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Bible Verse in a Non-Religious Magazine: Okay or No?
I posted a rant a while back on my blog (Woman's Day Magazine Irks Me). For the record, I'm not some crazy devil-worshiper who gets offended easily and tries to censor every little thing. I just don't feel that it's appropriate for a non-religious magazine that intends to appeal to all women to have a bible verse as a feature in every issue. An inspirational quote? Sure! An article where a woman talks about her faith? No problem! But an actual bible verse that says to praise God? Errr...it seems a bit out of place amidst the recipes and life tips.
You want to know how to tick off a lot of women really fast? Mention your beef with Woman's Day Magazine on the Woman's Day Message board! Here is a sample of the feedback I received:
"There is so much absolute filth out there. It's even in cartoons and shows, intended for kids." (True, but that really doesn't justify keeping the bible verse.)
"Perhaps Ms. Lambaround would consider attending a church/religious service of her choosing to see what the verses are referring to." (I can't even find words for this one.)
"When I saw the quote that you selected, it turned my stomach. Maybe that's because, as a counselor, I've seen the terrible things that people do to themselves and to the people they love through that type of thinking."
As for that last response, the women on the message board challenged me that there are no inspirational quotes that can apply to people without factoring in religion (never mind all those other inspirational quotes I see in the newspaper and other magazines!) I did a quick Google search for inspirational quotes and cut/paste the 1st few I saw. The first was "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." Goodness, whatever was I thinking, selecting such a disgusting quote, which is sure to lead everyone who reads it down a path of self destruction!
Anyway, the reason I began this post was to say that I have received my April issue and the bible verse is gone! Maybe it had something to do with the new Woman's Day editor, Elizabeth Mayhew, reading my original post (and commenting! How awesome is she?) and maybe (most likely) not.
This ended up being much more of a big deal to people than I'd expected. Am I right to think that the bible verse is out of place in this particular magazine or should the bible verse stay? What's your opinion?
For the rest of this post, please visit my blog at LambAround. Who knew 20sb had a word limit for its posts?
Tags: atheist, catholic, christian, jewish, magazine, muslim, religion, religious
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Licari on -
If they're a business they can promote whatever they want.
That's coming from an atheist.
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Permalink Reply by Kisekae on -
I am not religious in the slightest but I don't really see a problem with it. You say its okay for inspiration quotes etc. and thats basically what a lot of the verses in the bible are. I completely see where you are coming from but as long as its not taking over the entire magazine or telling you that you should believe in God etc. than whats the harm.
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Permalink Reply by jay. on -
I'm undecided.
I believe in God... and so to be perfectly honest, it's hard for me to see it from your point of view. However, I'm not very religious... and if I saw a Bible verse in a magazine, I wouldn't even bother to read it.
Maybe it's easier for me to just "ignore" it because of my beliefs?
You said yourself that it's on 1/8 of a page. There's 100+ pages of information that you enjoy otherwise. So, I'm finding a really hard time figuring out why this is a big deal... but then again... my disclaimer has already been voiced.
PS - I don't see a single verse as them trying to push their beliefs on you. If there was a verse on every page... then I'd be a little pissed. Just sayin'.
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Permalink Reply by Kanriah on -
I agree, a single verse is not pushing the christian belief on anyone.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Curtis on -
I'm a Christian. But I don't beleve faith should be pushed down people's throats.
That wasn't Jesus' style no how.
So if a non-religious mag's readers don't want biblical stuff printed in it? I don't see the issue.
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Licari on
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Are we discussing whether they can do it or if it's the right move to make as a business?
I don't even think there's a discussion as far as can they do it but for me when I see a Church, it doesn't offend me or when my bosses talk about God, it doesn't offend me or a Jesus fish or whatever. Why would it? It's childish and silly. If anything its humorous.
I would just unsubscribe and tell them why you're unsubscribing and get as many other people to do it as well. When their retention and bank begins to drop maybe they'll realize that money is > God.
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Permalink Reply by Angie on -
It doesn't really bother me, but it IS kind of annoying. What bothers me more is people who bring their religion into the work place.
And for the record, I'm Wiccan. ^_^
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Permalink Reply by Kanriah on
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I suppose it depends on the types of verses used in my opinion. I don't think it should be off limits. Perhaps their target audience generally IS christian or the many who aren't religious but would claim christian if put in a position to have to choose. So it's not about being religious so much as appealing to the majority of their audience.
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Permalink Reply by Tiffani D. on -
I am Christian, so I would be inclined to say 'whatever' right off the bat, however...
I think it might depend on the verse. Besides there being "Thou shall worship The Lord" written a million times, there are some verses that are quite poetic, and beautiful in their own right, not even taking into account the religion context behind the words.
So, if it was an article that could benefit from such inspiration, I'd say, why not?
But, for someone who is not Christian, I could see how having that "Worship the Lord" edict smack in the middle of a secular publication could seem off-putting.
For myself, as I said I wouldn't care, because I'm Christian. I'm all for someone expressing their love for God in that way.
As for the feedback you received...I am at a loss for words on that one. All I can do is shake my head, and hope that someone meets me, seeing I'm not nuts like that, and it wipes the memory of THOSE women out.
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Permalink Reply by leilani on -
I mean, I wonder why you are so offended? Do you think they were telling you "praise God or else"?
I guess it's slightly bothersome that it would be so flagrantly ignorant of other beliefs, but if I may be so bold as to say so, I think most people in America do, in fact, worship God (correct me if I am wrong), so if they are going to include a reference to a particular religious belief, it would make sense to make it one that applies to most people?
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Permalink Reply by Lamb Around on -
I'm not "offended" by the bible verse. It just seems like a weird thing to have as a regular feature in an otherwise religion-neutral magazine. The particular verse that made me start the post was "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."
Psalm 96.1
If the magazine is trying to appeal to all women, isn't a verse like that a step in the wrong direction?
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Permalink Reply by Whitney on -
I"m sure they've done research on their reader demographics.. If they found a significant amount to be religious, why not feature a Bible Verse? Perhaps they established that's part of what their readers associate with "live well every day." Either way, it's their company. Personally, I think they should publish whatever they want.
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