God’s ‘Not Done With Our Country’: The Faith-Based Boom In New Media

Faith-based content is increasingly becoming popular across various forms of media, including television series, podcasts, apps, and films, and has been moving towards the mainstream. The success of these platforms is particularly surprising given that faith and religiosity, according to polls, are on the decline in the United States.

The phenomenal success of the series “The Chosen” exemplifies the boom in faith-based content. This series has brought in $10 million from donors and has amassed an estimated 100 million viewers worldwide across Seasons 1 and 2, with views totaling over 440 million. “Jesus Revolution,” a film starring Kelsey Grammer that was released earlier this year and grossed over $50 million, is another example of the success of faith-based content. Similarly, the release of the Catholic meditation and prayer app “Hallow,” which has connected millions of people for prayer, Scripture, and mediation, and facilitated over 175 million prayers worldwide, demonstrates the rise of faith-based media outlets.

“Bible in a Year,” a podcast hosted by Mike Schmitz, has also gained significant traction. Schmitz launched the podcast in January 2021, and within 48 hours, it became the number one show on Apple Podcasts. The podcast now boasts half a billion views and consistently ranks #1 in Apple Podcast subgroups.

The reason behind the increased popularity of faith-based content is multifaceted. Firstly, the entertainment value of these platforms is increasingly competitive, with quality rivaling that of secular content. Secondly, a large audience of American Christians who want this type of content now have independent production houses catering to their needs outside of Hollywood, where traditional gatekeeping of content creation has been the norm.

Moreover, our cultural moment is drawing more interest towards faith-based content, with many people searching for answers or grappling with a sense of loss of a biblical worldview. Fr. Mike articulated that “there’s this sense and this hunger in people that says, not only do I want to understand life, I want to understand reality, but also I want to understand what God has to say about this.”

“Bible in a Year” host Schmitz said, people crave the rawness and authenticity of Biblical stories and scriptures, which is what sets his podcast apart. He believes that there has not been this much interest in faith-based content for decades, but this moment presents “signs of hope…that God’s not done. He’s not done with our culture. He’s not done with our country. He’s not done with us.”

The success of faith-based content is a welcome development, particularly for millions of American Christians who have been demanding quality and vibrant programming that reflects their beliefs.