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Oakdale Confidential:
An As The World Turns Novel

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

NEW TIME RELIGION

I was watching Monday's episode of "New Adventures of Old Christine," (I have two small children, I watch all TV on a minimum of 24 hour delay). Christine's ex-husband's new girlfriend was a church-goer, and they had taken Christine's son to church. Christine freaked.

And, in a world where everyone says there are no new stories under the soap-opera sun, it made me think: why haven't we ever seen a story of conflicting faiths on daytime?

I'm not talking about the periodic, half-hearted stab at interfaith romance (Rose and Jake on GH, Robin and Mike on DOOL -- where we learned that Jews only eat tuna-fish on Shabbat, a piece of information my brain still has trouble processing 20 years after the disturbing scene aired), but something more down-to-earth:

What happens to a couple when one half, for whatever reason, gets religion? How does that affect their relationship? Their child-rearing? Their day to day life?

I suppose the reason we have yet to see such a story on daytime is because, on daytime, everyone is vaguely religious, but not really. A Catholic priest (Father Ray; GL) may wander through the scene once in a while, and even share the obligatory Thorn Birds-romance (LOVING's Shana and Jim), or an Episcopalian minister may pop his nose in (Andrew; OLTL).

But, overall, the good people of daytime subscribe to a vague, nebulous Christianity, where Christmas is celebrated (but rarely Easter), babies are baptized non-denominationally and funerals and wedding are conducted by presumed reverends with assumed bibles in their hands.

What would the good Reverend Ruthledge, whose sermons used to take up entire episodes of GL seventy years ago, think?

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