Report says majority of TV, film viewers find content with faith themes more appealing – Catholic World Report

Research reveals American media viewers want “more accurate” depictions of faith in storytelling.

Consumers of all ages and backgrounds said faith in entertainment is broadly appealing, according to research released this week.

The Jan. 28 report “2026 Faith & Entertainment Index: Faith, Storytelling, and Its Influence on Modern American Audiences” was conducted by HarrisX in partnership with the Faith and Media Initiative.

Film viewers “want better, more accurate, more complex depictions of faith and storytelling,” said Allison Brady, market research and operations leader at HarrisX.

“We wanted to understand from consumers themselves what are the ways that the film and television industry can do this better and why certain stories land better than others,” she said.

In order to find answers, researchers surveyed professionally recruited respondents of U.S. adult consumers who watch television or movies at least weekly. The survey was carried out in two waves, from Sept. 9–18 and Nov. 13–25, 2025.

Of adults surveyed, 78% identified as spiritual, religious, or a person of faith. Specifically, they identified their religion as Christian (5,579), Catholic (2,072), Protestant (2,266), Jewish (2,467), Muslim (2,652), eastern religions (90), other religion (265), or atheist/agnostic (1,538).

The group was asked questions regarding more than 100 TV and movie scenes depicting faith. Over 12,000 interviews were conducted asking viewers about what worked well in the clips and what did not, researchers said.

Researchers said they hope to create a road map for writers, directors, and producers to better portray faith on screen, making it appear more natural, more accurate, and without stereotypes, following their first report in 2024 that found 69% of viewers said movies perpetuate religious stereotypes.

Key findings

Nearly all of the respondents (92%) said faith has a role to play in modern entertainment and the majority (77%) said they believe it can have broad appeal.

After watching the provided clips, 58% of respondents reported that content with faith themes is more appealing, including 15% who identify as atheist or agnostic. The research also found 61% said that content with faith themes is more relatable; among the group 13% are atheist or agnostic.

The report detailed that “authentic emotion” resonates well when portraying faith. Six out of the top 10 scenes shown that were found to portray faith the best were considered “emotional,” “reflective,” and “thought-provoking.”

Stories grounded in familiar everyday situations were also found to portray faith well, with common themes including family, love, and respectful humor among the top scenes.

Suggestions for film creators

In order to best advise film writers, producers, and creators, the surveys asked people what to avoid. Based on reports, “staying away from stereotyping is a way that complex portrayals can really break through with audiences,” Brady said.

Stereotyping and scenes that “essentially just focused on making light of a faith … should be avoided,” she said.

In regard to what films should portray, Brady said it comes down to “integrating faith naturally and subtly.” She added: “It shouldn’t feel forced. It shouldn’t feel like a message. It should feel organically part of the character’s life and the storyline.”