Christianity in America is suddenly holding strong. After decades of decline, the number of people leaving the faith has leveled off, leaving many looking for ways to increase the number of self-identified Christians in the United States.
This is by no means a major resurgence in Christianity, but faith content is increasing in popularity which could eventually lead to a rise in Christian adherents. Many were shocked recently when a Christian podcast, The Rosary in a Year, surpassed The Joe Rogan Experience on Apple podcasts.
Demand for faith-based content is hot right now, and distributors are looking for more. Amazon Prime Video released House of David on its streaming platform at the end of February, and the series ranks No. 3 globally. David’s inspirational underdog story resonates with young people looking for something bigger than themselves.
Let’s not forget the success of the film Jesus Revolution, based on the true story of the greatest spiritual awakening in American history. The film was released in February 2023 and quickly became the highest-grossing Lionsgate film since 2019.
As content creators move toward God, the younger generation becomes more engaged with faith. Asbury University President Kevin Brown told Christianity Today that Generation Z is searching for authenticity. “There’s a sweeping desperation across the United States and our world that I think is most acutely felt by younger generations,” he said, adding, “This is the most marketed-to generation in history, so opinions and propositions are often just dead on arrival. Gen Z elevates and prioritizes authenticity.”
There are few things more authentic than prayer. The Catholic prayer app Hallow took off when it aired its first Super Bowl commercial in 2024, featuring actor Mark Wahlberg. The CEO said Hallow’s largest spike in downloads came immediately following the commercial. Today, Hallow is the most popular prayer app in the world with 10 million downloads and more than 225 million prayers recorded. It was the first religious app to hit No. 1 on Apple’s store.
Content has grown in the faith space since the barriers were broken by films such as Jesus Revolution. Just like Amazon is exploring stories directly from the pages of the Bible, Pinnacle Peak Pictures is also bringing God’s word to the big screen. Pinnacle Peak will release The Last Supper, an up-close and personal view of the events leading up to, during, and just after the Last Supper, on Friday. Michael Scott and Christian music superstar Chris Tomlin team up to produce this story of the true human struggle of those closest to Jesus. Tomlin told me that Scott says 30%-40% of people who see Christian films in the theater are not believers.
As they say, content is king, or in this case, content leads to the King. The time has come for conservatives to take back entertainment instead of hoping politicians stand as a barrier to progressive influence. Too many conservative activists have been asking to stop the content coming from the other side through legal channels instead of offering an alternative.
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Our future is shaped by culture. For too long, Christians have let American culture slip toward progressive ideology, but once we started fighting back, even Hollywood was forced to respond. Disney lost billions when Christians and people of faith boycotted its radical content. Target changed its product line after the backlash over transgender swimming suits for children prominently displayed at the entrances of its stores.
After all these years of decline, Christians seem to have woken up to sharing the gospel in new and innovative ways. Whether it’s Jesus Revolution, The Last Supper, or even the Reagan biopic, conservative content is hot. Instead of standing by while woke government and corporate policies marginalize and even demonize Christianity, we’re entering an era where faith-based content is being created and embraced by receptive audiences. Let’s hope the “golden age” leads to a revival.
Tudor Dixon is a former Republican gubernatorial nominee, executive in Michigan’s steel industry, breast cancer survivor, and working mother of four girls. She is the host of The Tudor Dixon Podcast.