Tradition and television : religious aspects

Abstract

At first sight there appears to be no obvious connection between tradition and television. It is still less evident that whatever connection there may be has any particular religious significance at all. It takes some extraordinary broadcast of a historical event to jolt one into the realization that there can be an intimate relationship between a medium of communication developed within this century and traditions that may have been inherited from remotest times. The importance of this relationship for theology becomes clear only when one considers the anthropological meaning of ancient creeds, cults and customs of all sorts that have been handed down from century to century and suddently come into focus under the searching scrutiny of the TV cameras. On November 4th, 1984, Dutch Television proudly claimed a broadcasting first. The announcer declared: "For the first time ever the traditional Hindu rite of cremation is being broadcast live on Western European TV". The occasion was the funeral ceremony of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the murdered Prime Minister of India. Millions of viewers in Europe witnessed it as it happened. They saw Mr. Rajiv Gandhi thousands of miles away lighting the funeral pyre of his mother, his predecessor as Prime Minister of India.