A thought-provoking study was recently published in Public Opinion magazine. It has been commented upon by many writers. John Dart, religion editor for the Los Angeles Times, wrote a column last February in which he said:

"A survey of influential television writers and executives in Hollywood has shown that they are far less religious than the general public and ‘diverge sharply from traditional values’ on such issues as abortion, homosexual rights and extramarital sex. … While nearly all of the 104 Hollywood professionals interviewed had a religious background, 45 percent now say they have no religion, and of the other 55 percent only 7 percent say they attend a religious service as much as once a month.

“‘This group has had a major role in shaping the shows whose themes and stars have become staples in our popular culture.’ ...

“Eighty percent of the respondents said they did not regard homosexual relations as wrong, and 51 percent did not deem adultery as wrong. Of the 49 percent who called extramarital affairs wrong, only 17 percent felt that way strongly, the study said. Nearly all—97 percent—favored the right of a woman to choose an abortion, 91 percent holding that view strongly.

“By contrast, other surveys have indicated that 85 percent of Americans consider adultery wrong, 71 percent regard homosexual activity wrong and nearly three-fourths of the public wants abortion limited to certain hard cases or banned altogether.” (Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 1983, part 2, page 5.)

These are the people who, through the medium of entertainment, are educating us in the direction of their own standards, which in many cases are diametrically opposed to the standards of the gospel. Even beyond these, who produce for public television and cable, are the hard-core pornographers who seductively reach out to ensnare those gullible enough and those so weak in their discipline of self that they spend money to buy these lascivious products.