Oprah Turns Rituals Into a 'Religion'

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[chance33_98]

Oprah Turns Rituals Into a 'Religion'

Saturday, November 2, 2002

BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Sitting atop a media mountain named for her, Oprah Winfrey has become prophet, guru, and high priestess of a new kind of "religion."

Since 1998, when Oprah -- as we must surely call her -- changed from the Sally-Maury-Montel brand of talk show into "Change Your Life Television," she has dished out maxims such as "behave your way to success" and "live your best life," ending each show with two-minute spots titled "Remember Your Spirit."

And she has laid out a process towards spiritual enlightenment with set patterns and practices -- what religion scholars call rituals, scholar Kathryn Lofton said Friday at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in Salt Lake City.

The most common rituals in the religion of Oprah are reading, writing and buying, said Lofton, who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Every issue of O magazine provides a calendar scrawled with inspirational quotations or earnest advice. One might, for example, practice "open" listening (no interruptions, no judgments).

The calendar gives women a road map to reclaim their lives, Lofton said, and it's even printed with a dotted line to cut it out and post on the refrigerator.

Recommended reading comes next.

Even after the decline of Oprah's talk show book club, the magazine continues to suggest fiction and nonfiction works under the rubric, "Books That Made a Difference."

Oprah's Web site offers reading guides to her monthly picks, Lofton said, kind of like a Sunday school syllabus.

The site also recommends the best place, clothes and even pillows to give the "read" the maximum in "transformative power."

"Reading is a practice, encouraged to be regular, strategic and situational," Lofton said.

Next is journal writing, essential to awareness. Oprah suggests that people keep six different journals: a daily journal for thoughts, a gratitude journal, the Spa Girls journal for an exercise regimen, a discovery journal, a health journal and the "create your own journal" journal.

Last comes the buying ritual.

Deluxe footwear, beauty products, gourmet snacks and containers for things you never thought needed containment (perhaps a bag for airplane slippers) are among the items Oprah recommends, Lofton said.

At the heart of Oprah practices, she said, "are self-indulgence and relaxed reflection."

If these rituals are followed, well, religiously, Oprah promises new heights of spiritual accomplishment and self-discovery.

[garyhope]

Oprah, superficial twit.

[zingzang]

"The calendar gives women a road map to reclaim their lives, Lofton said, and it's even printed with a dotted line to cut it out and post on the refrigerator."

On the refrigerator? How fitting, consdiering Oprah spends most of her time there.

And what's with her magazine having a photo of her on the cover of EVERY issue? Could she possibly be more full of herself?!...or full of McDonald's products??

[lizma]

Last time I watched Oprah has about twenty years ago.

It was an episode on how Canadian children die under their health care system.

Hard pressed she'd run it again.

[Jeff Chandler]

The calendar gives women a road map to reclaim their lives

Makes sense. We all know how women's lives are mapped to the calendar.

[Jeff Chandler]

And what's with her magazine having a photo of her on the cover of EVERY issue?

You're supposed to pin that up on the refrigerator-helps you lose weight.

[Jeff Chandler]

Next is journal writing, essential to awareness. Oprah suggests that people keep six different journals: a daily journal for thoughts, a gratitude journal, the Spa Girls journal for an exercise regimen, a discovery journal, a health journal and the "create your own journal" journal.

Not to mention the "journal journaling your journal-keeping".

[Jeff Chandler]

reading, writing and buying

Reading, 'riting, and Retail. The three Rs according to Barbie ("Math is hard!").

[chance33_98]

"Dear Journal, Had to buy a wide screen TV today so I could see all of Oprah...."

[Jeff Chandler]

the magazine continues to suggest fiction and nonfiction works under the rubric, "Books That Made a Difference."

Such as Mein Kampf and Das Kapital?

[Jeff Chandler]

ending each show with two-minute spots titled "Remember Your Spirit."

Dang, now where did I leave my spirit? I know it's around here somewhere.

[wardaddy]

Let me see here:

A super achieving childless woman who's worth around a half a billion dollars at a minimum is going to tell her frazzled frustrated unfulfilled angst-riddden child rearing mostly middle class and clueless audience of womyn how to relax and "reclaim" their lives like "she" has.

Any woman who buys any of Oprah's snake oil probably ought to drink it.

[Russell Scott]

Stay out of the stock market Oprah, your fellow high priestess of consumerism, Martha Stewart, may have a jailhouse conversion soon.

[maranatha]

Many years ago I saw the danger of Oprah. I'm speaking as a believer in Christ. She has such a large audience that takes what she says as gospel, and her "spirit" and all of her talk about "God", is of a new age religion type and many people who are hungering after the God of the Bible (although they don't know He is what they need) and trying to find answers in their lives are being led on a journey away from Him through her influence. I pray that she discover the truth about Jesus Christ or her influence be taken away.

[goodieD]

What really gets me are all the so-called conservative women who watch and like her.. yeah she's so harmless she's even got conservatives believing her (c)rap.

signed,
a conservative woman who knows Oprah is a leftist media whore.

[wardaddy]

My mother votes conservative 80% of the time.....residual effect of my now departed dad. My mom is a social moderate/liberal.....pro-choice(infanticide in my vernacular), delves in Gaia type self healing crapola, and of course watches Oprah.

She's too old for me to do anything about it.....at least my mother doesn't read Toni Morrison...lol

Widowed older upper middle class women like my mom who have plenty of idle time on their hands are also part of the Oprah congregation same as soccer moms.

My mother's excuse is that Oprah's a native Mississippian like us...lol....

[D-fendr]

Oh, good grief, whaddya want in her place, Rosie O'Donnel?

Oprah does some good shows (did anyone see her show on Iraq) and her politics are coming along.

I'll take her over the other daytime talk shows any day.

[Oak]

Exactly. My sister, a conservative, tapes her show. And she's told me that she's coming around to Oprah's way of thinking. I said what's that, and she said non-judgemental. I told her Oprah is only non-judgemental when it suits her.


I will never be non-judgemental on rape and murder. Even if it's a guy from my favorite team.

[wardaddy]

I like your lack of waffling. You've done women's sufferage proud....I'm kidding...sort of.

What the hell is an "open mind" anyhow? One that has no opinions or lacks the strngth or knowledge to from any.

Oprah is a soft sell Leftist shill...you are quite correct and she is one of the high priestesses (if not the high priestess) of the cult of victimhood.

Any husband who's wife is Oprah-dependent should toss her washing machine or relieve the maid.

My wife, Thank G-d, shares my views on this...in fact she is even more adamant.

Nice homepage...I'm 95% with you...that's pretty close.