海角大神

From a new six-hour 鈥淛esus of Nazareth鈥� to the History Channel's 10-hour epic "The Bible" and GSN鈥檚 popular 鈥淭he American Bible Challenge鈥� 鈥� not to mention Amish, Jewish, and Mormon-themed scripted and unscripted shows 鈥� the TV landscape is听suffused with heavenly programming.

Add a gaggle of Bible-based feature films headed to the local cineplexes in the near future, and it鈥檚 pretty clear that Hollywood has gone and got religion in a pretty serious way, say industry insiders as well as media and religion experts.

This is both a shift from recent trends and a return to earlier days in Tinseltown.听Hollywood certainly had a history of biblical epics stretching for decades, from Cecil B. DeMille's 鈥淭he Ten Commandments" (1923) to Franco Zefferelli鈥檚 鈥淛esus of Nazareth鈥� (1977).听But religion had fallen out of fashion in more recent decades, especially on broadcast television. Now it's back, primarily on cable, as well as in film.

The industry has become increasingly vocal in support of progressive causes, says Ben Bogardus, journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. This has led to an "echo chamber鈥� in which the teams in the writer鈥檚 rooms for popular sitcoms and dramas only hear their own views reinforced by like-minded colleagues.

With writers wanting to push the envelope on progressive issues and seeing religious groups as tending to oppose such ideas, he says, what developed was a听鈥渧ery insular attitude about religion in many parts of the entertainment industry.鈥�

Hollywood鈥檚 big epiphany about the importance of the religious segment of the viewing audience came in 2004, when Mel Gibson鈥檚 independently made 鈥淧assion of the Christ鈥� stunned the industry with its nearly half-billion-dollar box office take worldwide.

鈥淭here is a big community of people who want to watch shows that respect their commitment and faith,鈥� says Paul Lauer, chief executive officer of Motive Entertainment in Santa Monica, Calif., who marketed 鈥淧assion.鈥�

After "Passion," studios tried to ramp up their faith-based offerings, with mixed results. Studios created faith-based divisions and hired scholars and archaeologists. But New Line Cinema's epic "The Nativity Story" (2006) fell flat at the box office. Studios were chastened.

Still, Hollywood has many churchgoers in its midst who have kept a low profile over the years, says Mr. Lauer, 鈥淲hat has changed is they are coming out of the closet and making their presence felt, as the industry has expressed more interest in reaching that audience.鈥�

Faith-based programming has been more successful on cable television, where costs are lower and producers are constantly trolling for new ideas. 鈥淟ike most television forms, faith-based productions cycle in and out of popularity just like variety, comedy, and drama. They can also be evergreens 鈥� in April of 2012, 'The Ten Commandments' won the evening for ABC playing for the umpteenth time during the Easter/Passover season,鈥� points out Allen Sabinson, dean of Drexel University鈥檚 Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, via e-mail.

鈥淔rom a business point of view, these often expensive productions can be financed with partners from across the world contributing to the production costs in return for broadcast rights in their own territories. These are stories that play across borders and continents,鈥� he says.

As for what鈥檚 behind this latest wave, Mr. Sabinson suggests that the current social and political climate has primed the pump for inspirational programming. 鈥淭heir renewed popularity is related in part to the fact that there are so many problems in the world today, and these timeless stories provide some comfort and relief from the daily headlines on war, disasters, and economic troubles,鈥� he says.

The surge in faith-based programming finding an audience is no surprise, agrees Julie Byrne, an expert in media and religion at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. 鈥淩eligion is one of the most distinctive aspects of the American identity,鈥� she says.

鈥淔aith and God are largely pass茅 in most European countries,鈥� she adds, but it is still a very active force in American life. She points to the 2008 PEW Religious Landscape Survey that found 85 percent of Americans self-identify as 海角大神. 鈥淚f you add to that figure additional people who might believe in God but are not necessarily 海角大神 or any other specific religion, you have a large media-consuming population ready for shows that speak to their interests.鈥�

Audiences should have no illusions about the financial motivation behind this surge, suggests Wil Gafney, a professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

"It is no accident that the History Channel 'Bible' series is accompanied by a massive marketing campaign, includes Bible study guides and a follow-up novel,鈥� she points out, adding, 鈥渋t is also the case that studios copy each other when they think one or another has an idea that is likely to sell.鈥�