A new survey conducted by HarrisX for The Faith & Entertainment Index claims that 92% of Americans say that faith belongs in films and television series.
Not only does the poll claim that Americans want faith to be depicted in films and TV series, but 23% want it to be central to the story while 51% want it to be present, but not the main focus.
Furthermore, the poll claims that films and TV shows with faith can have broad appeal across generations as well as political divides. It notes that 77% of Americans see it as broadly appealing.
Breaking it down via age, it states that 79% of Gen Z, 83% of Millennials, 78% of Gen X, and 72% of Baby Boomers believe that stories with faith can have broad appeal.
Regarding politics, the numbers are 75% Democrat, 82% Republican, and 73% Independent/Other.
Additionally, the survey noted that audiences want films and TV shows to depict faith that is “entertaining, relatable, easy to understand, uses humor respectfully, depicts faith accurately and authentically, makes you reflect or think deeply, is emotionally moving, and weaves faith into the story naturally.”
The poll comes in the wake of comments made by Neal McDonough at the end of 2024, where he revealed that Hollywood producers are showing renewed interest in projects focused on faith.
Speaking to Glenn Beck to promote his Homestead film, McDonough shared, “They had the breakdown of all the studios of what they are looking for and this project and that. And never, ever, ever have I seen before of the 10 of them, 4 or 5 of them in the bottom said, ‘Oh, by the way, if you have something of faith, we’re very interested this year.’ So something’s changed.”
And there have been a number of projects released that do put a focus on faith that have become quite popular. One of the biggest shows last year was The Wonder Project and Prime Video’s House of David. The Chosen also continued with Season 5. These aren’t niche outliers either. House of David drew over 44 million global viewers in its first season. The Chosen grossed $40 million just at the U.S. box office.
Additionally, Angel Studios’ David grossed $83.8 million in its box office run. Even Rian Johnson’s recently released Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has positive portrayals of faith. Johnson’s film accrued 20.2 million views during its first week and was the #1 ranked English-language film.
While these developments appear to represent real and encouraging progress, Hollywood still has a long way to go still. Much of the industry continues to churn out content steeped in woke ideological messaging and moral relativism. Recent examples include: Snow White, The Marvels, The Acolyte, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, The Rings of Power, and The Wheel of Time.
And given this data, it begs the question of why producers and Hollywood creatives continue to churn out this trash that audiences are clearly not interested in rather than the honest, authentic, and true depictions of faith.
In fact, J.R.R. Tolkien observed in On Fairy Stories that the pinnacle of the fairy story is the Eucatastrophe, or “the sudden joyous ‘turn’ (for there is no true end to any fairy-tale): this joy, which is one of the things which fairy-stories can produce supremely well, is not essentially ‘escapist,’ nor ‘fugitive.’ In its fairy-tale—or otherworld—setting, it is a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur. It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.”
Hollywood ignores this at its peril. The poll and the profits show audiences want Eucatastrophe not relativist despair dressed as progress. The joy Tolkien describes is waiting to be delivered; the question is whether gatekeepers will finally allow it, or keep serving woke trash instead.
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Without question
Hollywood only includes faith to dump on it, villainize it, or patronize it. I prefer no representation at all when that is what "representation" looks like.