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Let’s be honest, sometimes movies about religion can be a brutal watch. Whether it’s a message that pounds you over the head like a hammer, or just a boring pace that covers topics that many, even believers, can’t get through. There are plenty of exceptions though, like this list of religious movies that aren’t a slog at all.
In The Name Of The Rose
In The Name Of The Rose, based on a book of the same name by Umberto Eco, is as much a murder mystery as it is a religious commentary. It works wonderfully as both, with the supernatural playing a bit part as well. It’s a fantastic movie, and if you love detective stories, you’ll probably love it. It should be a better-remembered Sean Connery movie, as well.
Kundun
One of the most underrated moments in The Sopranos comes when Christopher yells “Marty! Kundun! I like it!” when Chris sees director Martin Scorsese from a distance. Kundun is not usually at the top of movies directed by Scorsese, but it should be, because while the topic might not jump off the page like Goodfellas does, it’s a great movie about the Dali Lama.
Bruce Almighty
The Jim Carrey comedy Bruce Almighty is a morality play wrapped in a brilliantly funny movie. Of course, it also features Morgan Freeman actually playing God, so that alone makes it worth it.
Sister Act
Whoopi Goldberg‘s massive hit Sister Act is always a fun watch. It’s funny, it’s uplifting, and it’s overall just a joy. It doesn’t particularly feel like a religious movie, of course, but in the end, the morality of the movie shines through the main character played by Goldberg changes a lot, for the better.
The Life Of Brian
For the most part, The Life Of Brian from Monty Python is a searing takedown of organized religion, especially Christianity, but at others, it does have a nice, friendly message. Like, how are we to take the final scene with Brian on the cross singing “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.” On one hand, it’s incredibly depressing how Brian ended up there, on the other, it’s a positive message with advice we could all follow.
The Mission
Okay, this one that you definitely have to give a chance, because it’s easy to mistake it as a slog. In the end, it’s anything but. It’s a dramatic, incredibly interesting account of missionaries in the New World in the mid-18th Century. It’s a beautiful look at life in South America at the time, as Christianity is on the verge of changing everything on the continent.
The Master
Director Paul Thomas Anderson often makes challenging movies, but they are never slogs. Now, you can argue whether or not it’s really about religion, but The Master, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as an L. Ron Hubbard-type prophet starting a brand new religion. It asks a lot of questions but allows you to make up your own mind.
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson has long asked questions about organized religion and There Will Be Blood is one of the most stark examples. Paul Dano‘s performance as a zealous preacher desperate to convert a proven reprobate played by Daniel Day-Lewis is as intense a movie as there has ever been, especially the battle for Day-Lewis’ character’s soul at the end.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star as a preacher and his wife of a Southern megachurch who lose their flock because of the preacher’s infidelities in Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Even though at times it feels a bit like a one-joke movie, it’s a really funny joke and Hall and Brown are both brilliant, as you would expect.
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Monty Python was never afraid to take on the absurdities of religion and Monty Python And The Holy Grail is the perfect example. Though it’s really more about King Arthur than religion itself, there is plenty of piety to make fun of here.
Hacksaw Ridge
On its surface, Hacksaw Ridge is most definitely a war movie – and one of the best war movies ever made. But under the surface, it’s about morality and Christianity and how those things intersect with war, even when that war is – or at least seems – justified.
The Blues Brothers
In The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood make it clear what is going on. They are on a mission from God. So, yeah, we’re comfortable calling it a religious movie. That’s before even mentioning the scene when Jake is inspired in a Black church by a preacher played by James Brown. It’s something we’d all be inspired by.
The Da Vinci Code
Okay, even Tom Hanks thinks The Da Vinci Code is a silly movie. Based in the equally silly, but wildly popular, book by Dan Brown, the movie was a huge hit that inspired two sequels. However, they are definitely about religion and while much of the “facts” about the church are dubious at best, there is some stuff that is honest in there.
The Last Temptation Of Christ
There have been few movies as controversial as The Last Temptation Of Christ. People who weren’t around when this Martin Scorsese movie was released in 1988 might get what all the hype was about by the protestors, because it is a great movie and a fairly honest look at the last days of Christ, other than the controversial bit about Jesus marrying Mary Magdelan (and consummating the marriage). Oh… yeah. Right. It actually makes sense that some might be quite upset.
The Exorcist
When you think of The Exorcist, you think of it first as one of the scariest horror movies of all time. But then you start thinking about and you realize it’s all about religion and Catholicism. It’s not even a dishonest look at some of the dogmatic thinking within Catholicism.
The Passion of the Christ
Like a lot of religious movies, The Passion of the Christ, directed by noted Catholic ideologue Mel Gibson, was very controversial when it was released. You can argue over whether the controversies are worthy of a discussion, or whether the movie is simply too violent, but you can’t argue that it’s a slog.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
In the 1980s, big time megachurches and the prosperity doctrine were in their infancy. Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye were two of the biggest “stars” of the movement and it all came crashing for them in one fantastic scandal. The Eyes of Tammy Faye tells their story in a way that is never, ever boring.
The Book of Eli
The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington is a dystopian survival flick with strong religious undertones as the titular Eli possesses the last copy of The Bible in existence. It’s a fight for, and against, religion played out in violent ways among the survivors of the nuclear holocaust.
Dogma
Kevin Smith might not be the first director you’d expect to make an earnest movie with an overtly religious message, but ultimately, that’s what Dogma is. Sure, it’s still vintage Smith humor we’ve come to expect, but he really was trying to say something honest about religion and he did.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
While it’s far from the most overtly religious movie on this list, there is still quite a bit of Christianity in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, as the title suggests. It has quite a bit more than the first entry in the franchise, Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark, which is also about a Christian relic.
The Ten Commandments
This entry doesn’t need much to be said about it. Of course, The Ten Commandments is about religion, it’s a story taken straight from The Bible. The Charlton Heston-led epic is one of the most impressive movies made in its era and it’s still one of the most revered movies by Christians and non-Christians alike.
Seven Years In Tibet
Though Brad Pitt’s character, German Heinrich Herrer doesn’t flirt much with Buddhism in his Seven Years In Tibet, it is still an excellent primer to learn about the Dali Lama and his religion as they are in the last days in their spiritual home in Tibet before being cast out by the Chinese Communists.
Pi
Darren Aronofsky’s ambitious first film is about the intersection of mysticism, math, and religion, specifically Jewish mysticism. It’s a hard movie to follow and a hard movie to watch at times, as it’s jarring and unflinching, but it’s never, ever boring.
Fiddler On The Roof
There is a reason Fiddler On The Roof is so beloved by Jewish people all over the world. It celebrates all that is great about Judaism and all that difficult about being Jewish in the world – and how hard it’s always been. It’s one of the most popular musicals of all time and the movie is a simply wonderful version of it.
Ben Hur (1959)
Actor Charlton Heston was never afraid to wear his Christianity on his sleeve and that was reflected in the movies he chose, including and especially Ben-Hur in 1959. The movie is adapted from an 1880 novel called Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, so right from the start it’s easy to see what you’re getting into. As for it being a slog, just watch the chariot race and try to call it boring. You can’t.
Oh, God!
Oh, God! is a very modern comedy (for the late ’70s) about the impact of religion on modern society and seemingly a loss of faith. George Burns plays God in the movies and he tries to convince that Jerry (John Denver) is supposed to be a modern-day Moses. It earnestly examines what that would mean for someone in 1970s America and it does it in a very funny way.
Evan Almighty
A sequel to Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty leans into religion even harder as God, once again played by Morgan Freeman, convinced Evan (Steve Carrell) to build an Ark, like Noah. As you’d expect, and like Noah himself, Evan is looked at like a nut, but his faith sees him through, even when he is on the verge of losing it himself.
The Prince of Egypt
Sergeant York
Leap Of Faith
One of the more underrated performances by Steve Martin comes in Leap of Faith where the comedian plays a traveling preacher who is, in the end, just a simple con man using religion to fleece the locals in whichever town he’s “preaching” in that night. Along the way, Martin’s character comes to realize his failings and religion actually comes into his life in a big way.
Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List is a movie that many people see once and love, but never want to see again. It’s about the Holocaust, of course, but that means that it is inherently about religion. You cannot have an honest conversation about one without the other and Steven Spielberg is unflinching in his portrayal of both. There are many reasons it’s a great movie and not shying away about why the Holocaust happened is one of them.
Doubt
The Catholic Church has been under scrutiny for many years now and with good reason. For non-Catholics, the scrutiny is justified and really isn’t seen as anything more than a large organization that turned a blind eye to some terrible acts. For pious Catholics who see the scandal for what it is, but cannot give up their faith for equally honest reasons, the scandal is much more complex. Doubt, starring the great Meryl Streep is an honest, forthright, and earnest discussion of those complex feelings. It’s a tough movie to watch, but an important one whether you are Catholic, or want to understand what your Catholic friends are dealing with.