‘The Office’ Star, Rainn Wilson, Calls Out “Anti-Christian Bias in Hollywood”
Hollywood’s portrayal of religion, specifically Christianity, has always been a point of contention. The discussion has ramped up in recent months due to what some Christians have perceived as a recurrent negative portrayal of religion in several of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, including The Whale and Woman Talking.
Now, some within Hollywood itself are weighing in. Count The Office star Rainn Wilson among those who perceive an “anti-Christian” bias in entertainment today. In reference to an episode of the hit HBO show The Last of Us, in which the most villainous character is portrayed as a religious cult leader, Wilson tweeted the following:
The tweet sparked discussion, with many people responding either to affirm or challenge his assessment. Some agreed that it is difficult to point to many positive portrayals of religious characters in mainstream Hollywood films. Others noted that “faith-based” films have notoriously been equally as one-sided in their depiction of atheist characters.
While the conversation is far from novel, having a popular Hollywood actor weigh in on the debate has amplified it. Whether actors speaking out from within Hollywood will inspire a more balanced portrayal of religion remains to be seen.
1 Comment
by Stephen Hayes
True, there is bias against Christians across the MSN both sides of the Atlantic, but we can’t expect the enemy to fight fair. We will just have to remember Matthew 5:11-12 and continue to 2 Peter 3:15 for the duration. Engage graciously wuith th cultuyre, defend the truth, call out lies and hold forth the world of life, but don’t complain unduly when they hate us because they first hated Him. There’s a reward for standing firm, not necessarily for changing the culture.
It would also help if Christians stopped scoring own goals like the recent ungracious last minute cancelling by a Christian college of a musical event because it emerged that one of the singers (a British group The King’s Singers) might have been ‘living in an unbiblical life style.’ On that basis you’d have to cancel all forms of entertainment including reading novels and 100% of film, theatre, TV and music.