In an effort to attract the enormous church-going audience that flooded theaters to see Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Fox Filmed Entertainment is expected to announce today (Tuesday) that it is creating a new division, FoxFaith, that will produce as many as 12 films a year, half of which will have theatrical releases and the other half going directly to home video. According to today’s (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times, the first theatrical release under the new banner will be Love’s Abiding Joy, due to open on Oct. 6 at theaters operated by Carmike Cinemas and AMC Theatres. The studio hopes to attract evangelical Christians who have traditionally stayed away from current movie fare, regarding it as offensive and irreligious. Commenting on the studio’s plans, the Times observed: “Fox might seem an unlikely studio to pioneer a religious label, given its history as a purveyor of salacious TV programming. Yet people in the Christian community say the company has gained credibility as the voice for conservative America through its Fox News Channel.”

Christians have money? Yes. So Hollywood is coming (sort of). But do we really want Hollywood?

Traditionally, Christian media is retched and horrible. We’ve sacrificed quality for a good idea without good follow through (Left Behind the movie anyone?). Does there deserve to be better Christian themed films? Sure, but what is the cost for getting in bed with Hollywood? Lest we remember that The Passion of the Christ was done outside of Hollywood studio system (with Mel Gibson money – not Hollywood’s). So what does Hollywood really have to offer when it comes to entertaining our faith?

Any thoughts or comments?