Where have all the Christians Gone?

Five years ago, while attending BYU, I attended a seminar entitled “Hollywood vs. Religion,” examining the contrast between the lifestyles and beliefs of those in the movie industry as compared with those of mainstream America. Although any implication that filmmakers are inherently faithless while the rest of the country is deeply pious represents a false dichotomy that denies the diversity of both populations, there is a divide between the overall secularism of Hollywood and the religiosity of America, especially with regards to Christianity.

A 2008 survey by the American Religious Identification Survey found that nearly 77% of Americans identify themselves as Christian (see here). The percentage of studio executives, producers, screenwriters, and directors at major Hollywood studios who go to church or identify themselves as Christian, it seems, is significantly lower.

This is not to denigrate those in the movie business who don’t share my beliefs.  A person doesn’t have to be a believer in Jesus Christ to have value or worthwhile virtues. But for all its talk of “trying to be more realistic” in its programming (a popular rationale for including more sex, language, and violence), Hollywood as a whole is woefully unrealistic in its under-representation of Christians.

If you watch any amount of television programs or movies set in the United States, would you identify 77% of those characters as believers in Jesus Christ? Ridiculous claims of “portraying reality” ought to be dropped for the sake of truth in advertising. What’s really being portrayed is a skewed and biased view of America, with three-quarters of the population hardly acknowledged. No wonder the Christian (and by extension, Mormon) cinema subgenre is growing: we want a voice, and we’re a large market.

The Acceptable Discrimination

The unrealistic portrayal of Christians in popular media goes beyond under-representation to misrepresentation. In my observation, when we are represented, the portrayals are far from balanced, generally lumping believers them into three groups:

• well-meaning but naïve ignoramuses,
• judgmental and unloving hypocrites, or
• dangerous fanatics.

This is a far cry from the almost obsessive attempts at maintaining balance and fairness towards other groups in the media. For every Islamic extremist villain on 24, the program provides a nonviolent, heroic, and devout non-radical Muslim character as a counterpoint. Mocking Judaism is a modern taboo. Portrayals of those who practice homosexual behavior and same-gender relationships are becoming less stereotyped and more balanced. Political correctness seems to be extending to all social groups except, to some degree, those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Although it would be a mistake to assume that we are the only group who is the butt of jokes or the subject of stereotyping, it does appear that pop culture is becoming more sensitive to other groups and less concerned about cultural sensitivity towards Christians.

Portrayal #1: The Sweet Idiot

The Sweet Idiot, in my estimation, is the most prevalent Christian seen in pop culture. He or she is genuine, kind, and charitable but hopelessly naïve, sheltered, and often dimwitted. This appears to be popular media’s way of acknowledging Christian virtue while asserting intellectual superiority over believers, because “only an unenlightened, uneducated, and irrational person” could actually believe in Jesus Christ and biblical authority.

Examples include Homer Simpson’s unfailingly kind and cheerful neighbor Ned Flanders (and his family) and 30 Rock’s loveable buffoon Kenneth.

An episode of Frasier found the title character hiring a Latter-day Saint assistant, finding the man to be honest, hardworking, and trustworthy, but ultimately firing him after being annoyed by his endless, naive optimism. While I’m no fan of South Park, I did out of curiosity watch several minutes of its infamous “All About the Mormons” episode. The Sweet Idiot stereotype was trotted out in full force, as Latter-Day Saints themselves were displayed as sincere people and good neighbors with happy families who happened to believe something idiotic; the Joseph Smith story was told while background singers repeated “dum-dum-dum-dum-dum.”

Portrayal #2: The Judgmental Hypocrite

The Judgmental Hypocrite simultaneously shames and “guilt-trips” those around him while not practicing what he or she preaches. Angela, the up-tight evangelical Christian accountant from The Office, fits this mold. Though there are frequent references to Angela’s devoted church attendance and love for the Bible, her attitude is far from pious, as illustrated by the following quote: “I don't back down. My sister and I used to be best friends, and we haven't spoken in sixteen years, over some disagreement I don't even remember. So, yeah, I'm pretty good.”

To The Office’s credit, other, more likable characters have also been identified as Christian, though there has been no follow-through on the importance of faith in their lives. Although I’ve never seen HBO’s Big Love, I understand that its Latter-day Saint characters, while differentiated from the polygamist sects, often fit the Judgmental Hypocrite mold.

The stereotype has repeatedly found its way into cinema, such as Danny Boyle’s Millions, in which three creepily and robotically cheerful Mormon missionaries ultimately reveal themselves to be liars and thieves, claiming money that isn’t their own in order to purchase video games and luxurious appliances.

Portrayal #3: The Dangerous Fanatic

The “Evil Christian” is becoming more and more common. Fox’s Dollhouse recently had an episode in which a fanatical leader cloisters himself in a compound with his followers, using the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as rationale for attempting to light the compound on fire with his followers inside (incidentally, his followers are all Sweet Idiots).

According to my coworker, True Blood has evangelical Christians as bloodthirsty murderers. The box-office bomb September Dawn was so blatantly biased in its interpretation of the Mountain Meadows Massacre that even mainstream critics blasted its broad characterization of Latter-day Saints as violent fanatics. Another lunatic from Utah takes hundreds of lives to oppose scientific progress in Contact (though the film itself makes some profoundly pro-faith arguments).

The Good News

Now, in all fairness to Hollywood, there have been some excellent Christian characters in mainstream fare (yes, even in recent years), and I am a fan of some of the shows I’ve listed. What’s more, The Sweet Idiot, The Judgmental Hypocrite, and The Dangerous Fanatic do exist in the real world. There is no need for whitewashed depictions of Christians (yes, even Latter-day Saints); it is fine to show the naivety, the people who don’t practice what they preach, and the extremists, as long as there are positive counterexamples (as with the 24-Islam example cited earlier).

Sadly, efforts to balance the scales in portraying Christians fairly in the mainstream are still rare in recent decades, but not unheard of. These portrayals also fall into several categories, which incidentally counter the previous three: The Wise Soul, The Person of Principle and The Flawed but Faithful.

The Wise Soul

The Wise Soul is the opposite of the Sweet Idiot, and just as the latter is most common in mainstream media, the former is the least. This characterization displays a follower of Christ who is intelligent and rational, and whose faith is based on spiritual experience instead of ignorance or tradition.

One excellent example of the Wise Soul is Father Gabriel, a Jesuit priest played by Jeremy Irons in The Mission. Gabriel is a gentle, loving, and industrious man who glories in nature, music, and thought.  He is also deeply devoted to Christ and feels it his calling to improve the lives of those around him by bringing them the Gospel and serving them with humble dedication. The character, and his faith, are treated with fantastic respect by the filmmakers. Gabriel is a source of wisdom to those around him; indeed, the entire point of the film is that had his own nation followed his counsel and respected the ways of God instead of chasing greed and political power, a peaceful Zion would have been established.

Another excellent example of the Wise Soul is Shepherd Book, a Christian preacher on Joss Whedon’s popular-after-its cancellation TV series Firefly (and the excellent film spin-off Serenity). Firefly has gained a large following on DVD, even with people who don’t generally like science fiction, because of its emphasis on character over genre, and Shepherd Book is no exception.

Traveling from world to world with a group of ragtag thieves and gunfighters, Book is initially met with disdain. He ultimately wins over those around him with his emphasis on service and genuine care for people. He lives his standards (chastity, and other moral values) and never participates in activities he’s morally opposed to (robbing, even from the rich) while refraining from dealing out harsh judgments. He is also portrayed as very intelligent, and is often the first to “see what is going on.”

Shepherd Book becomes the moral compass of the group, a source of counsel, and a friend to even the most antagonistic. Another character even begins to sincerely inquire about Book’s faith.

Credit Firefly creator Joss Whedon, an atheist, for creating the most noble, genuine, and smart Christian character to appear on network TV in the past decade. Whedon’s lack of faith — and this is important — shows other Hollywood producers that even if they don’t posses a belief in Christ, they can portray with respect those who do.

Whedon has expressed a desire to “give a voice to the other side” by creating the character of Book, and to show the importance of faith to those living on the edge of space. When a fellow passenger named River attempts to “fix” the Bible by interpreting it through the lens of modern scientific thought, Book cites his own spiritual experience as the source of his belief. He explains warmly: “It’s about believing in something, and letting that belief change your life. It’s about faith. You don’t fix faith, River. It fixes you.”

The Person of Principle

The Person of Principle is the opposite of the Judgmental Hypocrite. This type of Christian stands by their values and is immovable. A fine example is Jaime Sullivan, played by Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember. Daughter of the local pastor, she loves the Savior without shame and is committed to staying chaste before marriage. Though her dedication to both The Lord and her purity are challenged, she stays firm, and ends up influencing others for good with her steadfastness.

The influence of the Person of Principle on those around them is a recurring theme. In the Best-Picture winning film Chariots of Fire, Olympic runner (and devout Christian) Eric Liddell refuses to run on the Sabbath, despite intense pressure from heads of state. Eric’s dedication to the Lord wins him the respect of those who initially pressured him, viewing him as a man of true character. Other sprinters take notice as well, including one whose faith in Christ was “hidden under a bushel,” but who seemed inspired by Liddell to perhaps change that aspect of himself.

In the fantastic 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma (if you’re avoiding the R-rating, wait for a television edit or watch it on Clearplay), Christian Bale’s extremely meek and humble rancher, Dan Evans, is a man of quiet strength and unwavering dedication to doing the right thing. His steadfastness is shown to be born out of a desire to influence his sons to be good men, be worthy of his wife’s love, and to have respect for himself.

Though Evans momentarily expresses a feeling that God has abandoned him, he prays with his family and is later shown in silent prayer as he prepares to face vicious enemies. Nobody in the movie respects Bale’s character, mistaking his humility for weakness. Nobody, that is, except for Russell Crowe’s much-feared outlaw, Ben Wade. While the charming Wade is murderous, selfish, and vicious, he justifies his actions in part because he believes all men are like him at their core.

Throughout the film, Wade refers to people (like his mother and a tenacious bounty hunter) who hypocritically profess Christian belief but in deed are anything but. As such, he is deeply fascinated by Bale’s rancher, and is constantly testing his integrity for weakness.

What happens when Crowe’s outlaw finally accepts that Bale’s rancher is an actual, true-to-life man of integrity provides the story with its climax (though it’s likely not what you’re expecting). As was the case with Chariots of Fire and A Walk to Remember, the steadfastness of the Person of Principle earns Yuma’s protagonist the respect of those who once denigrated him.

The Flawed but Faithful

The Flawed but Faithful is perhaps the most popular positive characterization of believers to be found in the mainstream. Countering the Dangerous Fanatic, this person is portrayed as a regular person with weaknesses and flaws who also happens to believe in Jesus Christ.

This person is seen as a good but imperfect individual. Rocky Balboa immediately comes to mind. Granted, six Rocky movies does seem a bit much (though all but the 5th one have at least some entertainment value), but three of those films (Rocky, Rocky II, and Rocky Balboa) are actually terrific character dramas, filled with tender romance and family solidarity.

Rocky is a Catholic, and though he smokes, drinks, and cohabitates before marriage with Adrian, his faith moves to center stage after he weds and starts a family. He is often shown in sincere prayer before a grueling bout, studies Bible verses with a friend in the last film, and, in the much-underrated Rocky II, spends days in prayer as his wife lies in a coma. Several times he thanks and gives credit to the Lord. 

The television program House recently had a Mormon character, a black single father who graduated from BYU, portrayed as a sympathetic and honorable figure who turned the other cheek time and time again while enduring ridicule for his faith. The show itself, if not the character of House, treated the Latter-day Saint with surprising respect, allowing him to describe the Church as having a progressive attitude about racial equality.

He wasn’t perfect, however. He hit House in the face after the latter mocked Joseph Smith; as it happens this incident endeared him to House, who liked the character’s passion for his faith.

When a test to compare a patient’s reactions to alcohol with a person who’d never drunk found House convincing the LDS doctor to drink tequila, literally to save a patient’s life, the doctor fended off House’s critique that the former abandoned his principles with an implication that charity is the highest law. He also explained that the Church “doesn’t try to dictate every detail of our lives. When a situation isn’t clear we are encouraged to make our own decisions.”

When he goes on to say that House made a convincing argument, the latter is shocked and says: “Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people.” Whether or not one agrees with the doctor’s decision, it is refreshing to see a Latter-day Saint, even a flawed one, portrayed with such respect.

Johnny Cash and June Carter, in the hit film Walk the Line, fall under the category of Flawed-but-Faithful. The film implies (but doesn’t show) that the two had one night of indiscretion (which he didn’t immediately regret but she did) that is shown as having tragic consequences for Cash’s family. Later, when Cash nearly dies from drug and alcohol abuse, June, as his friend, encourages him to seek the Lord’s help and tells him that “God is giving you a second chance.”

They are shown attending church, and though they fall in love, there is no implication that they sleep together again before they are married. When told that his fans are Christians who’d oppose his performing a concert in a prison, cheering up “rapists and murderers,” Cash coolly responds, “Well, they’re not Christians, then.”

Support the Cause

Here it is — the call to arms. If you, like me, appreciate respectful and fair portrayals of those who believe in and try to follow Christ, please help it happen more often by telling your friends about it when you see it. Perhaps you could send a quick email to television or movie producers when they make something that fits this description.

Although America is still a faithful nation, the percentage of those who consider themselves religious is dropping, perhaps in part due to disillusionment caused by unfavorable portrayals of the faithful in pop culture. Obviously, such portrayals will always be found in a free country, but fairness and balance in how we are seen can be requested, sought after, and supported.