One of the good things about the growing number of reality shows is that more previously marginalized religious traditions are now being represented. In fact, there are several shows that are directly centred around religion. For example, MTV's "Run's House" followed the Simmon's family, with Rev Run of Run D.M.C, who was ordained as a Pentecostal minister. The family talked openly about their religious faith, and every episode ended with Rev Run tweeting or e-mailing a religious message. TLC also recently commissioned "Preacher's Wives", a show based in Atlanta to profile the lives of female preachers and their congregations.
One of the most explicitly religious reality programs right now would be "Sister Wives", which airs on TLC. The show follows polygamist Kody Brown, his four wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, and their combined seventeen children. The show was pretty ground-breaking when it first aired in 2010, because it was the first time that polygamy was ever really exposed to the public in such a way, and the Brown family brought national attention to the entire Mormon faith- most of it not good. "Ever since its inception in the early 19th century, Mormonism has been derided as a cult", says James Kirchick (Kirchick, 42). And if Kody Brown was trying to change people's perceptions of Mormon and the tradition of Mormonism, it is not really working: The second season of the show saw the family move from Utah to Nevada to avoid criminal charges for their plural marriage lifestyle, after exposing themselves as polygamists - polygamy is illegal in the state of Utah.
Another one of TLC's reality programs, "All-American Muslim", which premiered in November 2011, has also garnered criticism for its content. The show follows five American Muslim families living in Michigan, and focuses extensively on their Islamic faith.
The show almost immediately suffered backlash from sponsors and conservative groups who claimed that the show was propaganda, which culminated with Lowe's pulling their advertisements from the show. Keep in mind, the Florida Family Association who pressured companies to drop their sponsorship, also called for a boycott of Modern Family because the show tries to "normalize homosexuality" (http://www.avclub.com/articles/lowes-pulls-ads-from-allamerican-muslim-to-avoid-c,66453)
Another TLC show that has raised eyebrows is "19 Kids and Counting", which follows the Duggar family, led by parents Jim Bob and Michelle and their kids, who range in age from twenty four to two - Michelle recently miscarried what would have been their twentieth child. The Duggars are conservative Christians who follow fundamentalist values and do not use birth control. As Jim Bob told People magazine in an interview, "We thought we'd leave the decision about how many children to have up to God"(http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20061183,00.html). Needless to say, they have been accused of exploiting their children and also endangering both Michelle - by putting her through so many pregnancies - and their babies. Josie, their youngest girl, was born prematurely and suffered many health problems as a newborn after Michelle developed preeclampsia during her third trimester, and they say that they are still open to trying for a twentieth child. And while the family is reportedly debt-free and the kids are as happy and normal as they can be, participating in a reality show, have the Duggars taking things to the extreme for their faith and values? Many commentators on the TLC message boards seem to thing so, saying that the family is leaving the number of children up to Michelle, not to God, and that they should take their recent complications and the risk of Down Syndrome that comes with conceiving at an older age as a sign from a higher power that they shouldn't be having any more children. (http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/8981916228)
Yes, the Florida Family Association and other critics of these shows are, for the most part, taking things a step too far. But perhaps, on some level, one of the issues with having religious reality programs, as fascinating and educational that they may be, is that people now feel that these values and beliefs are being shoved down their throats in a way. Religious rights are entrenched in the American constitution, but is there possibly a downside to this? As Paul Harvey argues, "The free market of religion in America, protected by the Constitution... and practiced in the daily spiritual quests of Americans, means that groups use persuasion to attracts and hold converts" (Harvey, 40). In my opinion, these reactions are pretty over the top, but these various religions - Mormonism, Islam, fundamental Christianity have previously been so absent in our popular culture that the sudden complete public exposure of them in this shows has probably been kind of shocking to people.
