Religious leaders say HBO overstepped bounds

Some local religious leaders and experts believe Hollywood overstepped some tacit bounds in depicting sacred rites and beliefs in Sunday night's episode of "Big Love" on HBO. The show included a portrayal of a temple ceremony considered sacred by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That portrayal is discussed at length in a piece titled "Publicity Dilemma" in the "Newsroom" section of www.lds.org.

"Certainly church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding," the church's statement says.

Rabbi Benny Zippel of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah and Brigham Young University religion professor Kent P. Jackson said Hollywood would do well to have some standards in how it depicts sacred rites of any faith.

"Of course it would offend me" if a TV show or movie focused on sacred Jewish rites or beliefs, Zippel said. He feels sacred beliefs should be protected as much as possible.

"Every religious group has the right to have certain areas that are set apart as special and sacred," BYU's Jackson said.

Jackson and Richard Wolf, an elder with the Jehovah's Witnesses in Davis County, said Hollywood likes to be sensational.

"Everything is game to Hollywood," Jackson said. "Hollywood is in the business of making money."

With regard to sacred religious rites, Wolf said, "They shouldn't do that."

Wolf said his faith has very simple and very public meetings, so Hollywood wouldn't find much to sensationalize.

Jackson said the main thrust of some of his religion courses at BYU is teaching students to respect what is sacred in other religions. The HBO showing of the LDS temple ceremony clearly crosses that boundary of respect, he said.

Last week, HBO issued an apology.

"Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology," HBO said in a statement issued Tuesday

"In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect," said series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer.

Jackson said it's not so much about accuracy as it is about respect. "It's a question of being sacred and honoring (others' beliefs)."

Sunday's penultimate episode of "Big Love's" third season has drawn a lot of attention, but it was by no means the first time the show has created discussion about respect for people of faith. For example, an earlier episode showed members of the LDS Church in a locker room wearing clothing considered sacred by faithful members of the church. Another showed a deceased polygamist woman in her casket, attired in what appeared to be LDS temple clothing.