Page - 45 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

44 | Sharon Lauricella and Hannah M. Scott www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 39–53 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION RELIGIOSITY Of the 14 weddings throughout 13 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, there were nine in which religiosity was able to be assessed; the remaining four wedding cer- emonies were not shown in the program and thus sufficient information was not available for the purposes of assessing religiosity. Four weddings were considered “not at all religious”: Meredith and Derek’s union via Post-it (a private and personal ceremony of commitment), Meredith and Derek’s official ceremony in a courthouse, Miranda and Ben’s nonreligious wedding, and Callie and Arizona’s same-sex wedding. These weddings had no religious rituals or artifacts and no religious wording, were not held in a religious setting, and were not officiated by a religious figure. Four weddings were con- sidered “somewhat religious”: the ceremonies for Izzie and Alex, Christina and Preston, Amelia and Owen, and Catherine and Richard. These ceremonies in- cluded religious wording such as “ancient rite” and “blessings” (Izzie and Alex), religious rituals such as the Chuppah (Cristina and Owen), visible artifacts such as crosses in the venue (Catherine and Richard), and the couple being married by a religious officiant in a house of worship (Amelia and Owen). Only April and Matthew’s aborted wedding was considered “very religious” in its strong reli- gious language (“God’s power” and “Heavenly Father”). Overall, weddings featured on Grey’s Anatomy can be considered religious in that they incorporate mainstream and generally expected religious ele- ments in contemporary American ceremonies, such as holding the wedding in a house of worship, use of somewhat religious language, and the incorpo- ration of a few religious artifacts or rituals. Interestingly, the only wedding that was considered very religious (April and Matthew’s) was called off at the altar as the love triangle involving April, Jackson, and Matthew was dramati- cally revealed. The two couples whose weddings were not at all religious were particularly poignant figures in the program. Meredith, focused on her career, puts little attention on religious issues and has minimal interest in planning and hosting a wedding; it was her partner, Derek, who suggested and insisted upon being married, and despite Meredith’s disinterest argues, “Well, it’s for the baby” (S7, E20). Callie and Arizona’s non-religious ceremony is important because they are the only same-sex married couple in the drama. The lack of religiosity in this ceremony between two women is reflective of the finding that same-sex weddings offer a site of resistance to social norms.29 However, there are traditional elements of this wedding, such as white dresses and even a veil, together with the customary father-daughter dance. Thus we suggest 29 Fetner/Heath, 2016