The Global Faith and Entertainment Study: A Study of Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding Faith and Religion in Entertainment
HarrisX;Faith & Media Initiative (2024), 25 pp.
"The study seeks to understand consumers’ and decisionmakers’ perspectives on how current entertainment media treats themes of faith, religion and spirituality in its narratives and characters, if there is a market for more accurate and diverse representation of faith, and what opportunities exist for improving these portrayals. HarrisX surveyed nearly 10,000 entertainment consumers across 11 countries as well as 30 in-depth interviews with entertainment industry leaders. Consumers say they learn about other religions through entertainment and see the potential for faith-inclusive content to create understanding and dialogue in society. Yet, respondents share that when they see their religion or faith - and others - included in mainstream entertainment, they feel it’s often sensationalized or that the portrayal leans on stereotypes. Similarly, entertainment industry professionals also highlighted an opportunity to reach and connect with an underserved audience. They noted that producing this content not only represents a good business opportunity, but also provides the opportunity to demystify what consumers know about other faiths and create understanding between people of different belief systems." (Introduction)
A Spiritual World: The quantitative study looks at a range of countries from high to low percentage of spiritual, religious, or faithful people in each population, 7
Heavy Consumption: There is heavy consumption of entertainment globally; over half who watch TV shows or movies watch them every day or almost everyday, 8
Positive Themes: Entertainment consumers say positive, spiritual content isn't very present in current content, but crave more, 9
Religion Sensationalized: Consumers say that their religion is the least represented and most sensationalized personal identity, compared to gender, race, and sexuality, 10
Religious Stereotypes: Most countries agree that existing entertainment media perpetuates religious stereotypes, 11
One-Note Storylines: There is a lack of diverse storylines across faith portrayals, 12
Consumers Want Diversity: Entertainment consumers want more diverse perspectives on various faiths, especially those from countries with more religious populations, 13
Accuracy is Crucial: A large majority of entertainment consumers say it’s important that the industry improves their portrayals of faith to make them more accurate, 14
Opportunity for Understanding: Even countries with a lower faithful population think accurate portrayal of religion is crucial to foster global understanding, 15
Why Consumers Care: Consumers want the entertainment industry to foster understanding, dispel stereotypes, and write authentic stories about more kinds of people, rahter than be preached to, 16
Insight and Understanding: Consumers recognize that they can learn about other religions through entertainment, 17
Ideas for Change: Consumers believe using expert consultants and writing more characters with diverse faiths and backgrounds would create the most impact, 18
What Entertainment Professionals are Saying, 19
A Summary, 23
Heavy Consumption: There is heavy consumption of entertainment globally; over half who watch TV shows or movies watch them every day or almost everyday, 8
Positive Themes: Entertainment consumers say positive, spiritual content isn't very present in current content, but crave more, 9
Religion Sensationalized: Consumers say that their religion is the least represented and most sensationalized personal identity, compared to gender, race, and sexuality, 10
Religious Stereotypes: Most countries agree that existing entertainment media perpetuates religious stereotypes, 11
One-Note Storylines: There is a lack of diverse storylines across faith portrayals, 12
Consumers Want Diversity: Entertainment consumers want more diverse perspectives on various faiths, especially those from countries with more religious populations, 13
Accuracy is Crucial: A large majority of entertainment consumers say it’s important that the industry improves their portrayals of faith to make them more accurate, 14
Opportunity for Understanding: Even countries with a lower faithful population think accurate portrayal of religion is crucial to foster global understanding, 15
Why Consumers Care: Consumers want the entertainment industry to foster understanding, dispel stereotypes, and write authentic stories about more kinds of people, rahter than be preached to, 16
Insight and Understanding: Consumers recognize that they can learn about other religions through entertainment, 17
Ideas for Change: Consumers believe using expert consultants and writing more characters with diverse faiths and backgrounds would create the most impact, 18
What Entertainment Professionals are Saying, 19
A Summary, 23
