Penitents Compete: Turkish Game Show's Religious Contestants Compete To Convert Atheists

In the tradition of a cliche genre of jokes, the forthcoming Turkish game show, Penitents Compete, will pit a Greek Orthodox priest, an imam, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk against one another with the task of winning over atheists to their respective faiths, Reuters reports. Penitents Compete will air on the Turkish TV channel, Kenal T this September and there are already 200 atheist applicants, 10 of whom will be selected next month, according to Reuters:

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

However the makers of the show insist that it is meant to spread awareness of other religious faiths, not mock them. From the Guardian:

"The project aims to turn disbelievers on to God," the station's deputy director, Ahmet Ozdemir, told the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

That mission is attested to in the programme's advertising slogans, which include "We give you the biggest prize ever: we represent the belief in God" and "You will find serenity in this competition".

The show claims that it will contestants who claim to have actually been converted will be under much scrutiny to guarantee that it is indeed genuine and not simply an act to win a free vacation, the Guardian report notes; however, how this determination will actually be made remains vague.

Get HuffPost World On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[Phenlandia]

Seeing as his religion is actually compatible with atheism, I'm putting my money on the Buddhist.

[Kathryn Maver]

I wonder if Willow Creek has tried this yet?

[JohnFromCensornati]

This looks like trouble and it's likely to be extremely dull TV, too.

[minimalist syntax]

Are you kidding? It would be interesting tv.

[kwinter]

I agree. I think it would be fascinating. Although I agree with Ajita about the way they have the rules (or rewards) structured.

And what will they do if the atheist remains an atheist, but a believer abandons their belief?

[drjasonmd]

Can I convert to Rastafarianism and get a free trip to Jamaica and a bag of herbs?

[Ajita]

This would make some sense if they rewarded the priests for converting the atheists, but rewarding the atheists who convert to a religion is outright bribery.

[minimalist syntax]

I agree. And why would they award someone who had converted to Orthodox Christianity with a trip to the Vatican? Orthodox do not accept the authority of the Pope.

[kwinter]

Wouldn't you find a lot of your own church history at the Vatican? Hasn't the Vatican (not Vatican City) existed for almost 1700 years? Wasn't there only one church then? Wasn't it hundreds of years later that the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church split?

Saint Peter's tomb is there. Many Popes are buried there. Aren't many of the earlier Popes considered Saints by the Orthodox?

Whether or not you accept the authority of the Pope, I would think that most Xians would find many things of interest, relating to their history there.

[Mahi Joe]

What no Hedonists? ack patooey!

[Jaywalkker]

Reminds me of the ploy that cities use for people with long overdue or unpaid traffic tickets. "You won a boat! claim prize at -location-!" Show up, cuffs go on. I would never declare my atheism in a Muslim country, I don't even have the benefit of being a person of the book.

[jeburr24]

I think they should have a Unitarian minister on the show. Then the contestants could win a trip to nowhere in particular.

[lianmolive]

Buddhists don't believe in god...

[Joethepauper]

Put me on the show! I'll convert the religious to atheism. Superstition vs. science is not a contest. Don't get me wrong, I respect people's ridiculous superstitions when they keep them to themselves, but as soon as a religious group hears of people in a distant land who are still self-sufficient hunter-gatherers (as God intended.....see Adam and Eve), they hop on the first plane to go convert the "savages". They make them wear clothes and sing stupid songs (to a God that doesn't exist to hear them), and they cause the extinction of those "savages". The real savages are the ones in church, not the ones who have never been inside one. The main religions of Turkey are recent arrivals and will fade-away when everyone is scientifically literate.

[fbr79]

I truly hate religion...but I'm in need of a vacation. Which one of these places has the best nightlife? I'm thinking not Mecca.

[Kathryn Maver]

Probably not the Vatican either. . .

[rolodex]

Maybe not the vatican itself, but remember, that's in the middle of Rome. A great place to visit on it's own.

[HPdevotee]

This has the potential to be quite amusing or extremely violent. I mean, we are talking religion here..lol

[czs5056]

I wonder how many contestants are looking for free vacation

[jamiso]

Let me on...

10 atheists will go in... 14 will come out

[minimalist syntax]

Humility must not be an atheistic virtue.

[Steven Solomon]

It would have been humorous if the producers had included a Parsi (Zoroastrian) cleric--he would have lost automatically, since the Parsi faith does not accept converts.

[GDUS]

Mr Solomon!

How cute it is that you don't know about Judaism.