Action Alert! Nonbelievers Love Nature, Too!
PBS National Parks Series Goes Overboard with "God Talk"
October 2, 2009
Several FFRF members contacted us over their dismay at the "God talk" in PBS' new documentary mini-series by Ken Burns about the U.S. national park system. The first episode, entitled "The Scripture of Nature," included many religious references, such as a flabbergasting remark by writer Dayton Duncan claiming our love of nature originates from our genetic memory dating back to the Garden of Eden! A Christian hymn, "This Is My Father's World," played instrumentally, a questionable choice considering the lyrics (see sample of the lyrics in FFRF's letter to PBS and Ken Burns).
Some naturalists have held deep religious beliefs, such as John Muir, and no one objects to a truthful explanation of Muir's religious views as they influenced his drive to preserve nature. But, as FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote, "A series about nature should not rhapsodize about the supernatural." Many of us who revere nature need no "higher" or "spiritual" purpose for doing so. Documentary filmmakers do not need to "sell" nature by invoking the supernatural. We need no deity in the sky to remind us to care about the environment. Nonbelievers and non-Christians actually are inclined to care more because we realize generations to come will inherit this planet and that our earthly mistakes will not be resolved by a Second Coming.
In her letter to PBS and Ken Burns, Gaylor wrote, "Many famous environmentalists, unlike John Muir, felt the natural world was enough for them: 'above us only sky,' as John Lennon put it. Environmentalists such as Aldo Leopold roundly rejected religion. We hope as your series continues that there will be an acknowledgment of the many of us who treasure and support our national parks who are not religious, who have a devotion to this world, our only world, instead of to some unseen, speculative afterworld and its 'creator.' "
PBS has produced a beautiful series exalting our national parks and raising awareness of the need to preserve our natural world. But, if you share our puzzlement and dismay over the first episode's overuse of "God talk," please voice that concern. To view the first episode in this series, click here. The series continues on Sunday around the nation.
Contact
As always, we are happy to receive "blind" copies of your letters via bgutsch@ffrf.org. For maximum effectiveness, please keep comments brief and on topic with one or two main points, and write as an individual, not as someone responding to this action alert. One line messages are fine.
Paula Kerger
PBS President & Chief Executive Officer
Public Broadcasting Service
2100 Crystal Drive
Arlington VA 22202
PBS E-mail Form
Ombudsman E-mail Form
Contact your local station
Ken Burns
Florentine Films
P.O. Box 613
Walpole NH 03608
Fax: (603) 756-4389
Be sure to let us know if your e-mail address changes at info@ffrf.org. We'd love to save time, money and trees by e-mailing you about local issues in the future. Thank you for your help!
Action Alert by Bonnie Gutsch