Could Hollywood entice younger audiences by having a little faith?
A surprising new Future of Faith study from The Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA suggests that both Gen Z and Gen Alpha crave realistic and complex depictions of religion and spirituality in their entertainment that go beyond stereotypes. The group surveyed over 2,000 people, ages 14-24, and a majority cited a sensitivity to how their beliefs were portrayed on-screen.
Among the interesting data points:
Only around 40% felt that “people who hold beliefs or worldviews like theirs were accurately represented in the media.”
70% of “religious respondents said the way their religion or spirituality is portrayed in the media affects how others treat them.”
“More than 97% of religious respondents and 80% of nonreligious respondents said a piece of media had spiritually moved, inspired or comforted them.”
Asks from young audiences to storytellers include: both existing on-screen and being in the rooms where decisions are made; showing the ordinary side of religion vs. only the most extreme elements; showing internal group diversity; and having spiritual characters be complex and not just token.
Respondents weren’t shy in suggesting they thought Hollywood could do a better job with well-rounded depictions of faith and spirituality that didn’t veer into stereotype.
Yet the story also doesn’t have to depict the religious elements reverentially for it to be seen as impactful. Uhls points to the Netflix series “Unorthodox,” about a woman who leaves her Orthodox Jewish community to start life over, as a prime example.
“I remember when ‘Unorthodox’ came out, there was a big backlash from the Orthodox community,” she says. “But I bet younger people are really thinking deeply about these questions as you’re figuring out who you are.”
In recent years, several high-profile directors have tackled projects which lean into discussions about faith. When speaking to Variety in 2024, Lee Daniels said his exorcism-meets-family-drama feature “The Deliverance” was deeply inspired by belief.
“This dysfunctional family finds a higher power, and in this time that we’re in, I think that is what we need to find, whether it’s Buddha, whether it’s Allah, whether it’s Jesus, whether it’s yourself,” he said in the interview. “How do you love yourself more? Because tomorrow isn’t promised and we don’t know what’s happening out here, and it’s dark. I think this is trying to scare you to your Higher Power. I don’t know whether I succeeded, but that’s what I was trying to do.”
Ultimately, Uhls says she’s happy to shine a light on the desire young people have to engage with content that takes spirituality seriously.
