The subject of Americanism in religion has been a big topic for discussion in class. That, meaning how religion has been molded and shaped by the U.S.As ideals, and missions. It seems wherever you find an idea that is an “American thing”, you see religion adopting the same “thing”. This is proven true by an article published on Religion News Service, titled “Tim Tebow makes the Christian movie he’s always wanted to see”.
The article talks about former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, and his new movie that came out today(February 22). Tebow’s reason for making the movie is because he looked at the bigger Christian movie genre and did not like how the movies would always end with the main character praying, and having all his/her problems solved in no time. Tebow stated, “That’s not real life,”(Tim Tebow, Religion News Service, February 20, 2019). So he decided to make a Christian film that he feels reflects how the real world works.
The movie itself is about two brothers trying to get out of a small town and get to college, and the way that they attempt to do this according to the article is by trying to get track scholarships. Tim Tebow explains that many of the themes in the film are pulled from his own life and experiences.
Movies(and more specifically Hollywood) have been a large part of American life over the years. And with anything else that is a big part of being an American, religion eventually follows, and more specifically Christianity follows. There have been so many Christian movies in recent years, that it has created its own genre. This makes sense because as a church you want more people to attend, and more importantly, get people to come back. And a good way to get more people, and get them coming back, is to embed yourself in every part of their lives. In this case, entertainment.
A lot of what we have been talking about in class is this very fact of religion in American becoming a big part of being an American, and how there is no separation between church and state. More specifically the lack of separation between Christianity and State. And I think the Christian movie genre is attempting to do a similar thing with Hollywood. It has already kind of happened anyway, by just the fact that films from Hollywood are made in America, and by consequence have an American identity. Therefore by having that American identity, you have a Christian identity. Because by being Christian you are also being American.
This could explain why there are no other religions in America making such a big mark in the movie industry. Because the Christian movie genre is not too far from a normal movie genre in America. Movies in Hollywood are not consciously religious, but subconsciously religious. Not by any fault of their own, but just by the fact that being an American has a strict identity that goes with it. The identity of being Christian.
TIM TEBOW MAKES THE CHRISTIAN MOVIE HE’S ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE – RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
In-text: (“Tim Tebow Makes The Christian Movie He’s Always Wanted To See – Religion News Service”)
Your Bibliography: “Tim Tebow Makes The Christian Movie He’s Always Wanted To See – Religion News Service”. Religion News Service, 2019, https://religionnews.com/2019/02/20/tim-tebow-makes-the-christian-movie-hes-always-wanted-to-see/.
contemporaryamericanreligion 
This is such an interesting topic! As a sports fan, this was really cool to read. It is a topic of interest that a lot of people can relate to, especially if they are not into religion as others are.
LikeLike