South Park “insults” religion

September 9th, 2008 by Andy Armitage

The delightful South Park is not to everyone’s taste, it seems. There are a bunch of people in Russia who want to ban it from their television screens (John “Massa” Beyer hasn’t emigrated, has he?).

Now you might associate Russia with censorship of all kinds of things, but a TV programme about a bunch of nine-year-olds that’s won Emmys?

Ah, but the organisation wanting to do the banning is called the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith. That explains it.

It did cause some controversy when it was launched, parodying, as it did, celebrities, politicians, religion, gay marriage and Saddam Hussein. Perhaps it’s the parodying of religion they don’t like.

Konstantin Bendas, leader of the Christian group, said,

Young children should not be able to turn on the TV after school and watch this. It insults the feelings of religious believers and incites religious and national hatred.

How they prove national and religious hatred has been incited, goodness only knows. As for insulting the feelings of religious believers, well they have the off switch if they don’t like it.

The programme is dubbed into Russian. Perhaps it’s called Gorky Park. Perhaps not.

UPDATE: (Sept 10) Bartholomew’s Notes has more.


5 Responses to “South Park “insults” religion”

  1. Bartholomew says:
    10/Sep/2008 at 8:38 am

    Bendas also complains that the show is “propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia”. And it’s not just South Park he dislikes:

    We are convinced that the time has come to reexamine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are against those human rights that lead to the corruption of society and contradict moral bases,” said Konstantin Bendas, business manager of the Russian Union of Christian Evangelicals.

    I’ve got more background here.

  2. Jimbo says:
    13/Sep/2008 at 1:02 am

    “propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia”

    The show clearly promotes homosexuality. After seeing a few episodes, who wouldn’t want to be just like Mr., …, Mrs., …, Mr. Garrison?

    And the paedophiles from the NAMBLA episode, who wouldn’t want to invite such congenial chaps for tea and biscuits?

  3. martyn says:
    25/Sep/2008 at 2:51 pm

    South Park “insults” religion, and good on em!

  4. Zach Gebello says:
    30/Nov/2008 at 11:00 pm

    I just love South Park, but I agree there is a problem with their handling of religions in some of the episodes. The big problem is that they wont takle judaïsm. Even in the “Passion of the Jew” episode it makes the plot end up being a critique on christianity.

    They should leave out religion if they intend of keeping on with this anoying double standard.

  5. randy says:
    20/Jan/2009 at 4:39 am

    They do make fun Judism as well, just look at the jewbilee episode