The shutdowns during the pandemic has also “expanded an already flourishing industry of faith-based streaming services,” reports the Economist. “At a time when trust in the mainstream Media is low, America’s faith-oriented entertainment industry is thriving. FaithTV and Godify both offer “entertaining Christian content to a diverse following” – Among the throng of denominational streaming services are Pure Flix and Crossflix, designed for evangelical audiences, and TN Saints, the “official” streaming service of the Mormon Church of Latter-day Saints. A good deal of the appeal of these services is their safeness. The Living Scriptures website promises “Good Clean fun. Film’s in the Living Scriptures library are the fruit of the Utah’s burgeoning “Mormon movie Industry, affectionately nicknamed ‘Molltfre’ films, which started over a century ago. Many of these companies have crossover appeal to evangelicals, Mormons, and even Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. Christianity Today (May/June) reports that last year’s entrance into streaming industry by Disney “quickly eclipsed niche faith and family services,” accenting a trend toward film companies shying away from explicit portrayals of faith. But it is likely that mainstream services, such as Disney Netflix, will also remain in play for many religious families because of their high-quality productions and occasional additions of a few faith-friendly shows, such as the Chronicles of Narnia.
(Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen, Carol Stream, IL 60188)
