates that science may be able to offer a better explaination for human existance. Starting out with Darwin, he claims that Darwin’s theory of evolution may offer the only explaination for humanity’s raison d’état that we are likely to ever get. Many religious believers may claim that answers for our existance offered by evolution theory mean that humans are nothing special, that we are just another species of animal. Read more & Watch...

The Third Jihad, the newest offering from the producers of the captivating documentary film, Obsession, explores the existence of radical Islam in America and the emerging risk that this “homegrown jihad” poses to national security, western liberties and the “American way of life.” The film, which is narrated by devout Muslim American Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, opens with the following statement: “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are radical. This film is about them.” Read more & Watch...