NEW YORK. Football unites America more than religion. A few hours from the sporting event most watched by Americans, the Super Bowl which, when it is Sunday night in Italy, will award the title of NFL American football champion, the news is made by an advert that will appear on the long live television broadcast.
One of the scheduled ads has already sparked controversy: the theme is Jesus Christ and the slogan is He Gets Uswhich has many variations, including «He understands us» and «He welcomes us», with the double meaning of the word «us», which indicates in English «we» but also «United States», the United States.
The advertisement promotes Jesus and Christianity, but recalls that among the foundations there is also that of hospitality, not a secondary theme in an increasingly divided country, even on the theme of hospitality, between conservative and progressive states, between cities that form a wall for immigrants and those “sanctuaries” that welcome them.
Symbolic and current figures scroll through the video: an immigrant, a refugee, a radical, anti-abortionists, activists demonstrating against racism and corruption. “Whatever you are facing – says the advertisement – Jesus has already faced it”. In reality, for many Americans this “claim” will not be an absolute novelty, because this type of message has been circulating, in various forms, for months in prime time on the major American networks and is part of a one hundred million dollar campaign financed by anonymous donors.
The occasion of the Super Bowl, one of the most loved sports by Americans and full of religious signs, seems the inevitable ending: millions of viewers will see it, in an evening that will see the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles teams on the field.
The objective of the campaign would be to “promote a religious message without politicizing it”, say the organizers, “neither of the right nor of the left”, to “reach young people” who will be in front of the TV with their families. But this campaign has already caused protests because it is viewed by many as biased. The reason is that there is an ultra-right foundation behind it, the The Servant Foundationfamous in the US as Signatry.
It is the same organization that, according to some progressive newspapers, has donated tens of millions of dollars to theAlliance Defending Freedoma Christian conservative group which has often argued in favor of laws limiting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community or which has called for a ban on covering medical costs related to contraception based on religious beliefs.
The network of anonymous donors could be headed by the Evangelical movement, which is very strong in the United States, and which has between ninety and one hundred million members. “Our goal – the promoters of the campaign defended themselves – is to unite the American people through the enthralling love and forgiveness of Jesus”. But the message did not convince everyone.
Kevin Young, a pastor who discusses issues related to Christianity on social media, is critical. «Young people – he explained to the Cnn – are digital natives who understand the difference between slick marketing and authenticity. Mega churches, mega events and mega advertising spending are seen by young people as money that could have been better spent, for example to finance programs to support the oppressed, such as refugees, members of the LGBTQ+ community, abortion advocates and the poor ».
The campaign comes at a time of crisis: second Pew Research, the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian has risen from 90 percent to 63 percent over the past three decades. In particular, the younger ones are those who appear distant from the Gospel message and are more interested in the practical aspect of solidarity. The two thirty-second Jesus commercials scheduled for the Super Bowl will cost a total of $7 million.