Faith-Based Media Gains Popularity in Mainstream Markets
By Movieguide® Contributor
The success of faith-based media in recent years has proven that Jesus still has the power to draw large audiences.
Media like THE CHOSEN, JESUS REVOLUTION and THE SOUND OF FREEDOM have drawn larger audiences than mainstream Hollywood would have ever predicted.
The recent success of faith-based media has baffled experts who expected the popularity of Christian content to decline as Christianity has declined in America. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of adults in America who identify as Christian has dropped from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2021. Meanwhile, the audience for faith-based movies has only grown.
“There’s a tremendously powerful movement toward Jesus right now that most people aren’t aware of,” Movieguide® founder Dr. Ted Baehr said. “The nature of man is to be hostile to Christianity and salvation. But there’s more and more people in Hollywood moving the in other direction.”
The current interest in Jesus across the country is largely fueled by the existential questions younger generations face.
“There’s a deep hunger for spiritually significant stories rooted in eternal questions of life and death, and life after death,” said Craig Detweiler, president of The Wedgewood Circle, a nonprofit that raises money for faith-based movies. “The pandemic reminded us of our mortality and Jesus isn’t trademarked, so the material can be held up by all types of entertainers.”
To meet the rising demand, companies like MGM, 21st Century Fox and Sony Pictures have each launched their own faith-based studios. Netflix has also said that it is working to bring more Christian content to its platform.
Along with the rise in faith-based content, the image of Christianity has also grown more positive within secular movies. Movieguide®’s research has shown that the number of movies with positive Christian/redemptive content has starkly risen from only 10% in 1991 to 59% in 2022. Movies that fall under this category include the likes of TOP GUN: MAVERICK and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, which promote Christian values—family, sacrifice and faith—within their storylines.
Christian characters, however, are still often painted in a negative light. In many mainstream media pieces, characters that are overtly Christian are revealed to be villains by the end.
“Many in Hollywood view Christians as self-righteous,” Tom Halleen, the founding dean of Biola University’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts, said. “Bad people leveraging Christianity to do bad things can be dramatic storytelling.”
One of the most egregious examples comes from the third movie in the PURGE franchise, where Christians cleanse their weapons in holy water before killing innocent people. Meanwhile, a notorious gang is painted in a positive light.
Christian characters have long been portrayed as villains because some of the issues Christians stand for go directly against mainstream media.
“People in the industry see Christians as being on the wrong side of issues they care about,” explained Dr. Barbara Harrington, the head of the screenwriting program at Regent University. “They think [Christians] are standing in the way of progress.”
“For the first time since early Rome, Christians are portrayed as the immoral agents in society. Christians won over Rome, but now they’re being accused of bigotry and hate speech because they hold to a Biblical worldview. There’s a lot of money pouring into that narrative,” added Lucas Miles, author of Woke Jesus: The False Messiah Destroying Christianity.
Hollywood is, however, starting to shift its negative portrayal of Christian characters.
“There’s all sorts of negative notions about Christians in Hollywood, but there’s no stronger argument to dispel those notions that success,” Mark Sourian, head of production on THE CHOSEN, said. “Everyone in Hollywood will become a Christian if there’s money in it.”
Hopefully, the popularity of faith-based content will continue to rise and become impossible for Hollywood to avoid. Already, movies like JESUS REVOLUTION and SOUND OF FREEDOM have impacted the faith of many viewers. The creation of more Christian media will only grow the impact that faith-based content has.
Movieguide® previously reported on the rise in faith-based media:
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in Hollywood to produce faith-based films that focus on religious themes and values.
While the trend has taken Hollywood by surprise, there are some clear-cut reasons for audiences’ renewed interest in uplifting entertainment.
The audience for faith-based films has grown, particularly among Christians. According to a study by Barna Group, a research organization that tracks religious trends.
“Four out of ten adults (41%) said that within the past two years they had seen a movie that had caused them to think more seriously about their religious faith,” the study stated.
This has created a demand for more films with religious themes.
- Content: +3Share:
- Content: +1