US Religion

US religious campaigners of the Catholic League have complained about the latest episode of Family Guy. The 8th November episode launched a few barbs at the catholic church in an episode about a Christening.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue has written to Family Guy producers, Walt Disney, to complain about the jokes poking fun at the church. He asked:

• Why are so many in Hollywood bent on disparaging our Judeo-Christian heritage?
• Why do they single out Catholics?
• Why can't they treat us the way they treat Muslims and gays?
• Why is Fox muddying the name of Walt Disney?

Donohue detailed the segment of the episode he found offensive:

Meg (The Daughter): Where's the priest?

Lois (The Mother): Oh, the Church ran out of priests months ago because of all the diddling. Now they just have a rabbi fill in.

The scene then cuts to a rabbi at a baptismal font where he makes this comment while doing the baptism.

Rabbi: Welcome to the Christening. Now, before the child goes in the water, has it been at least 20 minutes since she ate?

Joe (Father of Girl being baptised): Yes, rabbi.

Rabbi: Let's dunk this kid like a doughnut. I hereby Christen this child in the name of Jesus Christ, who was killed by we-don't-know-who, it's not important. The last thing we want to do is point fingers.

After the Baptism, the rabbi makes a joke about the Eucharist.

Rabbi: Congratulations, sweetie, you're a Christian. From now on, every Sunday you get to eat a hard cookie and pretend it's a guy.

Perennial hindu whinger Rajan Zed has called on Houston Ballet to cancel the ballet La Bayadère.

Zed said in a statement saying that Houston Ballet, nation's fifth largest ballet company which claimed to be an "anti-racist organization", should not be in the business of callously promoting appropriation of traditions, elements and concepts of "others"; and ridiculing entire communities.

Zed said that this deeply problematic ballet was just a blatant belittling of a rich civilization and exhibited 19th-century orientalist attitudes. He urged non-profit Houston Ballet to apologize for such an inappropriate selection.

Zed also urged Houston Ballet Trustees Chair S. Shawn Stephens, Executive Director James Nelson and Artistic Director Stanton Welch to re-evaluate its systems and procedures so that such an inappropriate stuff did not slip through in the future. In addition, all Houston Ballet employees should be sent for cultural sensitivity training.

The perennial hindu whinger Rajan Zed is urging Prairie Krafts Brewing Company from Illinois to apologize and rename/withdraw its Trishul Pale Ale; claiming it to be highly inappropriate.

Zed said that inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu symbols or concepts or deities or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees. Zed indicated that Trishul was an emblem of Lord Shiva and one of the principal divine symbols in Hinduism; and its three prongs denoted the powers of creation, preservation, destruction; and represented three gunas (fundamental principles of universe).

Breweries should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege, and ridiculing entire communities. It was deeply trivializing of divine Hindu symbol to be displayed on a beer can, Zed claimed.

All 23 seasons of the Comedy Central cartoon South Park are available on HBO Max -- except for five episodes that depict the religious character Muhammad.

The missing episodes were not part of the 23-season package provided by Viacom to streamers last year, and Viacom had made the decision to exclude them in agreement with series producer South Park Studios before the show was licensed to HBO Max.

The episodes not available on HBO Max include:

• season 5: Super Best Friends
• season 10 Cartoon Wars Part I and Cartoon Wars Part 2, although those episodes can still be streamed on the South Park website.
• season 14: 200 and 201 . Those shows had previously been removed from a streaming deal with Hulu and also were axed on the official South Park website.