The Buddha is the subject of David Grubin’s new documentary, airing Wednesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. on Western Reserve PBS.
It’s Like Shark Week for People Who Like Documentaries on the Subject of Religion
Strangely, for a person who has never been particularly religious — although I sometimes fall into a reverie of cosmic wonder in the produce department at the grocery story — I’ve been interested in the subject of religion since I was a kid. I minored in religion studies in college; love Rumi and Lao-tzu and Joseph Campbell and chanting monks and epic-sized B-rated religious movies starring Charlton Heston (it’s time for The Ten Commandments again! “Do you hear laughter, Pharaoh?”); spend too much time mulling over existential questions; and watch every PBS production with religion as its theme.
I’ve even e-mailed PBS filmmaker David Grubin (see The Buddha below) to suggest he produce a multi-part series on the Protestant Reformation, a long historical period of ideological upheaval that seems to have affected every facet of life in the Western world— spiritual, social, political, economic and intellectual. Grubin never responded to my e-mail, so I’ve decided he was either jealous of my fabulous idea or his e-mail account thought I was spam. Or he just didn’t think it was such a hot idea. <<Sigh.>>
The week of April 4 will be a good time for those among us who love history and religion all wrapped up in a TV week of documentary fun. To use a tired analogy, it’s like Shark Week for … alright, here we go:
The Story of God Sunday, April 4, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Every civilization in history has been founded on a belief in a higher power that tells us where we come from, what we do, who we are. For some, religion has no place in the modern world — its force and relevance diluted and negated by the driving thrust of science. Yet the power of religion remains with us today in our thinking, our rituals and our culture. The Story of God embarks on a journey across continents, cultures and eras, examining one of the most extraordinary aspects of human behavior. How has a belief in God made us who we are?
Drawing upon new and sometimes controversial historical evidence, Frontline transports viewers back 2,000 years to the time and place where Jesus of Nazareth once lived and preached and challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about the origins of Christianity. The first program traces the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the events that led to his crucifixion around 30 C.E. In the second program, Frontline examines the period after the First Revolt, tracing the development and impact of the Gospels. The broadcast also documents the extraordinary events of the second and third centuries in which Christianity grew from a small Jewish sect to an official religion of the Roman Empire.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of America’s fastest-growing religions and, relative to its size, one of the richest. Church membership is 12 million people worldwide. This four-hour documentary brings together Frontline and American Experience in a co-production that provides a searching portrait of this often misunderstood religion.
Over 2,500 years ago, a new religion was born in northern India, generated from the ideas of a single man, the Buddha, a mysterious Indian sage who famously gained enlightenment while he sat under a fig tree. The Buddha never claimed to be God or his emissary on earth. He said only that he was a human being who, in a world of unavoidable pain and suffering, had found a kind of serenity that others could find, too. This documentary by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin tells the story of his life. Richard Gere narrates.
Strangely, for a person who has never been particularly religious — although I sometimes fall into a reverie of cosmic wonder in the produce department at the grocery story — I’ve been interested in the subject of religion since I was a kid. I minored in religion studies in college; love 
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