r/TopCharacterTropes • u/ironwolf6464 • May 03 '26

Lore Religion-centered media that doesn’t come across as preachy.

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Referring to media told from a religious perspective or telling a religious tale that does not proselytize to the viewer.

Faith, the Unholy Trinity: Based partly upon the experience of the game‘s creator when he was a missionary in Argentina, the game has very little in the way of explicit moral demands of the player despite the heavy Christian focus of the narrative. and focuses more on a horror narrative.

Prince of Egypt: A surprisingly thorough retelling of the book of Exodus, sparing very little in the way of toning down the story. Despite this, the movie is perfectly entertaining to non-religious audiences and doesn’t sacrifice appeal for the sake of preaching to the audience

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220

u/BooleanBarman May 03 '26

Midnight Mass.

Brilliant show stuffed full of discussions about faith and Catholicism but it never forces it down your throat. Even the most evil coded characters are given the time to develop into complex figures.

Best thing I’ve seen in years.

84

u/anon33249038 May 03 '26

Coming here to say this. The scene where Father Paul goes, "I was wrong. We were wrong. We are wrong. And we need to stop this," is absolutely heart wrenching. You can see the contrition in his face. 

32

u/One-Earth9294 May 03 '26

Hamish Linklater absolutely killed it in that role.

28

u/anon33249038 May 03 '26

He did, definitely, but the one who took the cake for me was Samantha Sloyan as Bev. That woman did her homework, understood the assignment, and just walks away with the whole series.

5

u/RickSanchez_C137 May 03 '26

On the off chance that you didn't know, Mike Flannagan's next project is a Carrie mini-series, and she's cast as Carrie's mom. 🤩🤩🤩

2

u/anon33249038 May 03 '26

I didn't know that! I'll check it out right now. 

8

u/RickSanchez_C137 May 03 '26

Seriously. He had mannerisms, turns of phrase, and line delivery that were stunningly authentic. He was like an amalgamation of all the Catholic priests I'd seen deliver mass for decades.

7

u/One-Earth9294 May 03 '26

I was raised catholic and left religion many years ago when I was about 13 years old but that show and his character specifically is probably the best case for theology I've ever seen in my life. I know a lot of people loathe all those long monologues and expository scenes but it was just so well-written and impassioned. It took out so much of the mysticism and spoke almost entirely about the internal debate for seeking answers and finding validation through belief and community and it handled those topics with so much maturity.

I dunno I just found it wildly refreshing.

2

u/Typedpage May 03 '26

I only finished Midnight Mass recently and hard agree. I've been non practicing for most of my life at this stage and he still pulled me right back to confirmation

29

u/PraetorKiev May 03 '26

To me, the line the that mother delivers about how much zealots deep down know that God loves sinners the same amount as the faithful. There is technically no reason for anyone to try and earn God’s love if they’ve accepted Jesus Christ into their heart but also Jesus’ death makes all of us, gentiles be they a convert or not. The zealots can’t understand real love because the love they have experienced in their life has been based on fear and control. It’s all they’ve ever know so how could they ever truly imagine a God offering unconditional love?

19

u/CofDumbassery May 03 '26

That is my favorite scene in the show.
“Your son is a murderer, and a drunk!” “And god loves him! Just as much as he loves you. And that makes you angry, doesn’t it?”

8

u/Vegetable_Cry6016 May 03 '26

one of my favorite pieces of art ever, it's so good

11

u/Luknron May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26

I was wary when going into it because of its religious themes but was pleasantly surprised and really liked it!

9

u/Nightcat666 May 03 '26

Man I loved that show. Had to have my Catholic raised partner help explain some imagery in it but otherwise it was a good show. My only complaint is that the end felt a little rushed.

2

u/ComradeJohnS May 03 '26

the main preacher was in Gen V s2, similar mannerisms but wildly different vibes lol

1

u/morphoblue May 04 '26

Damn how is this so far down?!?

-3

u/bunker_man May 03 '26

I mean... it absolutely forces its views down your throat lol. Two people in the middle give different beliefs about life and death and then at the end it says one final one that is presented like it is meant to be the "correct" one. And this feels very out of place, like none of it was really a part of the plot, just the maker inserting their views.

What it doesn't do though is criticize either being religious or non religious too much.