Where are all the Religious topics in Modern Cartoons?

[Stanmenistan]

I loved the Rugrats specials growing up and thought they were a great kids' intro to Jewish holidays/events. I wouldn't mind at all if modern cartoons brought up different religions now and then--providing there is a reason for them to do so, anyway. A cartoon with humans in a representation of our world would be fine having Christmas; there is, to my knowledge, no Jesus Pony in MLP and therefore no reason to have something called Christmas or talk of mangers and Bethlehem stars or Santas. Changing it to a simple winter holiday was a good move there*; there are multiple winter holidays and there is historical precedent that people stick celebrations in winter as a way to get through the misery of a cold dead season while waiting for spring. And while I'd be okay with some Christian representation, I wouldn't want the existence of religious information in cartoons to only be about Christianity, or to be poorly researched/misinformed representations of non-Christian religions. At that point, the cartoon creators would need to just take all the real world religion back out and try again when they can handle the responsibilities of showcasing multiple kinds of belief systems and doing so correctly.

* I note that I haven't seen MLP before and am going off the one poster's mention, and therefore am assuming they didn't still have the very-clearly-a-Christmas-tree trees and presents and Santa Pony or something. If they did, I'm disappointed.

Twinkle Wish lives on a very-clearly-a-Christmas-tree tree and grants wishes (which can be seen as a metaphor/stand-in for presents), so does that count?

While I'd be okay with some Christian representation, I wouldn't want the existence of religious information in cartoons to only be about Christianity, or to be poorly researched/misinformed representations of non-Christian religions. At that point, the cartoon creators would need to just take all the real world religion back out and try again when they can handle the responsibilities of showcasing multiple kinds of belief systems and doing so correctly

If they could do it correctly in the 1990s and the 2000s, why not now? Quite frankly, I'd take anything. Even some Satanic representation would be nice.

[Kedri]

I'm not surprised that there aren't more religious themes in secular cartoons, especially in today's political climate and the fact that religion can be a divisive topic, unlike something such as mental illness

LGBTQ rights, Feminism and Racial tensions are also divisive topics in today's political climate, and we see modern cartoons tackle those all the time. Why the reluctance on Religious diversity, especially when cartoons in the 90s and 2000s weren't so afraid to touch on the topic? There are POC, LGBTQ+ and Feminists of every faith and none.

I haven't watched too many cartoons from the 2010s and I can't think of any episodes with religious themes. This is a bit older, but the only thing I could think of is the cartoon Arthur. The character Francine is Jewish and so is her family. There was an episode where she has a bar mitzvah and one where she is fasting for Yom Kippur.

Francine is a girl so technically it would be a Bat Mitzvah (that's the one for girls). Arthur is another example of Cartoons could address Religious themes in the 90s/2000s but not in the 2010s, an age of so-called diversity and increased representation on the animation front.

If you haven't watched many cartoons from the 2010s, IDK why you are here. I guess the closest thing would be Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra taking inspiration from Asian Religious/philosophical concepts like Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism, but as A:TLA and Korra are set in constructed worlds, they don't literally represent those real world beliefs on-screen.

Rebecca Sugar is Jewish right? Why wasn't there a Steven Universe episode where Steven has a Bar Mitzvah? (If any SU fans want to correct me on this, let me know)

Sure, there are lots of other divisive topics, but religion is often personal to those who adhere to it and it is very easy to portray inaccurately or incorrectly.

Among the producers of kids' cartoons are not religious, it might not occur to them to take their characters' religious beliefs into consideration.

[Stanmenistan]

LGBTQ rights, Feminism and Racial tensions are also divisive topics in today's political climate, and we see modern cartoons tackle those all the time. Why the reluctance on Religious diversity, especially when cartoons in the 90s and 2000s weren't so afraid to touch on the topic? There are POC, LGBTQ+ and Feminists of every faith and none.


Francine is a girl so technically it would be a Bat Mitzvah (that's the one for girls). Arthur is another example of Cartoons could address Religious themes in the 90s/2000s but not in the 2010s, an age of so-called diversity and increased representation on the animation front.

If you haven't watched many cartoons from the 2010s, IDK why you are here. I guess the closest thing would be Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra taking inspiration from Asian Religious/philosophical concepts like Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism, but as A:TLA and Korra are set in constructed worlds, they don't literally represent those real world beliefs on-screen.

Rebecca Sugar is Jewish right? Why wasn't there a Steven Universe episode where Steven has a Bar Mitzvah? (If any SU fans want to correct me on this, let me know)

Sure, there are lots of other divisive topics, but religion is often personal to those who adhere to it and it is very easy to portray inaccurately or incorrectly

Homosexuality and Bisexuality are also very personal topics, that are very easy to portray inaccurately or incorrectly, yet modern animation doesn't shy away from including Lesban, gay and bisexual characters. Why not religious characters?

Among the producers of kids' cartoons are not religious, it might not occur to them to take their characters' religious beliefs into consideration.

Sure, but cartoons used to delve into religion all the time. Why the ignorance now?

[La Xinga]

I ave seen a-lot of Jewish cartoons.

[Daves Computer]

The author is insisting that LGBT representation is prominent in modern-day cartoons, but I don't believe that's the case at all. LGBT themes are still rare in most modern-day cartoons for children, and often when present, these themes are heavily censored. Some shows may not be played at all in some countries if these themes are too present. And there is a large number of people strongly against this representation; Facebook moms still hold rants on the evils of LGBT representation on children's shows all the time. I have seen an increase in representation for the community fortunately, but often these portrayals can either be subtle and easy to overlook to avoid censorship or riddled with stereotypes.

[Stanmenistan]

The author is insisting that LGBT representation is prominent in modern-day cartoons, but I don't believe that's the case at all. LGBT themes are still rare in most modern-day cartoons for children, and often when present, these themes are heavily censored. Some shows may not be played at all in some countries if these themes are too present. And there is a large number of people strongly against this representation; Facebook moms still hold rants on the evils of LGBT representation on children's shows all the time. I have seen an increase in representation for the community fortunately, but often these portrayals can either be subtle and easy to overlook to avoid censorship or riddled with stereotypes.

List of 2010s Cartoons with LGBTQ+ Characters (IDGAD if you consider some of these Queerbaiting; if a writer or a member of staff says a character is LGBTQ+, let's assume the character really is LGBTQ+ unless someone higher-ranking in the production contradicts them)

1. Steven Universe
2. Legend of Korra
3. Arthur
4. Craig of the Creek
5. Gravity Falls
6. My Little Pony
7. Equestria Girls
8. Adventure Time
9. The Loud House

This includes shows on Cartoon Network, Disney's channels, Nickelodeon and Discovery Family/PBS Kids. And AFAIK, not one of them has done an episode exploring the religious nature of Christmas or Hannukah (with the exception of Arthur; but its religious episodes are from the 2000s) or other major religious festivals, events or topics. Not one of them features a devoutly religious character.

[Daves Computer]

Dismissing the idea of queerbaiting in your examples and saying "here are some shows with gay characters" doesn't support the idea that LGBT representation is a common, accepted idea. Some of these shows like the Legend of Korra had to confirm one of their characters was LGBT after the show ended to avoid backlash. There was no romantic relationship between Korra and Asami in the show at all; this was in the comics for such reasons. And other shows feature an LGBT character or couple that is completely insignificant to the show or is made as a one-off joke like the cops from Gravity Falls in the finale. Although I'm personally not a huge fan of the show, I'd say Steven Universe is a notable exception, but it was one met with massive backlash and censoring of segments or the entirety of the show for such themes. I can just as easily say "here are several shows that have some religious references" by that logic while dismissing how insignificant, controversial, or censored this representation is. But that's a poor way of arguing that LGBT representation or any form of representation is in any way common on television.

[Stanmenistan]

Dismissing the idea of queerbaiting in your examples and saying "here are some shows with gay characters" doesn't support the idea that LGBT representation is a common, accepted idea. Some of these shows like the Legend of Korra had to confirm one of their characters was LGBT after the show ended to avoid backlash. There was no romantic relationship between Korra and Asami in the show at all; this was in the comics for such reasons. And other shows feature an LGBT character or couple that is completely insignificant to the show or is made as a one-off joke like the cops from Gravity Falls in the finale. Although I'm personally not a huge fan of the show, I'd say Steven Universe is a notable exception, but it was one met with massive backlash and censoring of segments or the entirety of the show for such themes

Some LGBTQ+ people and allies actually think queerbaiting is a good thing as (to quote TV Tropes) "since it allows the character to be seen for more than just their LGBT status, and avoids stereotypical portrayals or the character being defined by being LGBT and nothing more. It also works well for a series that isn't focused on romance of any kind"

Tailed Feature also offered a rebuttal to the criticism of queer baiting. The BBC explored how Queer-baiting has pros and cons. Fanlore also defended the practice.

A character's queerness doesn't need to be overt or constantly present. For some LGBTQ+ people, their sexual orientation or gender identity (and all their affiliated items) are simply a smaller part of their overall personality but for others, their sexuality defines them more. And neither is inherently wrong, and True LGBTQ+ Representation would include both types of Queer person and those who fall somewhere in between.

Homophobic individuals and governments (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia etc.) are another reason why Queerbaiting is so common. Until LGBTQ+ Rights improve in those countries, Queerbaiting will remain onscreen. Focus on the disease, not a minor symptom.

I can just as easily say "here are several shows that have some religious references" by that logic while dismissing how insignificant, controversial, or censored this representation is.

Please do! Any religious representation in 2010s Animation is fine by me.

[Alorgaze]

Why do you care? Why does it even matter in the slightest? It isn't like it is going to make much of a difference unless the cartoons are primarily based around religion.

To be frank, if any piece of pop culture tries too hard to "represent" any particular group, be it LGBTs, Feminists or Religious whatever, it kind of gets a little fucking annoying.

I mean sure, if it makes sense to have a devoutly religious or LGBT character in some series, then go ahead, plot consistency is the best thing you could hope for. But when these companies try to force in gay characters and such just to cater to the masses and "represent", it gets annoying and feels ungenuine.

Basically, if cartoons begin adding religious characters because the plot asks for it, I'm fine. But if they force them in while their religiosity having no point or effect on the plot, just to represent and make certain people feel special, then just fuck off. Representation like that is a waste of time and I would much rather have cartoons focusing on their main plot and stuff that actually matters rather than this bullcrap.

[Port Myreal]

Please do! Any religious representation in 2010s Animation is fine by me.

[Nevertopia]

I can chime in on this with some level of competency. The simple matter of the fact is religious cartoons dont make money.

Around the late 80s there was an American bill that eased restrictions on advertising to children in media. Thats around the time where He-Man, Teenage mutant ninja turtles and the power rangers started to explode and become household names. Due to the commercial success cartoons were more used to sell toys than anything else.

Oddly enough theres been a demand for ADULT cartoons (not that kind of adult cartoons), animated series with mature topics such as Castlevania and Rick n Morty have been popping up offering challenging material for the grownups who still like their toons. Theres a chance that as this demand grows I see it branching out to more taboo topics of religion, but not Fragglerock cookiecutter sunday mass topics, but hot button religious dialogue that would put moral oral to shame.

[Stanmenistan]

Why do you care? Why does it even matter in the slightest? It isn't like it is going to make much of a difference unless the cartoons are primarily based around religion

I care because I am a Christian myself, and I feel it matters as I feel that children of Religious Backgrounds may feel ignorant (or even worse, ashamed) of their religious heritage if there is a lack of positive representation for them. It doesn't have to be a big thing, each of those cartoons

To be frank, if any piece of pop culture tries too hard to "represent" any particular group, be it LGBTs, Feminists or Religious whatever, it kind of gets a little fucking annoying

To be frank, whenever you are taking your first attempts to "represent" any particular group, your probably not going to do in the best way possible, but that's something you and others can learn from.

I mean sure, if it makes sense to have a devoutly religious or LGBT character in some series, then go ahead, plot consistency is the best thing you could hope for. But when these companies try to force in gay characters and such just to cater to the masses and "represent", it gets annoying and feels ungenuine

The religiosity doesn't need to be in your face, but mentioning the topic of Religion in a few more Winter or Spring Holiday specials couldn't hurt.

Basically, if cartoons begin adding religious characters because the plot asks for it, I'm fine. But if they force them in while their religiosity having no point or effect on the plot, just to represent and make certain people feel special, then just fuck off. Representation like that is a waste of time and I would much rather have cartoons focusing on their main plot and stuff that actually matters rather than this bullcrap.

I'd definitely say the cartoons of the 90s and 2000s handled Religious representation well. I agree that entertainment should focus on being entertaining first and foremost, but I wonder why they are so willing to explore other divisive issues like Feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, Mental Illness, discrimination and themes of Libertarianism versus Authoritarianism but so unwilling to mention (real world) Religion or Faith in any way?

I can chime in on this with some level of competency. The simple matter of the fact is religious cartoons dont make money

This isn't about religiously-based cartoons like Veggietales, The Miracle Maker, The Prince of Egypt, Joseph:King of Dreams and Muhammad: The Last Prophet. I'm talking about nominally secular cartoons including characters partaking in religious practices. This used to be common in children's animation, including X-Men: The Animated Series, Static Shock, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Rugrats and The Proud Family. 2010s Cartoons don't address Religion at all.

Around the late 80s there was an American bill that eased restrictions on advertising to children in media. Thats around the time where He-Man, Teenage mutant ninja turtles and the power rangers started to explode and become household names. Due to the commercial success cartoons were more used to sell toys than anything else

Yes, I am well aware that President Reagan's policy of Deregulation had the effect of creating the toyetic Saturday Morning Cartoons of the 1980s. TMNT and Power Rangers are a little different though; TMNT began as an unusually popular indie comic and PR was a long-running live-action Japanese franchise before it was adapted for western audiences.

Oddly enough theres been a demand for ADULT cartoons (not that kind of adult cartoons), animated series with mature topics such as Castlevania and Rick n Morty have been popping up offering challenging material for the grownups who still like their toons. Theres a chance that as this demand grows I see it branching out to more taboo topics of religion, but not Fragglerock cookiecutter sunday mass topics, but hot button religious dialogue that would put moral oral to shame

Yes, Adult cartoons can dive deeper into the darker sides of Religion more so than X-Men:TAS or The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Still, those showed Religion in both a balanced way, with both protagonists and antagonists of faith. I'm not sure if many Adult Animated series would be able to pull that off, given that most adult animated series are created by secular people (Matt Stone (Ethnically Jewish) and Seth MacFarlane are atheists; Matt Groening is an agnostic; Trey Parker is a Theist who does not follow a particular Religion or Spirituality). The Simpsons explored real world religion head on and did it in a very balanced way. Futurama had a slightly more critical bent and was framed more around Fictitious Future Religions, but even then it showed Faith in a (mostly) balanced manner (the episode GodFellas is a great example).

I'd like to see both all-ages and adult animation approach Religious topics with an even hand, like X-Men:TAS and THOND did in the 90s.

[Purpelia]

The difference between being actually divisive and truly divisive seems semantic IMO. Don't all these Liberal Hipsters support Muslims? The least these cartoons do could be acknowledging the history and traditions of the Religion itself.

Liberal hipsters support what ever is hip and liberal at the time. And whilst they are loud they don't really make up the core audience of cartoon channels. But the majority population is largely left aligned these days and they are. So you basically need to look one step down from the screamers but still left. And it's hard to argue that the majority of those have been fed homosexual rights to the point where they consider them to be on by default.

No reason something can't be both commercial entertainment and have some deeper meaning or message. My Little Pony, Equestria Girls, Monster High, Ever After High, DC Superhero Girls 2015 and various other toyetic cartoons may be merchandise driven, but they also try to have morals and messages (often in metaphor form) that viewers can apply to their everyday lives. They show disputes between Friends, parental and peer pressure,

The messages in these shows are mostly the same old friendship and caring stuff that gets parroted to children for generations now. It's nothing new or controversial.
You won't see any of those discussing gay marriage, democracy in china or anything like that.

Again, I don't get your semantic difference here. What is the difference between "showing" and "addressing"?

It's not semantic but functional.
Showing = look at this.
Addressing = let's ask questions about this and have a debate.

I'd just like to see some acknowledgment of the subject of Religion in modern animation, which could take the form of either "showing" or "addressing" from your POV.

And this is where we return to the obvious issue that, unless you are of that particular faith, just showing it is essentially going to trigger you as being propaganda for that faith. Not all of them of course. Maybe not even most of them. But enough to raise a stink. Imagine a bunch of devout christians finding their kids watching cartoons about muslims and starting to emulate them. They freaked out about He-Man* so what do you think they'll do when their little ones start bowing to Mecca as a game?


The show is called He-Man and the masters of the universe which triggered Christians because God is the only master of the universe.

LGB People are approximately 4.5% of the Cisgender population, Trans people are 0.6%. But they are more open and more acknowledged in today's society. And again, many LGBTQ+ people are Religious.

Again, we return to my first point. Modern society has been fed gay rights to the point that we no longer consider them to be a debate, just something to accept and force down the throat of anyone that doesn't. Just like capitalism or democracy or any other of our core values. Social norms are not about what makes sense from a practical level but about what people accept as making sense. That's how religion got off the ground too. Nobody can reasonably claim that any religious claim makes practical or logical sense with reality. Even if you are a stone age caveman you can reason to the basis of "I don't see god, ergo no god". But people accepted it and things rolled along anyway.

Humans are a lot of things but logical and sensible ain't one of them.

Yes, I'm very aware of the schism between Enlightment and Romanticist Philosophers, and its continued influence on the modern day.

Regardless, lots of Pro-Social Justice types support Islam and the freedom of Muslims as well as other minority religions (or rather, Religions which are minorities in the West; Islam and Hinduism may be minor Religions in the Western World, but on a global scale they are two of the most popular) to practice their beliefs. And many Religions are highly individualistic. For example, People in Western countries tend to be more individualistic than communitarian. The authors of one study proposed that this difference is due in part to the influence of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. They pointed specifically to its bans on incest, cousin marriage, adoption, and remarriage, and its promotion of the nuclear family over the extended family.

That is an interesting take on things. I admit to have not delved deep into the considerations of eastern vs catholic vs protestant theology and its effects on general culture. Certainly not to the extent of being able to tell if these were in fact church influences on the population or the other way around. Although the prevalence of pagan rituals and influences on local religion, especially in the east, to me points to the later. Still I can sadly not provide an adequate reply to this particular point of yours beyond saying that it does pique interest.

The Legend of Aang and The Legend of Korra drew much of its storytelling inspiration from various South Asian, Southeast Asian and East Asian religious systems/spiritualities and/or philosophies (though it should be pointed out that there is no clear distinction between the two in Eastern thought) such as Shintoism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism. But this was filtered through a secondary world setting, decoupling them from real world.

Why not show us genuinely Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Neopagan etc. characters in modern cartoons, practicing their holidays and other beliefs? It doesn't need to be in every moment or every episode, but more often, please! In modern animation, the silence is deafening.

Primarily because there are two minefields to step on there. The first I already mentioned is that you might end up being scorned as propaganda. The second is that you might get scorned as appropriating, belittling or making a mockery of the religion you are showing even if you did the show in good faith. So it's just not worth touching. Better to, as in your examples, take a generic mishmash of some religious practice that your audience knows enough about to relate to it but not enough to care deeply about and make it your own. Plus this gives you more artistic freedom too which is a bonus. And you don't really get anything out of doing it.

It simply takes a very dedicated storyteller to want and walk that tightrope for honestly very little to no gain.

[Kamran4758]

Yes, I'm very aware of the schism between Enlightment and Romanticist Philosophers, and its continued influence on the modern day .
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