The National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) was formed in 1927, initially to combat anti-Catholic bigotry regarding the presidential candidacy of Al Smith, who was the first Catholic to run for President. It has continued to oppose religious bigotry of all types.The Godmakers movie was produced by a group in Arizona called Concerned Christians and, thus, the movie was first shown, in the early 1980s, in Arizona. The Arizona Chapter of NCCJ appointed an ad hoc committee which, in 1983-84, viewed the movie and prepared a report about it. The committee consisted of 3 Catholics, 4 Protestants, 1 Greek Orthodox person, 7 Jews and 2 Mormons. Below is an excerpt of their report:
THE GODMAKERS FILM
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The film does not - in our opinion - fairly portray the Mormon Church, Mormon history, or Mormon belief. It makes extensive use of “half-truth”, faulty generalizations, erroneous interpretations, and sensationalism. It is not reflective of the genuine spirit of the Mormon faith.
We find particularly offensive the emphasis in the film that Mormonism is some sort of subversive plot - a danger to the community, a threat to the institution of marriage, and is destructive to the mental health of teenagers. All of our experience with our Mormon neighbors provides eloquent refutation of these charges.
We are of the opinion that The Godmakers relies heavily on appeals to fear, prejudice and other less worthy human emotions. We believe that continued use of this film poses genuine danger to the climate of good will and harmony which currently exists between Valley [Phoenix area] neighbors of differing faiths. It appears to us to be a basically unfair and untruthful presentation of what Mormons really believe and practice.
NCCJ’S POSITION
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By and large, Valley residents do not share the views of our Mormon neighbors espoused by The Godmakers. We believe that most fair-minded people who would happen to view this film would be appalled by it, because their attitudes have been previously formed through many day-to-day experiences with Mormons which demonstrate that they are good friends, neighbors and fellow citizens.
There are, unfortunately, some who lack adequate knowledge about the Mormon faith, who may unwarily be misled by this film. We recommend to all persons that they utilize every opportunity for face-to-face dialogue with their neighbors in an atmosphere of mutual respect. This will help to provide authentic, firsthand information about the faith of our fellow citizens.
