The Conversation - Faith in Scorsese’s films

Think of the Oscars and you’ll probably picture the razzle-dazzle elements, including those movie stars strutting along the red carpet. But religion is no stranger at the Academy Awards, either. Plenty of past nominees and winners, from “The Exorcist” to “Women Talking,” have had faith-related themes.

Martin Scorsese, who is up for 10 awards this year, has directed several films that wrestle with religion, including “Silence” and “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Faith is not as front and center in his latest movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon” – but still very much there, according to Anthony Smith, a religious studies professor at the University of Dayton.

Many of Scorsese’s films, like “Killers,” focus on characters who are far from angelic. Corruption, crime and violence are some of his trademark themes. But even then, Scorsese’s movies “are steeped in Catholic sensibilities,” Smith writes. They don’t “defend the religion or burnish its image … but embrace painful questions that often accompany belief.”

This week we also liked articles about the origins of the notion that witches fly on brooms and Florida’s dysfunctional home insurance market, as well as these highlights of our recent Academy Awards coverage.

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