The Faith & entertainment index

Faith, Storytelling and Its Influence on Modern American Audiences

A groundbreaking new study by HarrisX explores how today's TV and film audiences respond to faith on screen.

What we know

Audiences want better from studios.

There is a large, underserved audience who want more complex, diverse, nuanced depictions of faith in entertainment. The 2024 Global Faith & Entertainment Study shows us that in America:

7 in 10 believe that Hollywood stereotypes faith
82% say film should portray faith more accurately

The Opportunity

A First-of-its-kind Measuring System to help creators tell better stories with faith

We asked viewers to define the criteria for authentic faith representation, then used those standards to build a custom scoring system that helps creators improve faith portrayals.

The Totems

How Consumers Define Authentic Faith Portrayals

Through rounds of qualitative research, we heard from a diverse audience of entertainment consumers and asked them to tell us what attributes from different pieces of media shaped their understanding and enjoyment of film & television.

These "Totems"—defined by consumers in their own words—form the initial building blocks of our quantitative scoring system for creators.

Explore the full set of Totems derived and analyzed here.

The RESEARCH

100+

Scenes tested
from TV & film

12k+

interviews

38k+

social insights

The RESULT

The Faith & Entertainment Index

Each of the 100+ scenes we tested was evaluated against three core pillars:

1

Entertainment Value

Measuring appeal, likability

2

Faith
Portrayal

Authenticity, accuracy, use of totems

3

Engagement Impact

Sentiment, intent to view future content

The Insight Highlights

Here are three key takeaways from the index:

01Faith Belongs in Mainstream Stories- 92% of audiences—approximately 180 million potential viewers—say faith has a role to play in modern entertainment
- 77% believe it can have broad appeal

02Emotion Strengthens Faith Portrayals- Faith resonates when its emotional, vulnerable and thought-provoking
- Audiences respond to honesty, not messaging

03Everyday Moments Make Faith Accessible- Stories grounded in the familiar perform best
- Common themes: family, love, respectful humor

Top Scenes

A preview of the ten scenes where faith resonates most with audiences.

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View the full Top 10

Full 100+ Scenes

The complete ranking. Explore every scene.

Download

The full findings, methodology, and detailed analysis.

How we did the research.

We used a multi-method approach to understand not just what audiences think, but why certain stories resonate. We paired in-depth qualitative interviews with a large national survey of TV and movie viewers, grounding the findings in real experience — not assumptions.

Learn more about the methodology

Want to talk?

If you’re a creator, studio, or researcher interested in the findings — or in applying them — we’d love to connect.

Contact us >