We have many videos that touch on religion, in a wide variety of ways.
A sampling of what is available:
1. Al Rashid: the story of Canada’s first mosque
BP 187.65 C22 E363 2010
A historical symbol for peaceful co-existence, Canada’s first mosque is a living testament to the faith, tolerance and community spirit of Edmonton’s Muslims.
2. Be fruitful & multiply
HQ 1172 B44 2005
The most important biblical commandment in the Jewish Ultra-Orthodox community is “Be Fruitful and Multiply”. The man is commanded to procreate, but it is the woman who is the instrument for fulfilling this purpose. This film provides a look into the life of the Ultra-Orthodox woman.
3. Healing at Lac Ste Anne
BX 2321 L32 H43 2008
Every July, over 40,000 Aboriginal people journey to Lac Ste Anne in northern Alberta.
It’s the largest Native pilgrimage in North America, and it’s over a century old.
Recent lawsuits over residential school scandals weigh on the Oblate missionaries who own the sacred site.
The religious order may go bankrupt and lose the site just when its healing powers are most needed.
This documentary is a campground tapestry of colourful characters and Catholic and Native faith, amidst the hope to heal old wounds.
4. In good conscience : Sister Jeannine Gramick’s journey of faith
BX 1795 H66 I5 2006
In Barbara Rick’s acclaimed documentary, IN GOOD CONSCIENCE, a most unlikely and very funny rebel — an American nun — finds
herself at the center of a human rights storm with leaders of one of the world’s most revered institutions, the Roman Catholic Church.
The film chronicles the true story of Sister Jeannine Gramick, who is defying a Vatican edict that she shut down her compassionate
ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics, and silence herself permanently on the subject of homosexuality.
5. In the Name of God: Holy Word, Holy War
HV 6431 I624 2003
By detailing key incidents ranging from the Dawson’s Field hijackings to the Luxor massacre, this program charts the ever-widening holy war that is pitting Islamists against Zionists and the Arab world against the West.
6. Inside Islam : what a billion Muslims really think
BP 52 I57 2010
Gallup researchers began by asking the questions on every American’s mind.
Focusing on the issues of Gender Justice, Terrorism, and Democracy, the film presents this remarkable data deftly,
showing how it challenges the popular notion that Muslims and the West are on a collision course.
Like the research, the film highlights a shared relationship that is based on facts, not fear.
7. Jesus Politics : the Bible and the Ballot
BL 65 P7 J47 2008
JESUS POLITICS explores themes including the social role of the church in the African-American community,
the religious rhetoric of the candidates and their sometimes controversial associations with religious leaders,
how moral issues such as abortion became political weapons, and how biblical interpretation is used to validate political beliefs.
8. Kansas vs Darwin
QH 362 K36 2008
Even before they took place, the 2005 Kansas school board hearings on evolution were recognized as a pivotal battle in America’s ongoing war
over teaching evolution in the public schools. Kansas vs. Darwin reveals the fascinating and sometimes baffling personalities behind the spectacle,
with exclusive footage of the hearings and revealing, in-depth interviews with the major figures on both sides.
9. The Lord is not on trial here today
KF 4162 L67 2010
The story of Vashti McCollum, a young housewife from central Illinois who filed a lawsuit that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing the separation of church and state in public schools.
10. Momentum, 2004-2005. Smudge
E 98 W8 M66 2005
Christians have cathedrals. Muslims their mosques. For Native Canadians used to praying in natural settings, all the world is a sacred space.
But the props of Aboriginal spirituality – drums, chants and smouldering sweet grass – can draw unwanted attention in the city.
Smudge witnesses how a small group of aboriginal women celebrate their rights to worship in the city – their way.
11. Religion and Euthanasia
R 726 R45 2003
The highly controversial topic of euthanasia is examined in this program through the eyes of several medical and religious experts.
12. Satya
BQ 6160 C62 S38 2005
Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet, more than one million Tibetans have been tortured, executed or starved to death for their role in
demonstrations against the Chinese occupation. Countless nuns have been imprisoned and tortured for shouting slogans, criticizing the Chinese state
in conversations with foreigners, possessing posters which call for Tibetan independence, or hoisting the Tibetan flag. The treatment they receive as political prisoners is brutal.
SATYA addresses the spiritual consequences of Chinese rule by registering the quiet outrage of teen-age nuns who have been forced by the Chinese to violate their Buddhist vows.
13. Untouchable?
DS 422 C3 U58 2000
Identified as outcasts or ‘untouchables’ whole families of dalit people exist in India effectively as bonded or slave laborers.
14. Women of the Wall
DS 109.32 W47 W66 2008
Feminism arrives at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the form of a women’s prayer group started in 1989.
Despite verbal and physical attack, these women continue fighting for the right to pray in this holy space,
thereby testing the limits of and expanding the interpretations of Judaism in Israel. In May 2000 the group once again made
international headlines when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in their favor after an eleven year court case. This decision, however,
dismantled only the legal barrier to their struggle, and not the cultural or societal ones barring their freedom of spiritual expression.