Today, millions of Catholics across the world will be adorned with ashes on their foreheads marking the start of penance and reflection for lent (myself included). Almost all faiths have some sort of penance or atonement to recognize we are not perfect, nor can we create anything that is perfect. While many of us aspire to perfection, let us not forget our ancestors crucified the one person who was perfect in this world, Jesus. While his passion and death have been reenacted several times, representation of all faith in the media has been lacking.
According to a Pew Institute research study, 28% of Americans listed their religions as “None.” In other words, 28% of Americans do not identify with a religion or faith, but many of them identify as “spiritual.” Pew also found 4% of U.S. adults are “atheists.” Yet, opportunities to provide wholesome, faith-based programming for the other 96% of Americans have been overlooked in the last 25 years. If the industry was smart it would see how representing faith has benefited the media.
In 1965, CBS executives debated if they should air A Charlie Brown Christmas. Not because it wasn’t good, but because they did not know how it would be received. It was an instant classic. Why the debate is not entirely clear. The 1920s brought America The 10 Commandments, Ben-Hur, and Joan of Arc, all of which would be remade in the 1940s and 50s during the Red Scare.
Religious themes and connotations were found in several other films and TV shows, but it was typically used for comedic purposes, including in The Blues Brothers. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were “On a mission from God” to save “St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage,” where the pair grew up. While Sister Mary Stigmata did offer comedic relief it’s more so mocking “Penguins” then actually embracing them.
As the years went on there was less Ben-Hur in America and more stigmatizing of the church. The last major devoutly Christian, non-comedic film was Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, released in 2004. Gibson’s film premiered during a tumultuous time for the Church. Just a few years earlier The Boston Globe broke the sex abuse scandal and people were fleeing from the institution. The blockbuster film was something Hollywood did not want to touch. Yet, people flocked to theaters to see it, earning $370.8 Million in its theater run. This was the last positive major religious film produced for nearly 20 years.
During this time, America was starved for religious media representation and it didn’t go unnoticed. We are now seeing a religious resurgence in the media industry. New York has several religious music radio stations now. Once popular WPLJ was replaced by KLOVE.
The Chosen has millions of viewers, many of whom are seeing Season 4 in theaters. Their production company, Angel Studios, is developing more faith-based programming for adults and children. This includes Young David, a cartoon that follows the life of King David before his battle with Goliath and becoming King. There is also Grace Hill Media and faith-based news outlets like the Catholic Faith Network.
Today also marks another important day for practicing Catholics, St. Valentine’s Day. A day meant to celebrate the martyr and patron saint of love, young people, and happy marriages has now been overtaken by Hallmark and the marketing industry. Instead of praying for young people, love, and joyful marriages, we now feel obliged to buy a card, chocolate, and roses.
The media industry has appropriated religious holidays like St. Valentine’s Day and Christmas not to honor the faith but instead to provide a secular alternative. These counterfeit representations are starving millions of believers. Instead of benefiting the soul of America holy days are now benefiting the wallets of marketing agencies and retailers. While holding holidays hostage does happen with almost all faiths, it is most prevalent with Christian holidays because we are a Christian nation.
This misappropriation becomes even worse when you turn to the news media. Outlets would rather have a Taylor Swift reporter instead of a faith reporter. Having a faith reporter would most certainly help frame the crisis in the Middle East better than classifying it as a “land war.” Quite honestly, I believe Americans would prefer reports on the latter of the two.
Regardless of how I feel, it is overwhelmingly clear Americans want more faith in the media. So friends of the industry please remember, keep Christ in Christmas. Chanukkah is worth more than a Mensch on a Bench. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of fasting, not the beginning of a gluttonous food intake. Most importantly, find ways to respect faith instead of misrepresenting it.
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
