Christian media, sometimes referred to as inspirational, faith and family, or simply Christian, is a cross-media

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

that features a Christian message or moral. Several creative studios and

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

formats are considered to be aspects of Christian media, including media organizations, a characteristic film industry, musical genres,

radio formats A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelled ...

, TV formats, and subgenres.

Characteristics

Themes

The Christian genre often portrays a focus on the teachings of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, the gospel, ministry as per the

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain ...

, and Christian virtues:

attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a prope ...

encompassing love,

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

, forgiveness, prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude,

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

, hope, and

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, along with messages of resurrection. These codes are often played out through depictions of good and evil through conflicting virtues and vices, or as in the evangelism of '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' with individuals seeking personal growth and redemption. This depiction of Christian theology, in the narrative, contrasts sharply with comparatively impersonal institutions leading to some form of moral understanding. The narrative can be delivered through sermons, retelling Bible stories especially the

life of Jesus in the New Testament The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of ...

, or a

hero's journey In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. Earlie ...

. Witnessing, a term used to describe a personal experience with coming to Christ, is another storytelling method that has been a part of the biographies of historical figures and celebrities alike, including Paul the Apostle, Priscilla and Aquila, Bede, Mary Stone, Hani Motoko, Johnny Cash,

Colonel Sanders Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890 December 16, 1980) was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and later acting as the company's brand amba ...

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

, Alice Cooper, Carlos Santana, Serena Williams,

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

, Kel Mitchell, and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

. It can sometimes be in the form of allegory as in the religion in The Chronicles of Narnia, or through plots including those of

Christian mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christia ...

, like those foretelling of the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

, or tales about

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s and holy fighters, i.e. El Cid,

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

, King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Paladins, or the paladin RPG character class. While others use a "Christian magic" that is "neither allegorical nor topical" such as J. R. R. Tolkien's application of

Christianity in Middle-earth Christianity is a central theme in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional works about Middle-earth, but always a hidden one. This allows the book to be read at different levels, and its meaning to be applied by the reader, rather than forcing a single mea ...

found within ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

''.''

'', "Foreword to the Second Edition"

Popularity

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...

has long been a tradition of the faith, dating back to

early Christian art and architecture Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...

and it was a major part of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

eras.

Christian literature Christian literature is the literary aspect of Christian media, and it constitutes a huge body of extremely varied writing. Scripture While falling within the strict definition of literature, the Bible is not generally considered literature. Ho ...

is found even in during the history of early Christianity, '' The Shepherd of Hermas'' was a popular story in the early church. Originally Christian art was created under patronage and tithe, today adapted into contemporary creative media and

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

funding Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...

techniques. The patron-client relationship is a primary analogue for the relationship between Christian as client with God as patron, and it is basis for the terminology

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

. Mass media had one of its earliest success with the invention of the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

and the subsequent printing of

The Holy Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a v ...

, the Christian Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and the first well received mass printing of it was the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the " Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed ...

. Christian media productions are recognized as a popular film, music, broadcasting, and interactive media format alongside secular counterparts. Early Christian allegory in works of fiction, such as

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

's '' The Pilgrim's Progress'', made an impact on later works of fiction, including C. S. Lewis' '' The Chronicles of Narnia'' and

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

's '' Harry Potter''. ''The Pilgrim's Progress'' is one of the most commonly referenced Christian allegories in media and art, artist

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

was known to have been inspired by the story. Besides ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', other classic books in the Christian genre include the ''Divine Comedy'', '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', and '' Paradise Lost'', these four novels are depicted in large stained glass windows at

Princeton University Chapel The Princeton University Chapel is located on that university's main campus in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It replaces an older chapel that burned down in 1920. Designed in 1921 by Ralph Adams Cram in his signature Collegiate Gothic styl ...

. Other books in the

Western canon The Western canon is the body of high culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly valued in the West; works that have achieved the status of classics. However, not all these works originate in the Western world, ...

from Christian novels, or those drawing heavy inspiration Christian concepts, include '' The Count of Monte Cristo'', '' The Scarlet Letter'', '' Les Misérables'', and '' Bless Me, Ultima''. This genre's films date back to early cinema with adaptions of

Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is ...

's '' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, as well as

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

's landmark religious film '' The Ten Commandments'' (1923), and their popular 1950s remakes ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956) and ''Ben-Hur'' (1959). Other popular Christian film and television productions include the '' Superbook''

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

(1981-1983, and rebooted in 2011-ongoing), ''

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...

'' animated series (1993-ongoing), '' The Prince of Egypt'' (1998), '' Bruce Almighty'' (2003), ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary ...

'' (2004), ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series (2005-ongoing), ''God's Not Dead'' (2014), '' Duck Dynasty'' (2012–2017), and ''The Chosen'' (2017-ongoing). Wide-ranging

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

including

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s, Josquin's "Ave Maria" and Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', are a part of church and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

music which have a history going back to the early days of recorded music, and contemporary Christian music encompasses several

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

styles including Christian rock, Christian hip hop, contemporary worship music, and Christian electronic dance music. Broadway theatre productions like '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', recorded sermons by preachers of

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, along with Christian radio shows ''

Adventures in Odyssey ''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first aired in 1987 as ...

'' and '' Family Theater'' so too with

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

s produced by the likes of

Phil Vischer Phillip Roger Vischer (born June 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker, author, speaker, podcast host, animator, musician, puppeteer, and voice actor who created the computer-animated video series ''VeggieTales'' alongside Mike Nawrocki. He provid ...

and

Phil Robertson Phil Alexander Robertson (born April 24, 1946) is an American professional hunter, businessman (Duck Commander company), and reality television star on the popular television series ''Duck Dynasty''. He is also featured on the television show ' ...

, are sometimes included in this genre.

Distribution

Libraries such as the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

often categorize each media format under its own genre. Due to mainstream appeal of Christian media, it is distributed at retailers like

Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., formerly Hobby Lobby Creative Centers, is an American retail company. It owns a chain of arts and crafts stores with a volume of over $5 billion in 2018. The chain has 969 stores in 47 US states. Hobby Lobby is owned by ...

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, and international technology conglomerates such as Amazon and

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...

. Kosher and

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

food brands usually include Christian media within the scope of their advertisement and marketing campaigns, employing slogans like Hebrew National's " we answer to a higher authority" which appeals to consumers throughout the Abrahamic faiths, and restaurant chain The Halal Guys has reached a success with Christian consumers due to similarity with Christian-based brands. Some companies associate themselves with Christian media;

In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The ...

prints Bible verses on their food containers, the name of Tiger Balm and tea distributor Prince of Peace Enterprises, and Chick-fil-A plays Christian music at their restaurants. Advertising managers and agencies categorize Christian media in the same advertising media selection as community marketing,

educational entertainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...

, and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

-style family-oriented entertainment

audiences An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

, including those employed by most major corporations,

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, McDonald's,

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

, and other

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

s, along with locally and regionally relevant

target audience A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined ...

s; not to mention other

old media Old media, or legacy media, are the mass media institutions that dominated prior to the Information Age; particularly print media, film studios, music studios, advertising agencies, radio broadcasting, and television. Old media institutions ar ...

and

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

funding options, crowdfunding, merchandising,

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prop ...

s, and

underwriting Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabili ...

. While there is a prevalence of the Christian media format in popular culture, it is considered to be an alternative to the concentration of media ownership. Certain ideas in

Christian culture Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions. Christian culture has i ...

, which are sometimes overlooked by mainstream outlets, are often given a pulpit through Christian media; this effect has been historically shown during its effectiveness during the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

and

Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the l ...

eras. For much the same reasons as other media outlets, such as the high cost of production and distribution, most Christian publications are converting to online publishing.

Production studios

Jeri is interviewed by David Brody of CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) (2122916210)

Christian media studios and publishers range from independent media to mainstream mass media. Many specialize in a particular format, and are noted within their specific field, but some are multimedia production companies. Most major production houses have Christian oriented production studios including

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

's Affirm Films,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Lightworkers Media Lightworkers Media is an American Christian media and film production company helmed by President Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett and owned by MGM Holdings through MGM Television. LightWorkers Media produced the Emmy-nominated ''The Bi ...

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

Big Idea Entertainment Big Idea Entertainment, LLC (formerly known as Big Idea Productions, Inc. and Big Idea, Inc.; also simply as Big Idea) is an American Christian animation company, best known for its computer-animated ''VeggieTales'' series of Christian-themed ...

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

's partner

Kingdom Story Company Kingdom Story Company (formerly known as Kingdom Studios), is an American film and television studio in partnership with Lionsgate specializing in the production of Christian films. It was founded in 2018 by the Erwin Brothers (Jon and Andrew Er ...

, and 20th Century Studios former Fox Faith. Whereas some production houses simply produce Christian genre productions like they would any other genre, including

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

with their adaption of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' or as with

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

throughout their studios such as their acquisition of Warner Alliance and Warner Resound into Warner Music Group proper. The largest

nondenominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

television networks,

Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series '' The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook'' ...

(CBN),

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...

(TBN), and the Christian productions of

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

and

GAC Family Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

have media franchises that are regularly considered for broadcast syndication; as do denominational broadcasts by

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Vatican Media Vatican Media, formerly Centro Televisivo Vaticano, is the Holy See's national broadcaster based in Vatican City which first aired in 1983. History of the channel Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Media is, since November 1996, an in ...

, or the

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

related Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) and LifeTalk Radio. Some of the most watched Christian news programs occur on CBN or TBN, as for print media the most widely regarded Christian news media includes '' Christianity Today'' and ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', these outlets are archived by The Library of Congress and have been venues for Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, organizations, segments, and articles. Interdenominational independent media studios make up an important part of Christian media, including both small and large scale producers, such as Camfam Studios, Heaven Sent Gaming, Icon Productions, Mono vs Stereo, and

Word Entertainment Word Entertainment is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records. Word Entertainment represents Francesca Battistelli, for King & Country, Switchfoot, Skillet, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris ...

. In Japan, several media professionals are graduates of International Christian University. The editor and founder of '' Christian Today'' is an alumnus of that university, so is

Kaz Hirai is a Japanese businessman. He is best known as the former chairman of Sony Corporation, serving from April 2018 to June 2019, as well as president and CEO from April 2012 to April 2018. He also served as a board member of Sony Computer Entertain ...

who is the former chairman of Sony Group Corporation.

Media franchises

Radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s were among the earliest to feature the transmedia storytelling of modern media franchises. The '' Family Theater'' of

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

and ''

'' of Focus on the Family were some of the first successful syndicated broadcasts within Christian media. Family Theater was digitally remastered and continues to be broadcast by EWTN. ''Adventures in Odyssey'', using the naming of ''Radio Theatre'', has made radio adaptions of '' Les Miserables'', '' Anne of Green Gables'', and '' The Chronicles of Narnia''. '' Superbook'' is a 1981 Japanese

series produced by

Tatsunoko Production and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and "sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are i ...

for

and

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

, it was rebooted in 2011 by CBN in collaboration with Asia-based animation studios; the original voice cast included

Billie Lou Watt Billie Lou Watt (June 20, 1924 – September 7, 2001) was an American actress. She was best known as the original English dub voice of the title characters of the 1960s anime series ''Astro Boy'' and ''Kimba the White Lion'', the character Elsi ...

, and for the reboot it includes Sam Vincent the voice of Edd from ''

Ed, Edd n Eddy '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series revolves around three friends named Ed, Edd (called "Double D" ...

'' and

Andrea Libman Andrea Eva Libman (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian actress whose most popular on-screen appearances are in ''Little Women'', '' Andre'', and a guest role on ''The X-Files''. She is also known for providing voice acting in various animated show ...

the voice of Pinkie Pie from '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''. In both the original and reboot, the episodes follow a couple of kids and their

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...

friend named Gizmo, as they a teleported to various Bible stories by technomancy within the Superbook. A series referred to as the Visual Bible had several adaptions of the Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles, they were called '' The Visual Bible: Matthew'' and '' The Visual Bible: Acts''. There were some

interactive media Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various f ...

mini CDs in the late 1990s which contained trailers and behind the scenes footage of the movies, these clips were later added to DVD releases of the films. The ''

'' direct-to-video series became a media franchise, with recognizable characters including Bob the Tomato voiced by

and Larry the Cucumber voiced by

Mike Nawrocki Michael Lewis Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American director, animator, writer, lyricist, and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the long-running, Christian video series, ''VeggieTales'' where he voiced Larry the Cucumber. He voic ...

; it has two feature-length films '' Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie'' and '' The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything'',

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

spin-offs ''

VeggieTales in the House ''VeggieTales in the House'' is an American computer animation, computer-animated children's comedy streaming television series developed by Doug TenNapel (of ''Earthworm Jim'' fame) and produced by Big Idea Entertainment (owned by DreamWorks Cla ...

'' and ''

VeggieTales in the City ''VeggieTales in the City'' is an American computer-animated children's comedy streaming television series produced by Big Idea Entertainment. The series is a sequel to ''VeggieTales in the House''. It premiered on Netflix on February 24, 2017 w ...

'', and the series was rebooted in 2019 by

and

as ''

The VeggieTales Show ''The VeggieTales Show'' (often marketed as simply ''VeggieTales'') is an American Christian computer-animated television series created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. The series served as a revival and sequel of the American Christian comp ...

''. Phil Vischer documented some of his experience with the show in the novel ''Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables'', he previously hosted a podcast titled ''The Phil Visher Podcast'' with Sky Jethani and Christian Taylor, and he now co-hosts ''The Holy Post''. '' Left Behind'' is a series of

post-apocalyptic novels Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

that had adaptions into graphic novels, film adaptations, and video games. The spin-off novels '' Left Behind: The Kids'' follows a format more akin to dystopian fiction, and the video game Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...

game. '' Bibleman'' is a 1995 superhero franchise originally produced by Australian Christian Channel as a

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

live-action Children's television series, ''Bibleman: The Animated Series'' is an ongoing cartoon series started in 2016, the franchise has had numerous action figure depictions, tabletop games, video games, comics, and uniquely Christian tie-ins such as a devotional study Bible. In the series Bibleman's alter-ego was originally Miles Peterson, and his friend Josh Carpenter eventually replaced him as Bibleman, he is joined by fellow heroes Biblegirl and Melody. Against the villains Dr. Fear, the Baroness, and the Master of Maybe. The

duck call A duck call may be either the sound-imitation process used in waterfowl hunting, by which a hunter lures waterfowl, or the actual tool which the person uses to do so. Early duck call tools were basic woodwind instruments, while later innovations a ...

company Duck Commander has several media productions, and the children of

and

Kay Robertson Marsha Kay Carroway Robertson (born December 21, 1947) is an American television personality, best known for her appearances on the A&E reality series ''Duck Dynasty''. Robertson is the wife of entrepreneur and ''Duck Dynasty'' co-star Phil Rob ...

are celebrities associated within Christian media. Their original shows, sponsored by

Benelli Armi SpA Benelli Armi SpA is an Italian firearm manufacturer best known for shotguns used by military, law enforcement and civilians, located in Urbino, Marche. Founded in 1967 as an offshoot of the Benelli motorcycle factory that sold motorcycles throu ...

based on the ''Duck Commander'' and ''Buck Commander'' brands, were featured on the

Outdoor Channel Outdoor Channel is an American pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, Western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. The network can be viewed on multiple platforms including ...

. This sparked interest by A&E to produce the Duck Dynasty television series, which highlighted Willie Robertson and his wife

Korie Robertson Korie Howard RobertsonGenzlinger, Neil (October 7, 2012 ''New York Times''. Retrieved May 28, 2013 (born October 24, 1973) is a reality television star on the A&E show ''Duck Dynasty''. Robertson is the daughter of John and Chrys Howard, and ...

as they ran their family business, alongside Willie's brother Jase Robertson and Uncle Si Robertson. The show sparked spin-offs including a music album titled '' Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas''. Duck Commander has their own ''Duck Call Room'' podcast featuring Si Robertson with Martin and Godwin, while Blaze Media helps to produce ''In The Woods'' with Phil and ''Unashamed'' with Phil and Jase, Willie and Korie's daughter

Sadie Robertson Sadie Carroway Robertson Huff (born June 11, 1997) is an American actress and businesswoman. She rose to fame on the A&E reality television show ''Duck Dynasty. S''he is a prominent Christian media personality and host of ''WHOA, That's Good P ...

created the podcast ''WHOA, That's Good Podcast''. Miss Kay released a ''Duck Commander Kitchen Cookbook'', and Phil has released several Christian novels. Si Robertson has an autobiography titled '' Si-cology 1'', and Jase and youngest brother Jep have a 2022

metal detecting A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

television series produced by Fox Nation called ''Duck Family Treasure''. ''

The Chosen Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: The chosen ones *Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including **Jews as the chosen people Books * ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...

'' is a

crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

television series about Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament, the series is directed by Dallas Jenkins and has been adapted into Bible studies, novels by author Jerry B. Jenkins, and children's picture books.

Media formats

Books, magazines, and newspapers

Evangelicalism doesn't have a central authority, so publishers like

Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...

LifeWay Christian Resources Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services. Until the end of their physical retail presenc ...

, and '' Christianity Today'' are considered de facto gatekeepers of theology. Christian books are a segment of Christian media which typically communicates the core elements of the Christian faith to non-believers, or publishes books to help develop and inform the beliefs of adherents. While these

publishers appeal to a wide variety of Christians and non-Christians, there are denomination specific publications including the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's '' America'' and

Seventh-Day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

's Amazing Facts. Other publishers include ''

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...

'' and '' David C. Cook''. Christian magazines are one of many special-interest categories within the magazine publishing industry. Christian magazines often focus on groups within Christianity, such as men or women, youth, or certain denominations. Many Christian magazines are published by denominations and independent ministries as an outreach to the unchurched or to the organization's supporters, frequently at no cost to the reader. One of the most well known is "Guideposts" magazine, published by

Guideposts ''Guideposts'' is a spiritual non-profit organization that encourages wellness through inspirational content creation. Founded in 1945 by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Raymond Thornburg, and Peale's wife, Ruth Stafford Peale with just one inaugural ...

non-profit since 1945. Examples of denominational magazines include '' House to House Heart to Heart''. Other Christian magazines are published commercially for a profit, and sold by subscription or by single copies through bookstores and other retailers. Examples include ''

Charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

'', '' Relevant'', and ''

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

''. Newspapers are a segment of Christian media which typically communicates news to members of the denomination or group which publishes the paper. Such newspapers often published weekly, rarely more frequently and often less frequently (bi-weekly, monthly). Examples include the Southern Baptist Convention, whose various state conventions often publish weekly or bi-weekly newspapers, '' Christian Examiner'' and ''

The Christian Post ''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004. News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christ ...

.'' Sometimes individual congregations will publish newspapers; one example is Southeast Christian Church, a

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

which publishes a weekly newspaper distributed throughout the metro area. ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

'' is a general interest newspaper that has an appeal beyond Christian audiences, it is owned by the Church of Christ, Scientist. Independent publishers have produced Christian newspapers, often aimed at a specific group such as

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

produced by Christian poets can often find its way into the popular consciousness, an example includes "

Footprints Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...

". Another sub-format is

Christian devotional literature Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of Christian dail ...

which usually has Christian publishers, celebrities, and pastors giving their testimony or sharing ideas, either as Devotional Bibles, Devotional Calendars, or other literary formats. Devotional Bibles are a subgenre of the Study Bible format.

Comics, animation, and graphic novels

'' Davey and Goliath'', '' Superbook'', and ''

'' are some popular Christian animated series. They were referenced as an inspiration for television writer Len Uhley, regarding '' X-Mens Nightcrawler and Wolverine when the characters' faiths were featured in an episode of the 1990s animated series. Len Uhley later worked on popular Christian animated series '' Friends and Heroes'' and the ''Superbook'' reboot. '' The Gospel According to Peanuts'', written by Robert L. Short about the comic strip ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...

'' by

Charles M. Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...

, discussed the Christian themes of the comic strip. In the television special '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'' the character Linus Van Pelt would directly quote Luke 2:8-14, with "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Spire Christian Comics ''Spire Christian Comics'' was a line of comic books published by Fleming H. Revell starting in 1972. In the 1980s, Barbour & Company, founded by Hugh Revell Barbour, acquired the rights to republish many of the titles in the Spire Christian Com ...

, part of

Baker Publishing Group Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...

and Archie Comics, which ran from 1972 and 1982 were a Christian spin-off of their larger franchises. They featured characters from

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

Jughead Jones Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Archie Comics who first appeared in the first Archie story, from '' Pep Comics'' #22 (December 1941). He is the drummer of ...

Betty Cooper Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana an ...

Veronica Lodge Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies. She is from New York but currently resides in the town of Riverdale, with her ...

, '' Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', and ''

Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...

''. During the 1990s,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

partnered with Thomas Nelson to create a series of Christian themed books including

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

adaptions of ''

The Screwtape Letters ''The Screwtape Letters'' is a Christian apologetic novel by C. S. Lewis and dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien. It is written in a satirical, epistolary style and while it is fictional in format, the plot and characters are used to address Chris ...

'', '' The Pilgrim's Progress'', and created a Christian superhero called '' Illuminator''.

Film and television

Many forms of Christian films are widespread, from full length, feature films to short and discussion orientated clips. Christian television includes broadcast television, cable television, and

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

channels whose entire broadcast programming schedule is programs directly related to Christianity, such as

(the world's largest religious television network), Three Angels Broadcasting Network,

God TV In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, SAT-7 and Emmanuel TV or individual shows including comedy, action, drama, reality, dramatizations and variety shows, movies and mini-series; which are part of the overall programming of a general-interest television station. Some Christian streaming services have emerged in the interactive media space, such as PureFlix which is owned by Sony Pictures. Family oriented Christian streaming service Yippee TV received distribution rights for ''

'' reboot from NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and TBN from 2019 to 2022, and afterward would be broadcast by the Minno streaming service.

Radio and music

Christian radio is a

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

of music and programming that, within itself, includes several sub-formats. These include contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music,

Urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

, Southern Gospel, inspirational music, children's programming which include ''

'' and Patch the Pirate,

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

, and formats which include primarily preaching and/or instructional programming. Christian music festivals and

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...

s are held worldwide including The Experience in Nigeria and Sunza Rock Festival in Japan, and some are sponsored by companies like McDonald's as a part of community outreach including McDonald's Gospelfest, while others are sponsored by churches and Christian music labels like that of Creation Fest. The

American popular music American popular music has had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, bluegrass, count ...

industry first began with the distribution of Christian

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

s and gospel music. The contemporary Christian music of today is still rooted in

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

and church music, but includes Christian rock and Christian hip hop music. Christian and Gospel record labels are usually founded by artists within the field. TobyMac started the label

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan wa ...

and Lacrae is the founder of Reach Records. Musicians in Christian music groups often have prominent solo careers as well, Michael Tait wrote the book ''Living Under God'' with former DC Talk bandmate TobyMac.

Fred Hammond Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of differe ...

started out with the Commissioned gospel music group, and has become one of the most influential contemporary gospel musicians. Some secular musicians convert to Christian music, Carlos Santana known for his Latin rock music infused Latin Christian music into the sound following his conversion in the early 1970s,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

with his Sunday Service Choir have had success with a single called "

Jesus Walks Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

" and the music albums '' Jesus Is King'' and '' Jesus Is Born'', and Korn band member

Brian Welch Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is one of the guitarists and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. ...

has a

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

band called

Love and Death ''Love and Death'' is a 1975 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a satire on Russian literature starring Allen and Diane Keaton as Boris and Sonja, Russians living during the Napoleonic Era who engage in mock-serious ...

Video games and interactive media

One of the first

Christian video games A Christian video game is an aspect of Christian media for video games, this video game genre focuses on the narrative and themes of Christian morals and Christianity. The term can also refer to Christian symbolism, mythology, media franchises, a ...

was ''Bible Computer Games'' which first appeared on the

TRS-80 Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer and sometimes nicknamed the CoCo, is a line of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Com ...

in 1982, it was ported in 1983 to

Timex Sinclair Timex Sinclair was a joint venture established in December 1982 between the British company Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly growing early-1980s home computer market in North America. His ...

and

TI-99/4A The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. ...

, then released on the

Apple IIe The Apple IIe (styled as Apple //e) is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The ''e'' in the name stands for ''enhanced'', referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in ...

, Commodore 64, VIC-20, and the

Kaypro Kaypro Corporation was an American home and personal computer manufacturer based out of San Diego in the 1980s. The company was founded by Non-Linear Systems (NLS) to compete with the popular Osborne 1 portable microcomputer. Kaypro produced a ...

CP/M computer platforms in 1984, and finally on

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

1986 by PC Enterprises. Many of the early Christian video games have become highly valued collectables, because they received smaller distribution at Christian bookstores and magazines instead of typical distribution at video game retailers, one such example is the 1983

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

title '' Red Sea Crossing'' which has become one of the rarest video games of all time. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, video game developer Wisdom Tree made several unlicensed video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo that have since been ported to numerous platforms, including '' Spiritual Warfare'' and '' Super 3D Noah's Ark''. While Christian video games may have at first been misunderstood by the video game industry, the topic of religion and video games has since been accepted as a part of the mainline

video game culture Video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed by video gamers. As video games have exponentially increased in popularity over time, they have had a significant influence on popular culture. Video game culture has also evolved with ...

. Major Triple-A media franchises, including ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

'', '' Castlevania'', '' Assassin's Creed'', and ''

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

'', prominently feature Christian concepts to varying degrees.

Crave Entertainment Crave Entertainment was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but was then sold to Fil ...

had ''

'' video games officially released on PlayStation 2 and

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

, a game based on reality show '' Duck Dynasty'' was published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

on PlayStation 4,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

, and Nintendo 3DS, and the

Wisdom Tree games were brought to Steam and

Humble Bundle Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...

by Piko Interactive using DOSBox and a ''

Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfe ...

source port A source port is a software project based on the source code of a game engine that allows the game to be played on operating systems or computing platforms with which the game was not originally compatible. Description Source ports are often c ...

. Christian game developer

Scott Cawthon Scott Braden Cawthon (born June 4, 1978) is an American former video game developer and writer. He came to prominence as the creator of the ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' media franchise, which began with the development of the eponymous surviva ...

launched a major success outside of the Christian media field with the

survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...

series ''

Five Nights at Freddy's ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' (''FNaF'') is a media franchise created by Scott Cawthon. The first video game of the same name was released on August 8, 2014, and the resultant series has since gained worldwide popularity. The main series cons ...

''. Christian

includes Biblical software such as YouVersion's Bible mobile app, The SWORD Project, and

Logos Bible Software Logos Bible Software is a digital library application developed by Faithlife Corporation.It is designed for electronic Bible study. In addition to basic eBook functionality, it includes extensive resource linking, note-taking functionality, and ...

, along with various forms of church software, as well as websites such as BibleGateway.com and Crosswalk.com.

Sub-formats

Holidays

Christmas

Christmas media is a well known sub-format, including its own films, television specials,

, and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. The Nativity of Jesus is depicted in

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

scene Scene (from Greek σκηνή ''skēnḗ'') may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Scene (subculture), a youth subculture from the early 2000s characterized by a distinct music and style. Groups and performers * The Scene who reco ...

s, and

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

s. Characters including the

Christmas gift-bringer A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography ...

especially Santa Claus are common within the film format, as are related additional characters like Mrs. Claus and

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

. Various Christmas stories have inspired other fictional works, such as '' A Christmas Carols Ebenezer Scrooge being the original inspiration for Scrooge McDuck, a cornerstone of

Mickey Mouse universe The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...

related Donald Duck universe, with Christian messaging still featured for McDuck focused productions

Mickey's Christmas Carol ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge McDuck as ...

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

and the DuckTales 2017 reboot.

Easter

The

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

is a common motif in works of art, and other themes are explored in Easter films and television episodes. The

Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" ori ...

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

s, and Easter baskets are universal icons of the holiday, due in large part to Christian media.

Halloween

Several works of fiction, film, and television specials center around Halloween, and its associated All Saints' Day, Allhallowtide,

All Souls' Day All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...

, and

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

. Its original intent was to celebrate the anticipated

and a jubilant prayer for the dead, and to celebrate the lives and works of saints, the apostles,

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

s, and one's

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

Halloween costume Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom during ...

s were originally from Celtic Christianity and were based on

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, they have since come to encompass supernatural fiction.

Horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...

has some of its roots in Halloween fiction story '' The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'', as do horror's later multimedia adaptions to comics, film, and video games.

Televangelism

Televangelism Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

is a popular sub-format that usually features sermons by television hosts like

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, author

Joyce Meyer Pauline Joyce Meyer (née Hutchison; June 4, 1943) is an American Charismatic Christian author, speaker and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Joyce and her husband Dave have four grown children, and live outside St. Louis, Missouri. Her min ...

, and preachers including

Joel Osteen Joel Scott Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American lay preacher, televangelist, businessman and author based in Houston, Texas. Known for his weekly televised services and several best-selling books, Osteen is one of the more prominent figu ...

Lakewood Church Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is one of the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, the televangelism sub-format can include radio rebroadcasts including those of Bishop T. D. Jakes of The Potter's House Church in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque. During the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Jakes along with pastors

Eddie Long Eddie Lee Long (May 12, 1953 – January 15, 2017) was an American pastor who served as the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017. When ...

and

Creflo Dollar Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr., (born January 28, 1962) is an American pastor, televangelist, and the founder of the non-denominational Christian World Changers Church International based in College Park, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Dollar also he ...

had three of the largest churches and television audiences in America. While there are many benefits to this popular sub-format, as most televangelism broadcasts are simply sermons and theological seminars, there are controversies involving Word of Faith-style

prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are a ...

, including a senate probe that led to an investigation of six televangelists. Several popular televangelists and preachers have shunned the use of prosperity theology, and instead rely on traditional means of funding for their ministries.

Impact

There is a misconception of Christian media being a form of

proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

and

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

. The concerns are taken very seriously within the field, as it is not the intent or goal of the genre, and the issues are combatted by those within both the Christian and secular media industries. The common intent and goal behind most Christian media is often that "entertainment doesn't have to be shallow and devoid of meaning ... values-based media can still be entertaining and engaging." According to the former head of Religion and Ethics for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Characteristics

Themes

Popularity

Distribution

Production studios

Media franchises

Media formats

Books, magazines, and newspapers

Comics, animation, and graphic novels

Film and television

Radio and music

Video games and interactive media

Sub-formats

Holidays

Christmas

Easter

Halloween

Televangelism

Impact

Society

Pop culture

References

Sources