Dan W. Clanton, Jr.
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Abstract
Law & Order is the longest running drama on television
and has consistently included religious themes and issues in its storylines.
Unfortunately, there has been virtually no research into the portrayal
of religion in the program. This essay will examine various episodes
in which religion and religious concerns figure prominently, and will
assess the implications of the view(s) of religion and religious practices
in the show. I will argue that Law & Order's view(s) of
religion represents a common view of religion in America, i.e., religious
devotion is tolerable as long as it (a) is of a socially acceptable
variety; (b) is not taken to irrational extremes; and (c) does not
harm other persons.
[1] Currently beginning its fourteenth season on NBC, Law &
Order (hereafter L&O) is the longest running drama
on television. With two thriving spin-off shows, Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent,
as well as ten Emmy nominations for Best Drama, which the show won
in 1997, L&O is also one of the most distinguished and
successful TV franchises in history.
[2] All of these laurels are despite the fact that the show is, formally
speaking, one of the most routine outings on TV today. Each episode,
with very few exceptions, adheres to a standard format: a crime is
discovered; the two main detectives investigate the crime and make
an arrest, thus comprising the "Law" section. In the second
half of the show, the "Order" component, the two main District
Attorneys deal with the legal ramifications of the crime, and we see
the end result of the combined efforts of the police and the DAs at
the end of each show. Furthermore, the show does not delve into any
personal story lines surrounding its main characters; its focus is
strictly on the mechanisms of the "Criminal Justice System."
This limited scope is based on Executive Producer Dick Wolf's law
for L&O: "No character arcs, no personal relationships,
no family woven in. It gets in the way of storytelling."[1] The storytelling Wolf wants the
show to perform centres on tales and issues "ripped from the
headlines," and thus the narratives of the show represent, albeit
in a fictionalized and simplified fashion, the events and concerns
of a large segment of America from the 1990s onward.
[3] In its presentation of the criminal justice system, as well as
the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by those on both sides of that
discourse, L&O has consistently included religious themes
and issues in its storylines. Usually, this inclusion is brief and
not determinative of any plot outcome.[2]
However, on several occasions, L&O has done what few shows
on major networks have dared to do: devote an entire episode to a
religiously oriented plot. Unfortunately, there has been virtually
no research into the portrayal of religion in these episodes, and
what research has been done has been incomplete.[3] This essay, which will by no means be exhaustive,
will examine five representative episodes ("God Bless the Child";
"Apocrypha"; "Angel"; "Disciple"; and
"Under God") in which religion and religious concerns figure
prominently, and will assess the implications of the view(s) of religion
and religious practices in the show, both for the characters and the
viewers. Following this, I will attempt to illuminate the ways in
which L&O's view(s) of religion reflect and reinforce mainstream,
moderate views of religion found in American society in general.
[4] One of the earliest stories L&O tells about religion
is found in an episode titled "God Bless the Child."[4] This episode revolves around the religious beliefs
of two parents, Ted and Nancy Driscoll (Byron Jennings and Kaiulani
Lee). They are members of a 300-year old religious group called The
Church of All Saints, a group that believes in keeping the body free
from pollution, such as liquor, smoking, and most importantly, modern
medicine. This last pollution is especially important, because the
Driscoll's five-year old daughter Dinah contracts a strep infection
and they refuse any medical treatment. Their housekeeper, Cora Amado
(Socorro Santiago) protests, is fired, and then finds two policemen.
The police take Dinah to a hospital, where she dies. Her death instigates
an investigation by Sgt. Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) and Det. Michael
Logan (Chris Noth).
[5] The two detectives are at odds about the character of the parents.
Consider the following exchange:
Logan: Fanatics!
Cerreta: It's not that simple. These people aren't Moonies. You
go to confession, you take communion. They believe just as strongly
as you do.
Logan: C'mon, that's crap! How can you compare these wackos . .
?
Cerreta: Wackos? A lotta non-Catholics believe it's wacko for priests
not to marry. A lotta non-fundamentalists believe it's wacko to
take the Bible literally. To the Driscolls, losing this kid's soul
is worse than losing her life.
Logan: Except we're investigating the death of a little girl, not
a soul.[5]
Cerreta, the parent of five children, is more willing to listen to
the Driscolls than Logan, who expresses a fairly conservative (and
common) view of religion: it is tolerable as long as it is socially
acceptable and not too visible.[6] As we shall see, Logan's attitude is also shared by the rhetoric
of the show and represents the dominant view of L&O regarding
minority or non-mainstream religions and religious practices.
[6] The key legal issue in the episode revolves around the beliefs
of the Driscolls, i.e., should they be granted an exemption to the
generally applicable law against withholding medical attention to
sick children?[7] In
1974, the "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act" (P.L.
93-247) was passed. As a result of the lobbying efforts of the Christian
Science Church, states adopting the federal standards of the Act were
required to grant an exception "which provides that a parent
or guardian who does not provide medical treatment to a child because
of the parent's religious beliefs is not considered, for that reason
alone, to be a negligent parent or guardian."[8]
Because of the language, thirty-three states passed laws granting
such religious accommodations to child abuse laws. This issue was
still contentious in 1983, when the "Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act" included a statement allowing
states to decide for themselves whether or not to grant exceptions
of this nature. Furthermore, the 1983 Act allows the state to "ensure
that medical services are provided to the child when his health requires
it" even if the state has granted a religious exemption.[9]
[7] Thus, Executive Assistant District Attorney (EADA) Ben Stone
(Michael Moriarty) and Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Paul Robinette
(Richard Brooks) must decide whether or not the Driscolls actually
believed in their Church's teachings regarding modern medicine. If
they did, then the case against them is much harder to prove, but
if they did not, then Stone can argue they should receive no preferential
exception to the relevant laws against refusing medical attention
to their daughter. Stone is helped out when he discovers that Nancy
Driscoll had three drinks of bourbon before her daughter was taken
to the hospital, which is against the teachings of The Church of All
Saints. He is also helped when he learns that Ted Driscoll initiated
a 9-1-1 call to ask for help for his daughter. These two acts lead
Stone to believe that the Driscolls can be convicted, and so they
are charged with Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree.
[8] After the trial begins, Stone starts to realize the difficulty
of his case, and on the advice of District Attorney (DA) Adam Schiff
(Steven Hill), decides to offer the Driscolls a plea bargain. In a
meeting with the Driscolls and their attorney Lucius Carpenter (Henderson
Forsythe), Stone asks them to plead to the lesser charge of Endangering
the Welfare of a Child with the provision that they never take part
in another faith healing. Ted refuses, and states, "You can imprison
my body, but not my soul." He then tells Stone he has always
been proud to live in a country where the separation of church and
state exists, and asks Stone if he lives in the same country. Obviously,
the episode portrays the Driscolls as passionate people and true believers.
[9] Prior to the trial, we learn that the Driscolls used the services
of a Church Medical Practitioner named Sharon Barlow (Marian Seldes),
who attempted to heal Dinah by prayer and "common-sense"
medicine. In his cross-examination of Barlow, Stone raises the ire
of Judge Nelson Kurland (James Noble) when he "disparages"
the Church's beliefs with his attitude. The Driscolls' attorney requests
a mistrial, and the judge agrees to a hearing. It is in this hearing
that the stances of the two parties vis-à-vis religious beliefs
are detailed, as well as the show's. Carpenter wants the judge to
declare a mistrial based on Stone's questioning Ms. Barlow's religious
beliefs, and the following exchange takes place:
Stone: Your clients aren't on trial for their beliefs; they're
on trial for their actions.
Carpenter: Their beliefs are action.
Judge Kurland: Oh, Counselor, I'm afraid that's nonsense and you
know it.
The attitude of Judge Kurland and the distinction drawn by Stone
testifies to a phenomenon discussed by legal scholar Stephen L. Carter
as the "separation of faith and self," i.e., "in the
public square, religion is too often trivialized, treated as
an unimportant facet of human personality, one easily discarded"
(author's emphasis).[10] Put differently, both Kurland and Stone are
of the opinion that the Driscolls are taking their religious beliefs
much too seriously, and would be better off if they simply discarded
them. Furthermore, as a consequence of this opinion, neither of them
is able to discern the intimate connection between the Driscolls'
beliefs and their actions, which their lawyer tries to point out.
As Carter puts it, the majority of our American culture usually puts
forth a "subtle but unmistakable message: pray if you like, worship
if you must, but whatever you do, do not on any account take your
religion seriously."[11]
[10] After this hearing, the trial continues, and eventually the
Driscolls are found guilty of 2nd degree Manslaughter for
showing a "reckless disregard" for their daughter. As the
show ends, Stone and Robinette are surprised that the jury made the
"right" decision even though the case was so complicated.
Robinette questions the value of the case, and Stone tells him that
since it is now "on the books," maybe other children will
receive medical attention and not die. Even though the show ends on
a positive note that would claim little argument (the safeguarding
of children), the means by which such a message is reached are indicative
of the series' view of religion and religious practices: religion
is acceptable as long as it of the mainstream variety and is taken
with a grain of salt by its adherents. That is, religious practices
are tolerable as long as they do not interfere with the "proper"
existence of others as law-abiding citizens.
[11] In the episode entitled "Apocrypha," a young woman
is killed while setting off a bomb in the parking garage of a building.[12]
Detectives Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Mike Logan are assigned
to the case. During the course of their investigation they discover
that the young women, named Wendy Berman (Cheryl Adam), was a member
of an apocalyptic cult-like group, where she took the name Ruth. The
leader/preacher of this group is a man named Daniel Hendricks (Sam
Robards), who we discover thinks he has been chosen by God to lead
the righteous out of the New Babylon. At the root of this New Babylon,
according to Hendricks, are the moneylenders, and it is no coincidence
that the building Ruth tried to blow up contained a Colombian bank.
It is also no coincidence that Daniel's brother Mark died of a drug
overdose, and that Daniel was a demolition expert for the army prior
to a Section 8 discharge.
[12] During the course of the investigation, we learn that Det. Logan
is, for lack of a better term, a "lapsed" Catholic, but
he still has strong ties to the Church. He tells Det. Briscoe that
Hendricks' brand of non-denominational worship is not Church; rather,
"Church is stained glass windows and nuns running around with
rulers." Furthermore, he says, "Next time I go to church
six of my closest buddies will be carrying me." Logan's negative
experiences with Catholicism allow him to "reach out" to
one of Hendricks' followers when he discovers that she joined this
cult due to her disillusionment with the Church. She tells him that
she has now found what she was looking for in Daniel's brand of religion,
which one witness describes as not the opiate of the masses, but rather
the crack cocaine.
[13] The police convince the DA's office to arrest Hendricks, and
he is charged with felony murder, a charge that insinuates that murder
occurred during the commission of another felony act, in this case,
kidnapping. In the trial, then, EADA Stone must prove that the attraction
and power of Daniel's message was so strong, that his followers felt
unable to leave the group, i.e., that he kidnapped them. The fact
that the DA's office feels confident about its charge of kidnapping
indicates they hold the devotion of Daniel's followers to be aberrant,
i.e., there is something wrong with faith that strong. In addition
to this negative portrayal of Daniel's followers, Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
(Carolyn McCormick) examines Daniels and finds him to be mentally
incompetent to stand trial because of his eschatological beliefs and
messianic fervor.
[14] The trial continues, though, and Daniel's attorney portrays
him as a victim of government persecution of religion. However, Stone
draws Daniel into an argument over whether or not he sees himself
as the Messiah, hoping that the jury will be moved by his delusions
of grandeur. Stone's cross-examination of Hendricks, as well as the
sheep-eyed looks of his followers the camera shows us, allows us to
see how Stone, a deeply religious character, argues for moderation
and responsibility in religious practice:
Stone: Mr. Hendricks, if you had known of Wendy Berman's plan,
what would you have done?
Hendricks: We do not preach destruction. Certainly, I would've
tried to discourage her.
Stone: But do you have any idea why she chose that particular building
to destroy?
Hendricks: The love of money is the root of all evil; therefore
the moneylenders are at the root of this New Babylon.
Stone: Ah, yes, well isn't this New Babylon, isn't that to be destroyed
too, sir?
Hendricks: The great earthquake, the turning of rivers into blood,
the darkening of the sun and the moon, the stars falling from the
sky. The plagues will visit the wicked.
Stone: I understand that Mr. Hendricks, but what's supposed to
happen after that?
Hendricks: The messiah shall appear, and lead the worthy into the
City of God.
Stone: And isn't that what you taught to Wendy Berman?
Hendricks: It is the gospel.
Stone: And didn't she believe everything you preached?
Hendricks: I took her out of the burning pit and led her into the
city!
Stone: Are you supposed to do that for all of humanity?
Hendricks: You cannot survive without me!
Stone: Oh, to the contrary, sir. We will not only survive, we will
endure.
Nicholas Burke (Lawrence Pressman): Is there a question here your
Honor?
Stone: Are you claiming to be the messiah, sir?
Hendricks: I am a man, approved of God, among you, with miracles
and wonders and signs . . .
Stone: Yes, but didn't Jesus warn that, "Anyone say unto you
that, ÔLo, here is the Christ,' believe it not"?
At this point in the examination, Daniel simply breaks down and looks
as if he is enraged by the scriptural question from Stone.
[15] However, Stone and the episode are not finished with Hendricks
yet. In Stone's closing remarks, he once again paints Hendricks as
a fraud, and implies that there can be nothing religious about him
or his mission:
Beware the false prophet. In the last century, he rode on a horse-drawn
wagon and he sold snake oil. In the 70s, he carried a briefcase
and a calculator and he sold real estate in Florida. Now, Mr. Hendricks,
he doesn't sell snake oil or real estate, he sells death and he
sells destruction. He doesn't call it that; he bottled it as the
Apocalypse. And Wendy Berman bought it; the perfect victim for a
charlatan, a con man, a grifter. And it's interesting that he chose
to camouflage his scam in religion. That's the genius of it, see.
If you proclaim from the pulpit and quote from the good book, it
is an almost inescapable trap for the innocent and the vulnerable.
And Wendy Berman came to that with her need. And Mr. Hendricks gave
her the hope, but the hope he gave her was a ruse to get her to
do what he wanted her to, which was murder. But in the end, it was
Wendy Berman that was killed.
After Stone's successful cross-examination and closing argument,
the jury finds Hendricks guilty of all charges. We then see Hendricks
turn to face his followers. He holds his hands aloft, and they are
bleeding from the palms in order to imitate the wounds Jesus received
at his crucifixion. To make the connection more specific, Hendricks
states, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do,"
an echo of Luke 23:34.
[16] The scene then shifts from Hendricks' adoring disciples to DA
Schiff's office. In order to leave no doubt that Hendricks is an irrational
"quack," we learn that he had put thumbtacks in his palms
in order to achieve the bloody wounds. Stone then receives a phone
call, and the scene shifts once again to Hendricks' former temple,
where all of his disciples have committed suicide and carefully positioned
themselves on the ground together. This allusion to the mass suicides
in Jonestown in 1978 is meant to remind audiences of the deleterious
effects of religion, and as such reinforces the rhetoric we saw above,
i.e., religious beliefs are fine, but do not go overboard with them
or bad things will happen.
[17] This powerful ending also allows us to see how deeply ingrained
Catholicism is in Det. Logan. After seeing the former Catholic girl
he bonded with laid out on the ground, he crosses himself. As for
the overall presentation of religion in this episode, one of the main
messages seems to come from ADA Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennesey) when
she says, "Hendricks preys upon the lonely and vulnerable. They've
got the limp, he's got the crutch." That is, religion of this
sortÑcharacterized by near-total withdrawal from society, a relationship
of dominancy by a charismatic individual, and the submission of individual
wills to the groupÑis dangerous due to its appeal to those who are
in need. However, there are also signs of religion's positive effects,
as when Logan finds solace in the practice of crossing himself, or
when Stone draws upon his own Catholic upbringing to counter Daniel's
arguments in court. The general impression from this episode is that
religion can be a positive force in people's lives, but only in its
socially recognized and accepted forms.
[18] A very different set of circumstances is involved when a woman
named Leah Coleman (Elizabeth Hanly Rice) reports her baby Rachel
was kidnapped from her church while she was in confession. In the
episode "Angel," L&O tackles one of the most
important issues in religious thought: the problem of evil.[13] Detectives Briscoe and Reynaldo Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) are
assigned to investigate the kidnapping. Det. Curtis, a practicing
and devout Catholic, takes Leah on a walk to retrace her steps, and
they end up at her church. All day, Det. Curtis has been talking of
his religious upbringing and family to try and gain Leah's trust,
as well as to draw any information out of her that he can. When they
reach her church, she asks him to pray with her, and he agrees. She
then tells him that Rachel's in Heaven. Det. Curtis, himself acting
the part of a priest hearing confession, presses her for more information,
and she leads him, Det. Briscoe, and Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha
Merkeson) to the boiler room of her apartment building. She opens
the furnace, which is filled with flames, and tells the police officers
that her little angel is now with God.
[19] Leah is arrested and charged with murdering her daughter. Because
of the physical evidence as well as her confession, EADA Jack McCoy
(Sam Waterston) thinks the trial will be an easy one. In his opening
remarks, Leah's seemingly inept attorney, Ross Fineman (Fisher Stevens),
tells the jury that there is only one way to explain an act this incomprehensible:
it was God's will:
Yes, on Tuesday morning, October the 3rd at approximately
10:20 AM, Leah Coleman killed and cremated her eight-month old baby.
A mother killing her baby. It makes you wonder. What kind of a woman
would do such a thing? She's never been involved in any sort of
criminal activities before. I checked. She wasn't brought up by
abusive parents. I checked that, too. You'll hear witness after
witness tell you what a good person she is, and how much she loved
her baby. She loved little Rachel more than she loved herself. She
has no reason whatsoever for wanting her baby dead. So why did this
terrible thing happen? What kind of God would sit by and let such
a horrendous thing happen to one of his children? Believe me, I've
thought about this long and hard. And as far as I can see, there
is only one reason. There is one reason only why a tragedy this
outrageous could have happened ladies and gentlemen: God wanted
it to. [McCoy: Objection!] So, I want you not to look at what my
client did, but at what God did. And remember, if you convict Leah
Coleman, you are questioning the will of God.
Of course, the court will not allow this sort of argument, and Fineman
decides to plead his client not guilty by reason of mental defect.
This means that the police psychiatrist Dr. Olivet must examine Leah.
After her examination, the episode delves into several options to
explain such an evil act. Dr. Olivet uses categories like sane and
insane to explain Leah's behavior, while McCoy, a resentful Catholic
argues, "Deny evil and you deny responsibility." That is,
if we invent explanations for malicious behavior, then no one will
be to blame. He tells Dr. Olivet that if this is her attitude, then
we should open the jails, and send everyone to psychiatrists.
[20] At the trial, however, we discover a different motive for Leah's
actions. In the wake of Susan Smith, the mother who drove her children
into a lake and let them drown, she had gone to her priest, Father
Carner (Michael Willis) and asked why a mother would do that. His
response is that she should not dwell on the reasons; rather, she
should be happy that Smith's children were now with God. McCoy seems
to take particular delight in cross-examining Father Carner, especially
when he stumps the priest with the question, "Is everyone in
Hell psychologically disturbed?"
[21] In his cross-examination of Leah, McCoy draws out the real reason
behind her actions: based on what Father Carner told her and her own
experiences of evil, she developed a dualistic worldview wherein this
world was evil and Heaven was perfect. She did not want Rachel to
see the evil she had seen, so she killed her. McCoy asks her, "So
you knew what you were doing, and you knew it was wrong? You know
what that means? It means you're guilty as sin." The jury finds
her guilty, and later McCoy refuses to have a drink with Leah's attorney,
because, as we are told, he cannot forgive anyone.
[22] In this episode, then, religion is again seen in a somewhat
negative light in that Leah's motivation for killing her daughter
is based on popular notions of Heaven, dualism, and evil. However,
again we are shown that it is not so much religion that is to blame
as is a misunderstanding or an aberrant form of religious belief.
Det. Curtis here represents the positive side of religion, as does
McCoy's almost dogmatic sense of good and evil, which allows for little
grey area in moral decisions. Thus, like "God Bless the Child"
and "Apocrypha," the show again disparages hyper-religiosity
in favor of more mainstream views of religion and morality.
[23] As we have seen, in full-length episodes that deal with religious
issues, L&O usually takes the view that religious practice
is acceptable as long as it does not interfere with the criminal justice
system and represents a widely accepted, diluted sort of devotion.
One episode in particular, "Disciple," challenges the dominant
rhetoric of the series pertaining to religion, even though it is a
muted challenge and the series, in my opinion, later forcefully refutes
the sentiments expressed in this specific episode.[14]
[24] In "Disciple," a young girl is dropped off at an ER
and dies before she is seen by any of the medical staff. Detectives
Briscoe and Curtis initiate an investigation and discover the girl
is named Kira Grayson. Their investigation shows that Kira had a number
of severe behavioral problems, and her mother Margo (Sylva Kelegian)
is frustrated with trying to discipline her. They also discover that
Margo has been in contact with a man named Bill Crawford (Melvin Rodriguez),
and later identify Crawford as the man who dropped Kira off at the
ER. However, the police are still unsure as to who is responsible
for Kira's death.
[25] ADA Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon) learns that a local community
activist named Rosa Halacy (Frances Conroy) was with both Kira and
Bill Crawford the night Kira died. Rosa, or Sister Rosa as her community
calls her, is an ex-nun and a fervent devotee of St. Michael, "protector
of the innocent and patron saint of battle." Eventually, the
police learn that Rosa was performing an exorcism in which Kira suffered
seven broken ribs, one of which punctured her heart. As a result,
both Rosa and Margo are charged with 2nd Degree Murder,
i.e., exhibiting a depraved indifference that results in the loss
of a life. In time, Margo agrees to plead to 2nd Degree
Manslaughter (reckless endangerment that results in the loss of a
life) and to testify against Sister Rosa.[15]
[26] As a preliminary to the trial, Carmichael speaks with Rosa's
former abbess, Mother Superior Agnes (Barbara Caruso), who tells her
Rosa was a "throwback" to a former time when nuns were extremely
pious and hyper-devoted. Carmichael also talks with Monsignor Damien
Ribot (Frank Raiter) about the Church's view on exorcisms. Ribot tells
her how rarely they are performed, and the caution the participants
take. In my opinion, these segments are designed to reinforce the
standard treatment of religious defendants on L&O: Rosa
is much too religious and her irrational devotion causes her to go
against the commonly accepted practices of a mainstream faith. So
far, then, not much is different in this episode. As we shall see,
the difference here emerges from quite an unlikely source, albeit
a small voice of protest.
[27] The trial begins by the camera focusing on the words "In
God We Trust" on the courtroom wall before Margo details what
she witnessed of the exorcism. However, the most important content
of the trial lies in Rosa's testimony. She tells her lawyer, Mr. Wade
(Wendell Pierce), that she left the order because she could no longer
carry out her spiritual mission there. Her spiritual mission, as she
defines it, is to "receive the will of God and offer it to the
people." Wade asks her how she receives the will of God, and
her response surprises the entire court: she claims she receives the
will of God by hearing the voice of St. Michael. McCoy immediately
objects that Rosa's attorney has not filed notice of a psychiatric
defense. Again, as usual, the series associates non-standard religious
practices and experiences with mental instability. However, Wade claims
that the issue in the trial is Rosa's mental outlook because she was
charged with depraved indifference, and thus he is simply trying to
show the court that her actions were neither depraved nor indifferent.
[28] Rosa's account of the night Kira died is prefaced by her claim
that St. Michael comes to her after meditation and prayer, and usually
tells her to help the weak. In the case of Kira, St. Michael told
Rosa she had a demon and that Rosa had an obligation to help her.
After the exorcism began, St. Michael told her to drive out the demon
with pain, so Rosa beat Kira. Rosa then pressed a crucifix into Kira's
chest until she became quiet. At that point, Rosa thought Kira had
been cleansed, but the viewer knows that Kira's ribs had penetrated
her heart. Perhaps Bill Crawford knew that as well, because while
Rosa stepped to the restroom to wash up, he took Kira to the ER for
medical help.
[29] Following Rosa's testimony, the DAs hold an impromptu conference
to sort out their strategy. In their conversation, DA Schiff observes
that most people see the devil as an allegory. It is here that this
episode begins to argue against what I have identified as the dominant
portrayal of religion in the series, and it stems from an unlikely
source: EADA McCoy. In response to Schiff's comment McCoy, a rather
jaded Catholic, admits that he is not sure the devil does not exist.
Earlier, in "Angel," McCoy argues that if one denies the
presence of evil then one denies personal responsibility for one's
actions because in the absence of the reality of evil, horrible actions
can be explained away using other categories such as mental defect,
insanity, or the like; and these categories can be used to excuse
human actions. In this episode, McCoy takes this position a step further
and notes, "I've been prosecuting murderers for almost twenty-five
years. A man rapes a ten-year old, sprays a can of insecticide in
her mouth. There are things I can't explain away as aberrant human
behavior." In other words, there must be an explanation beyond
our realm of comprehension to explain the horrors McCoy has seen in
his career.
[30] The exchange continues with Carmichael noting they can challenge
Rosa's claim of hearing St. Michael. This is entirely in line with
the way in which the show has dealt with such issues before. In "Angel,"
when Ross Fineman claims that the death of Leah's baby is God's will,
McCoy quips that he cannot raise a point in court that he cannot possibly
prove, and the court agrees. However, here McCoy retorts to Abbie,
"We [can] turn the trial into a litmus test of Rosa's faith,
and I don't feel good about challenging her religious conviction in
court."
[31] McCoy is as good as his word: he does not challenge her religious
beliefs. Instead, he tries to get Rosa to admit her culpability in
Kira's death. Rosa, though, claims there has been no crime because
the exorcism is a spiritual matter, although she does concede she
must eventually answer to God for her actions. Following this concession,
Rosa expounds on her gift in a scene designed to engage the viewer's
sympathy for her plight. She says,
Don't you think I know what this sounds like to people? You think
I wanted to hurt that little girl? I had no choice, Mr. McCoy. I
didn't ask for this gift. I can't explain why he chose me. It's
hard for me sometimes. God forgive me, sometimes I just wish it
would go away. I can only take comfort this thing, this terrible
thing was God's will.
Her final reference to God's will echoes Fineman's emphasis on that
concept in "Angel," and just as his argument failed there,
Rosa's almost fatalistic view of God's control over humanity will
fail here as well.
[32] In his closing argument, McCoy stresses the difference between
intent and outcome. He notes,
Rosa Halacy is flesh and blood, like you and me. We can't let Rosa
Halacy assert for herself the power we vest in our supreme being.
She may hear God, but she may not play God. Just because she has
a divine mission, it doesn't exempt her from the code of human behavior.
. . . She's responsible for the consequences of her convictions,
and just as her God holds her accountable, so should we.
Thus, McCoy never resolves his ambiguity about Rosa. His closing
remarks clearly hold out the possibility that she may hear divine
voices, but again we see an argument against religious exemptions
from generally applicable laws. Earlier, in "God Bless the Child,"
the issue was withholding medical care for children based on religious
beliefs; here the issue is bodily harm and a resultant death due to
a supernatural encounter with a Saint. At the end of the show, McCoy
is still conflicted. Carmichael tries to cheer him up by observing,
"We just put away a child murderer, Jack." He replies, "I'm
not sure who we put away."
[33] Thus, the question arises: why is McCoy going so easy on Rosa?
In my opinion, the answer lies in the way in which the episode portrays
Rosa's character. She is an ex-nun who tries to help her community.
She operates within an accepted religious tradition, albeit on the
fringes. Her actions were not malicious and were not intentional.
Furthermore, she shows no remorse for her actions and does not consider
what she did to be a crime; rather, she insists it is a spiritual
matter and she is accountable only to God. In other words, she is
unlike the other religious defendants the series has portrayed and
as such McCoy's ambiguity towards her represents a small note of resistance
to the standard depiction of religiosity in L&O. As we
shall see, though, this resistance does not last long.
[34] In Season 13, L&O again produced a show dealing with
religion entitled "Under God."[16]
In this episode, a drug dealer named Scott Giddens is murdered. We
learn that Giddens had sold drugs to a boy named Davey Parker, who
subsequently overdosed and died. Detectives Briscoe and Ed Green (Jesse
L. Martin) investigate Davey's father Bill (Bruce MacVittie) because
of his bitterness over his son's death. Bill's priest, Father Hogan
(Denis O'Hare) tells the detectives that Bill was with him when Giddens
was killed, but their suspicions remain.
[35] In contrast to most episodes of L&O, "Under
God" mentions several biographical details about the main characters
that impact their behavior and views, specifically with regard to
this case. For example, Briscoe invites Bill Parker to a bar to talk
"off the record" about his son's death. Briscoe feels strongly
for Parker, because his own daughter was killed by drug dealers in
Season Eight of the series. However, Parker continues to maintain
his innocence. The detectives continue their investigation, and a
search of Parker's home reveals a revolver hidden in his wall. Bill
Parker is arrested and charged with murder.
[36] While Briscoe is interrogating Parker, Father Hogan comes to
the station and confesses that he killed Giddens. At first, the DAs
are not convinced that Hogan did it; they think he confessed to raise
a reasonable doubt in the jury's mind so that Parker will be acquitted.
After Parker's wife implicates Hogan and gunshot residue is found
on his coat, though, they decide to charge Hogan with Giddens' death.
It is at this point that the episode takes an interesting twist.
[37] Father Hogan and his attorney, Jim Wheeler (Peter Frechette)
file a justification defense based on his claim that God told him
to kill Giddens. In the motion hearing that follows the filing, Wheeler
and EADA McCoy have the following exchange:
Wheeler: The law recognizes situations where killing is justified:
self-defense, defense of others, the death penalty . . .
McCoy: And in all of those instances, the use of deadly force must
be in response to an imminent threat and be reasonable.
Wheeler: Here comes the part where he tells you belief in God isn't
reasonable.
McCoy: A priest claiming he heard God? How does a jury determine
credibility?
Wheeler: We ask juries to dive into deeper deductive waters all
the time.
McCoy: We don't ask them to ponder the existence of God.
Wheeler: But we don't have to. The court already acknowledges his
existence: "In God We Trust."
McCoy: That's the building, not the law.
Wheeler: My point is, how can both the court and the legislature
acknowledge the existence of God yet deny a defense premised on
that existence?
McCoy: If a layperson tries to exert a "God Told Me To"
defense, the court would render him incompetent to stand trial.
Wheeler: So, if you talk to God, you're pious; and if he talks
back, you're crazy?
McCoy: You said it, I didn't.
Here again, as we have seen in our discussion of other episodes above,
the main point of McCoy's argument seems to be that some socially
acceptable forms of religious practice are tolerable, but practices
and beliefs beyond the "normal" are odd and even potentially
dangerous.[17]
[38] As in "Apocrypha" and "Angel," the prosecution
calls in its psychiatrist, Dr. Olivet, to examine Father Hogan in
order to ascertain his mental competency. Once more, the series treats
"excessive" spirituality and religious belief as a possible
mental condition. In the interview, Father Hogan tells Dr. Olivet,
"A man was destroying my community, poisoning my neighbors. I
prayed for guidance, and the guidance I received was that I should
kill him." Olivet asks him if he knew his actions were wrong,
for if he can appreciate the legal distinction between the two he
can be considered competent to stand trial. Hogan replies that he
did know his actions were wrong, but he did it because, as he says,
"That's what God asked of me."
[39] We should also note the impact that the events of September
11th and the Catholic Church's pedophilia problems have
on this episode. There is a palatable sense of urgency in Hogan's
pleas for the seriousness of his faith. At the same time, the episode
shows other characters alternately confused about their faith and
resolute in their resolve to stamp out religious motivations for violence.
In an attempt to get Hogan to plead guilty, ADA Serena Southerlyn
(Elisabeth Ršhm) asks him, "Do you really want to put religion
on trial?" The exchange that follows indicates both his fervor
and her ambiguity.
Hogan: Religion is already on trial. Islam is being tainted by
fanatics; Judaism is being threatened by the recent rise in anti-Semitism;
the Catholic Church is crippled by a sex scandal. For the first
time in world history, three major faiths are in crisis.
Southerlyn: Then perhaps that makes this the worst time in history
to challenge their validity.
Hogan: On the contrary, maybe now more than ever God wants us to
reexamine our faith, and if those are the consequences of my defense,
Amen.
Southerlyn: And if you lose?
Hogan: Where did your faith go Ms. Southerlyn?
At this question, Southerlyn looks down, confused, and the scene
ends.
[40] In a remarkable contrast, McCoy takes particular delight in
prosecuting this case. He notes after Southerlyn's failed attempt
to convince Hogan to take a plea, "Smile Serena. This is our
Inherit the Wind. This is where we get to prove in a court
of law that there is no big guy up there with a white beard pulling
invisible strings." In response, Serena sarcastically asks McCoy,
"So what did those nuns do to you?" It seems that McCoy's
ambiguity regarding supernatural defenses has been resolved with a
vengeance. Earlier, we saw that the only variation in L&O's
treatment of religion came with McCoy's attitude toward Rosa Halacy
in "Disciple." The parallels between these two episodes
are intriguing. Both have Catholic defendants; both defendants are
or were members of orders within the Church; both of them killed someone;
and both of them claim their actions were the result of advice or
guidance given by a supernatural agent, either a Saint or God. Given
these parallels, why does McCoy treat Halacy with more respect than
Father Hogan? One reason, as I noted above, is that "Disciple"
aired two years before September 11th, and thus the rampant
skepticism regarding religion had not yet surfaced. A second reason
has to do with the characters of Sister Rosa and Father Hogan. The
former was portrayed as a caring community activist who genuinely
believed in her faith, while Father Hogan comes off as a devoted priest,
but one whose defense seems contrived. Finally, McCoy's own distrust
of Catholicism perhaps makes him more likely to suspect a current
priest rather than a former nun.
[41] Following an examination of Bishop Durning (Dick Latessa), Father
Hogan's superior, who tells the court that Hogan must have misinterpreted
God's message because God would never tell someone to commit murder,
McCoy and Southerlyn have lunch. Southerlyn raises concerns about
McCoy's treatment of the Bishop possibly alienating faithful jurors.
McCoy retorts,
You know what I believe? I believe that Father Hogan's pious platitudes
and calm certainties ain't necessarily so. I believe that anyone who
wraps themselves in the flag or in the cloth to excuse themselves
from the rules the rest of us mortals have to obey is pulling a fast
one. It pisses me off to no end. ÔI know what God wants.' C'mon Serena,
it's ego, or hubris, or narcissism.
Serena asks him in response, "So God's dead?" McCoy replies,
"I'd rather say I don't know, but I do know this: Father Hogan's
right to his convictions stops at Scott Giddens' nose." Here,
for the first time perhaps, McCoy's admits an almost agnostic point
of view concerning his own religious beliefs as well as asserts a
basic principle of the series' view of religion: religious convictions
are fine as long as they do not interfere with the existence of other
people.
[42] The trial resumes, and Father Hogan takes the stand. His attorney,
Mr. Wheeler, begins by asking him about the fifth commandment ("You
shall not commit murder" [Exodus 20:13]).[18] Hogan counters with a scriptural
argument of his own. He notes that Giddens was a sinner and sold drugs
to satisfy his own greed. Furthermore, since he caused the death of
Davey Parker, he is subject to killing according to Exodus 21:12.
The show, however, does not address Hogan's poor reading of this section
of Exodus, usually referred to as the Covenant Code and representing
one of the oldest sections of legal material in the Hebrew Bible.
In 21:12-17, we have a series of apodictic laws dealing with capital
offenses, and 21:12 does read, "Whoever strikes a person mortally
shall be put to death." However, Giddens did not strike Davey
Parker mortally, even though he did sell him harmful drugs. Exodus
21:13, though, notes that if the killing was not premeditated, then
the killer may flee to a place of asylum. Presumably, Father Hogan
knows these laws, and his willful disregard for the asylum clause
in 21:13 only adds to the sense that his defense is not so much about
religious convictions as it is about winning his case.
[43] Following his scriptural oversight, Hogan is examined by McCoy.
Hogan once again claims that he received enlightenment from God via
prayer to ease the Parkers' sufferings by killing Giddens. McCoy then
reminds Hogan that Bill Parker had testified earlier that his son's
death was a pain that would never go away, thus casting doubt on Hogan's
divine decree. In the wake of this damaging testimony, Bill Parker
again confesses to McCoy that he killed Giddens in order to save Hogan
from an almost certain conviction. At this point, Hogan enters and
McCoy threatens to put Parker on trial for murder if Hogan does not
plead guilty. Hogan finally gives in and pleads guilty, providing
further fodder for the argument that he is not sincere in his claim,
and the trial is concluded.
[44] After the trial has ended, Serena enters Jack's office and asks
him why he pursued Father Hogan so relentlessly. In a rare violation
of creator Dick Wolf's law for the series, McCoy tells Serena a story
about a boyhood friend of his named Tommy Suiter. McCoy relates how
he always admired and followed Tommy around. McCoy last saw Tommy
in a VA hospital after Tommy had been wounded, presumably in Vietnam.
A priest came to Tommy's bed and tried to persuade him to make a deathbed
recantation of all his sins. Tommy refused, replying, "What difference
would it make?" After the priest left to try to persuade another
patient, Tommy expressed his reservations to McCoy, saying, "God
help me if I'm wrong." The episode concludes with Jack telling
Serena that he is still following Tommy.
[45] In this episode, we see the resurgence of L&O's dominant
view of religion and religious practices: religious faith is acceptable
as long as it is "normal" and one is rational enough to
base one's behavior on commonly accepted mores and practices rather
than "odd" religious truths. "Under God" also
reflects the ambiguity surrounding religion in a post-9-11 world,
wherein some people remain intensely skeptical of intense religiosity
and others look to religion for comfort with a new zeal. The former
view, embodied by McCoy, obviously receives the lion's share of attention
in this episode, as it represents the attitude the series has demonstrated
time and time again toward religion in general.
[46] In conclusion, we may ask why L&O portrays religion
in the manner it does, i.e., why does this series advocate a minimalist
view of religious belief as opposed to a maximalist interpretation
of religious prescriptions?[19]
After many years of watching the show, as well as in-class viewings
and discussions, I have found three main reasons behind the portrayal
of religion in L&O. The first deals with the way in which
the series defines religion. In his analysis of prime time cop shows
and religion, Elijah Siegler writes that L&O:
admits no essence, no substance to religion. Religion is one among
many of the motivating factors in human behavior, and therefore
can be as productive for the protagonists (manifested as zeal for
justice or as compassion) as it is destructive for the perpetrators
(manifested as homicidal mania or as insanity).[20]
In my opinion, this view of religion is tied to the genre of the
show. That is, this is a cop and lawyer show wherein the main focus
is on motivation, i.e., why someone committed a crime.
The almost total lack of character development as well as the formal
boundaries of the cop and lawyer show inhibits an in-depth substantive
investigation into religion. Put another way, the show is almost bound
to a functionalist or pragmatist view of religion due to its emphasis
on motivation and the assignment of guilt.
[47] Second, the series portrays maximalist forms of religion as
potentially destructive forces because that is the way in which most
members of its audience perceive religion. In my Religious Studies
classes, I teach mostly white, middle to upper class students. When
I show them episodes of L&O, they respond to and identify
with this presentation of religion, and some have even expressed concern
over religion as a destructive force in the wake of September 11th.
It is no accident that these students are representative of L&O's
core audience, because the show markets itself to an upper class,
affluent audience. Because of its target audience, it portrays religion
in a way that would resonate with that group. Walter T. Davis, Jr.
et al., write:
L&O functions as a myth that reinforces confidence in
the existing social system. . . . Aimed at an upscale audience .
. . this show turns horrendous crimes of passion into intellectual
puzzles. This transformation gives the audience and those who control
society reassurance that in spite of all the threats to social order,
we need not lose our rational equilibrium. . . . L&O
portrays the American criminal justice system as a workable moral
guide that restrains and punishes evil and thereby provides security
for law-abiding citizens.[21]
This reassurance that our legal and criminal justice system does
work to maintain law and order is one of the trademarks of the series.
The subsuming of religious practices and beliefs to the "needs
of the many" is part and parcel of a workable system of justice,
at least as portrayed in the series.
[48] Third and finally, the portrayal of religion in L&O
is intimately connected with what I take to be the main ethical or
moral point of the series: personal responsibility. L&O
consistently advocates that people should accept personal responsibility
for their actions, no matter their upbringing, motivations, or situation.[22]
Within this more general call for personal responsibility, it makes
sense to portray religious believers as specifically culpable for
their actions, even if it is their religious tradition that prescribes
the behavior, action, or motivation in question. Put another way,
people may believe what they will, but when their belief turns into
illegal action, they are responsible for that action, not their spiritual
leader, congregation, or tradition.
[49] In conclusion, the presentation of religion in L&O
is tied to pragmatic, economic, and ethical concerns. However, it
is still, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing, if not comfortable,
interpretations of religion on television today.
Notes
I presented an abridged version of this paper at the
AAR/SBL Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Regional Meeting in April 2002.
I would like to thank all those who listened to my presentation and
offered their questions and comments. I would also like to express
my gratitude to the anonymous readers of this journal and my sister
Kristin K. Ferryman, whose comments were very helpful.
[1] Quoted in Joanne Ostrow, "Roseanne bites into
reality series," The Denver Post, 17 July 2003, Section
F, p. 1. This narrow emphasis has not excluded any and all biographical
information about characters; we do know certain key pieces of data
about each of the major characters. In fact, one of the most popular
episodes of L&O is concerned solely with the personal lives
and reactions of the main characters to witnessing an execution. This
episode, entitled "Aftershock," (originally aired 5-22-96;
Season Six) ends with the death of Assistant District Attorney Claire
Kincaid (Jill Hennesy). Overall, though, Wolf's law is dominant in
the storytelling of the show. Interestingly, one of the important
factors in the success of Special Victims Unit is its reversal
of this narratorial position in L&O. The impact of the
"heinous" and "vicious felonies" that the detectives
deal with is shown by providing glimpses of their personal lives.
[2] There are several examples of this tendency. One
is an episode entitled "Life Choice," which involves an
anti-abortion activist charged with bombing an abortion clinic (originally
aired 1-8-91; Season One). In several cases, perpetrators portrayed
as mentally unstable have religious delusions or psychoses. A "perp"
systematically kills young boys he feels are committing blasphemy
in the episode "Trophy" (originally aired 1-31-96; Season
Six). In another episode, entitled "Pro Se," a schizophrenic
man kills a woman he believes to be Jael, a character in Judges 4
who kills a general by driving a tent peg through his mouth (originally
aired 5-8-96; Season Six).
[3] See Walter T. Davis, Jr., et al., "Law &
Order: The Cop Show Prescription for Containing Evil," in
Watching What We Watch: Prime-Time Television through the Lens
of Faith (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001), 127-136; and Elijah
Siegler, "God in the Box: Religion in Contemporary Cop Shows,"
in God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture
(eds. Eric Michael Mazur and Kate McCarthy; London & New York:
Routledge, 2001), 199-215.
[4] Originally aired 10-22-91 (Season Two). Two excellent
L&O episode guides can be found online at http://www.dickinson.edu/~buchan/law-and-order.html
and http://epguides.com/LawandOrder/.
[5] All quotes from
episodes are my own transcriptions.
[6] This commonplace attitude toward religious beliefs
and believers is described wonderfully in Stephen L. Carter, The
Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious
Devotion (updated ed.; New York: Doubleday, 1993).
[7] Religious accommodations or exemptions often center
on the practices of minority, or non-mainstream religions. For a passionate
plea for exemptions for minority religions, see Carter, The Culture
of Disbelief, 124-35. Contra Carter's arguments, see Mark
V. Tushnet, "Questioning the Value of Accommodating Religion,"
in Law and Religion: A Critical Anthology (ed. Stephen M. Feldman;
New York & London: New York University Press, 2000), 245-257.
The issue of religious exemptions from generally applicable laws came
to a head in 1990 with the U.S. Supreme Court case Employment Division,
Department of Human Resources of Oregon, et al. v. Smith et al.,
494 U.S. 872 (1990). In this case, two members of the Native American
Church (NAC) were fired from their state jobs because they ingested
peyote as part of a NAC ritual. When they applied for unemployment
compensation, their request was denied because of the nature of their
termination. Justice Scalia wrote the majority opinion, in which the
Court upheld the denial of unemployment wages, and thus refused to
grant an accommodation to the members of the NAC. Three years later,
President Clinton signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration
Act of 1993 (H.R. 1308) which reversed the Court's decision in Smith
and reinstated the "compelling interest" test found in such
cases as Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) and Wisconsin
v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). Basically, RFRA mandated that states
demonstrate a "compelling interest" before impeding anyone's
right to the "Free Exercise" of religion. However, in the
1997 case Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997), the Supreme
Court declared RFRA to be unconstitutional due to its abrogation of
the system of checks and balances in our government. That is, Congress
cannot declare a Supreme Court ruling to be invalid. For a lucid assessment
of the issue of accommodations and minority religions, see Sherryl
Leigh Wright, "Does Majority Religion Rule the Bench? A Study
of United States Supreme Court Treatment of Minority Religions,"
(Ph.D. Diss., Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver,
2002).
[8] Taken from "Death by Religious Exemption,"
n.p. Online: http://www.masskids.org/dbre/dbre_8.html,
1992.
[9] "Death by
Religious Exemption," n.p.
[10] Carter, The
Culture of Disbelief, xv.
[11] Carter, The
Culture of Disbelief, 15.
[12] Originally aired
11-3-93 (Season Four).
[13] Originally aired
11-29-95 (Season Six).
[14] Originally aired
2-24-99 (Season Nine).
[15] Interestingly, in August 2003 a similar incident
occurred in Milwaukee. Authorities charged a minister with felony
child abuse after he pinned an eight-year old autistic boy to the
ground while trying to release the boy's demons. See "Man Ordered
Not to Perform Exorcisms," n.p. Online: http://www.wwrn.org.
[16] Originally aired
2-5-03 (Season Thirteen).
[17] Hogan's claim that God spoke to him and ordered
him to commit murder is also shared by the subjects of Jon Krakauer's
new book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
(New York: Random House, 2003). In this work, Krakauer tells the story
of two brothers in the LDS tradition who claimed God told them to
kill members of their own families.
[18] All biblical
quotations taken from the NRSV translation.
[19] This helpful distinction is proposed by Bruce
Lincoln in his wonderful essay Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion
after September 11 (Chicago & London: University of Chicago
Press, 2003). Maximalism is "the conviction that religion ought
to permeate all aspects of social, indeed of human existence,"
while minimalist religious views restrict "religion to an important
set of [chiefly metaphysical] concerns . . . [and] restricts its activity
and influence to this specialized sphere" (5).
[20] Siegler, "God
in the Box," 205.
[21] Davis, Jr.,
et al., "Law & Order: The Cop Show Prescription for
Containing Evil," 134-135.
[22] For example, in "The Secret Sharers"
(originally aired 3-22-91; Season One), a Latino defendant claims
that he killed a drug dealer who assaulted his girlfriend because
that is what his culture taught him to do. This appeal to cultural
upbringing as a defense is also evident in "Securitate"
(originally aired 5-5-93; Season Three), in which a young Romanian
man kills his father and then claims he cannot be held responsible
because he had been conditioned to violent acts in Romania. Even arguments
for genetic predisposition to violent acts are dismissed, as in "Born
Bad" (originally aired 11-16-93; Season Four). The show has also
taken on and rejected such defenses as Mob Mentality ("Sanctuary"
[originally aired 4-13-94; Season Four]); Battered Woman Syndrome
("Blue Bamboo" [originally aired 10-5-94; Season Five]);
Munchausen Syndrome ("Precious" [originally aired 11-9-94;
Season Five]); Black Rage ("Rage" [originally aired 2-1-95;
Season Five]); Racism ("Prejudice" [originally aired 12-12-01;
Season 12]); Hormone Replacement Therapy Withdrawal ("Bitch"
[originally aired 2-26-03; Season 13]); and more recently, Affirmative
Action ("Bounty" [originally aired 10-1-03; Season 14]).
