The reason for no music and no dancing in Footloose 1984 is the same as in Footloose 2011. In the original, we know as much about Bomont as Ren knows. We're not clubbed over the head with graphic flashbacks. Instead, we're given the reveal of why no music and no dancing in a moody, evocative scene as Ren & co. return to town from a night of drinking and dancing, driving over the very same bridge where Rev. Moore's son died. Rev. Moore's fire and brimstone is rooted in his pain over the loss of his son. He is trying to atone for what he saw as a personal failing: "One of these days, my Lord is going to come to me, and ask me for an explanation for the lives of each and every one of you. What am I going to tell him on that day? That I was busy? That I was tired? That I was bored? No! I can never let up! I welcome his test. I welcome this challenge from my Lord, so that one day I can deliver all of you unto his hands. And when that day dawns, I don't want to have to do any explaining! I don't want to be missing from your lives!" (Quoted from an online transcript, so it may be off a bit from the actual dialogue.) Moore feels that he failed the test, he was missing from his son's life, and he will have to explain this failing one day. Later, when the townsfolk are burning books, Rev. Moore confronts them: "When did you all decide to sit in judgment? Who elected you to be the saviors of everybody's souls in Bomont?" And who elected Rev. Moore? No music and no dancing is a very personal and very targeted crusade for him. The death of his son drives his fervor and his internal conflict makes him an interesting antagonist. He's sympathetic. Anyway ... as to how I handle religious themes in my own work, I focus on the personal experience that the individual character is having. A character's expression of religion is just another externalization of what's going on inside. No different from a character's "voice". Granted, it much more potent than regionalisms or word choice. So I tread respectfully -- and I make for damn sure I know what I'm talking about. (i.e. Protestants don't believe in transubstantiation. That sort of thing.) Religious values are not the same as "God". Religious values come from somewhere; are motivated by something. I think exploring such things is rather the point of storytelling.

I had a pretty religious upbringing, parents are missionaries, so I definitely saw a lot of different churches and different types of worshipers growing up. In my own writing I either try to just avoid all together, or just play on certain themes/value. Rocking the religion boat is too easy. Whenever it relates to religion or politics, most people have a tendency to get overly defensive. So right now I just avoid it, but one day I'll write a clever story that will be caked with satire and will change the hearts and minds of many!! Muaahahaha

here is my favorite re-telling of the creation of the 1984 Kevin Bacon vehicle, "The Boy Who Danced Away Oppression": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX1Nh6c80wo

Seems this version of Footloose was more of a cynical ROI choice from the get-go (was Brewer re-imagining it on his own as he made Black Snake Moan? I don't think so), and their "take" on the religious elements ties into that--they assumed their biggest numbers would come from bible belt/flyover states, and hence did everything possible to not offend that demo. That said, I do think it's possible for intelligent scripts to address religion, and I think they should, though it’s usually done best in a less overt way. The interaction of religion and politics has been incredibly divisive in our own country in recent years (and globally of course), and makes for substantive thematic/character/subtextual material to explore. I think this religious/social divide in our country has renewed interest among many writers in the Civil War (myself included), hence the slew of recent Civil War-era films/tv shows in the works. As the liberal/atheist daughter of two strict Christian fundamentalists from Virginia who tote the tea party line, I personally find the role religion has played in our country fascinating. I got my BA in history from Columbia, where I studied the role of Christianity in our country extensively, and saw its fascinating dualities in history echoed in my own life. Christianity was initially used to control African slaves (suffer through this life and you’ll be rewarded on the other side), and yet later became the African American community’s greatest source of unity and organization for political and social change. In my own father, who was raised Baptist but became “reborn” in his 30s, religion has closed his mind politically in so many ways, yet also opened him up emotionally, enabling him to voice feelings he previously would have hidden. I’ve explored the role of faith through different characters in the recent Civil War spec I wrote, both as an agent for change and as an anchor to often flawed traditions. Fascinating stuff that I would love to see more of!