It's hard to understand really. In a country in which freedom of expression is important, more than just important. In that country, certain things are forbidden. By law. On Good Friday only.
A list of banned movies... for Good Friday only
There is this list of movies that are forbidden to be shown on Good Friday. Which is today. One day a year in which it's not allowed to show films that are disturbing the peace. What? Yes, it is not allowed for cinemas to air films, to show movies that hamper the peace and quiet that is necessary to commemorate the Christian Holy Day that is Good Friday.
Which films? Well, there is a whole list of them here of movies from 1980-2015 that are not free to watch on Good Friday.
Good Friday is the day people commemorate the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is an important Event, and it leads towards Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Christ. As such, it forms the cornerstone of Christian faith, which in my understanding of it, is a Faith of hope and love, of helping people find their own true path and about respecting human beings for who they are, as they are all created equal.
I have absolutely nothing against religions, Christianity or even against celebrating religious holidays. I know a lot of people do, but I don't. Religion can be abused, and misused and misappropriated, just like everything else in the world. Religion has also always been, and still is, an important part of human life and a source of guidance. It provides a place for reflection about what is good and how to lead a good life. I am also a religious person, even though my definition of what it means to be religious may differ from yours. But that is the point of modernity, of the freedom of religion, that we can differ on those definitions, and let each other free to follow their own beliefs, as long as they don't interfere too much with the life of other people.
In that light, I do not understand why people would want to limit other people's non-violent and private actions in order for them to be able to celebrate something. It is still weird for me, for instance, to hear a Buddhist ask for quiet so as not to be disturbed in his own observance of silence. And there are more examples like that. But German law specifically stating that it is not proper to dance or to watch certain movies, because there is a tradition that some people want to commemorate in a specific way... How then can those same people disagree when some other laws based on religion (laws that are in conflict with these people's views) are put into action? How can they object when people are made to obey those laws? Why are people still measuring things by several standards?
Freedom of religion, means also a freedom from religion.
I'm not sure how you have commemorated the Crucifixion of Christ in your country.
I looked at this list of forbidden movies, and decided to finally watch 'The Life of Brian' by Monty Python, which is freely available on youtube.
Seemed like the proper day for it.
Ps. I read in one news report that some person in Germany who works in the institute that decides which movies are forbidden, has said that this law is kind of old-fashioned. Because: there is now the internet so people will watch it anyway.
Which as an argument goes, is completely besides the point about why this law is old-fashioned.
Note1: I am not in Germany. Also, not the watching of these movies is prohibited, but the showing of them.
Note2: It is not my wish to offend anybody with this post, I'm simply raising a question about the freedom of religion.
Note3: I didn't make this up. Read this article from 2013 in The Wall Street Journal.
