{"id":13,"date":"2010-12-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/calling\/"},"modified":"2022-03-18T11:08:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:08:39","slug":"calling","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/calling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

It takes a true calling to make faith a way of life. The Calling<\/em> is a four-hour documentary series that follows seven Muslims, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Jews on a dramatic journey as they train to become professional clergy. Embarking on life paths that demand tremendous personal sacrifice and commitment, these seminarians must uphold timeless truths in an era that values quick fixes and hot trends, and face a public that challenges the very relevance of their mission. A new look at an old job, The Calling takes viewers into the unknown world of seminaries to tell entertaining and compelling personal stories of how faith is lived in today.<\/p>\n

The Calling intercuts its characters\u2019 stories from their first days of training, through years of study, and into their early practice as religious professionals. We follow them within and beyond the walls of their schools, confronting the sacrifices they\u2019ve made to pursue this path. We see them debate theology and philosophy, learn to deliver sermons, perform their first weddings and funerals, and counsel people in crisis. We also experience them as young people at the crossroads of their lives, struggling with dating, partners, family, and other challenges of coming of age.<\/p>\n

These young people are charismatic and real, driven and self-reflective, confident and humble. They are seeking to reconcile the modern world and their faith through music and activism; balancing their egos and their desire to serve, and blazing new paths to leadership while conserving age-old traditions.<\/p>\n

As this new generation of religious leaders prepares to take its place in our society, our characters\u2019 unfolding stories explore some of the current issues facing America\u2019s religious communities. Islam strives to establish its American identity. The Catholic Church responds to sexual abuse scandals and to the profound demographic shift to a Spanish-speaking majority. African American churches adapt to women taking more active leadership roles.<\/p>\n

The United States is one of the most religiously observant and spiritually diverse countries in the world, yet mainstream media has underplayed the significance of faith in our lives, and our pluralism has been addressed almost exclusively in terms of race and culture. Most explorations of faith often focus on single faiths, church scandals, fundamentalist extremists, or religion\u2019s polarizing effect on society. The Calling<\/em> underscores our spiritual common ground and offers intimate portraits for a nuanced examination of faith in America.<\/p>\n

\n

The Filmmaker<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel Alpert<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel Alpert is a producer, director, and editor whose films have aired on PBS, HBO, and A&E. Among other films, Alpert co-produced and edited Legacy<\/em>, a feature-length documentary for HBO, which was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and was an official selection at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans \u2014 Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim \u2014 preparing to become the nation\u2019s next generation of religious leaders, The Calling<\/i> follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals. This four-hour special event explores the forces that are drawing a new generation of young people to serve their communities and their faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":9998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1265,1239],"class_list":["post-13","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-faith","topic-identity"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCalling | Religious Leaders | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Calling is a behind-the-scenes look at young Americans \u2014 Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim \u2014 preparing to become the nation';s next generation of religious leaders.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/calling\/\" \/>\n<meta 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