His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the head of all Buddhism, and he is a fascinating man by any measure. As the leader of an organized religion, one expects him to act in certain ways - to defend its tenets, its perspectives, its rites and rituals. As a result, it is somewhat surprising to learn he believes that if science tells us something that is in conflict with Buddhism, then Buddhism must change.

It's not something we're used to, when we think of the Catholic church's reaction to the news that the Earth revolves around the sun. The suggestion - based on the breakthrough science of the period - led to persecution, imprisonment and torture.

In the end, it turned out that the scientific fact of how the planets orbited, did not actually challenge the tenets of the church; it challenged the minds of men.

There's a modern controversy, not unlike the one which brewed in the 15th century. It is well known that Christian fundamentalists find the scientific theory of man's evolution counter to their faith in the Bible's explanation. This was referred to repeatedly recently when a number of IMAX theatres - primarily in the South and primarily associated with Science centers - elected not to air the movie "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea."

The objection of the fundamentalists? The movie links scientific evidence to the theory of evolution, and this response was borne out by local test audiences: "Volcanoes" clearly violated their personal faiths.

Cornelia Dean of The New York Times broke the story, which was picked up by the Associated Press and followed by a flurry of editorials, most of which commented on the wrongness of science centers and museums sidestepping their duty to bring science education to the public.

But I'm not sure I believe this is really about science, much less about religion.

IMAX theatres abound across the country at this point, with many are located in science centers and museums. A relatively new development, the IMAX proposition was essentially irresistible: the promise of educational content in an exciting and unique theatre setting with the opportunity for added revenue and increased drawing power to the center as a whole. Before long, if a science center didn't have one, it was arguably second class.

Unfortunately, commercial IMAX theatres have also spring up, and the original promise has faded. The biggest draw one year at a science and technology museum I am familiar with was "Beauty and the Beast." And the bottom line was this: While Disney rolled into town and spent lots of its own money on advertising, they extracted so much money at each showing, the net profits to the science museum were minimal.

Does the term "feeling used" leap to mind?

As for the recent editorials, why not object to IMAX theatres filling their schedules with "Beauty and the Beast," "Batman Begins" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" Exactly, how do these movies bring science education to the public?

IMAX theatres just might be an albatross hanging about the neck of your local science center, at a time, when science is impacting society more than ever.

Perhaps you might recall the biblical quote, "Render to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's; and to God, the things that are God's." If you ask me, the IMAX theatres at science centers have Caesar written all over them.

I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.

Back to Five Minutes List