6 Unorthodox Religious Films to Watch After ‘Dogma’
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Back in theaters for its 25th anniversary, Kevin Smith’s polarizing, crude religious comedy Dogma stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two angels bent on disrupting God’s plan for the world, and Linda Fiorentino as Bethany, an abortion clinic worker who just might be the only hope for saving the world.
In many ways, the world in which Dogma was released a quarter-century ago was drastically different than today: the internet and social media have changed the public sphere, Roe v. Wade has been overturned, and the Catholic Church has elected three Popes. Dogma was not the first brazenly controversial religious film, but it surely continued morphing the subgenre into the paradoxical machine it is today—one that uses religious imagery and contexts to indict or praise organized religion and the very idea of God.
In this sense, all religious films are unorthodox. The films that show deep interest in religion or religious figures often receive backlash for their portrayal of them, and the films that critique religious institutions (often rightfully) are villainized for their ill treatment of the sacred.
If you loved (or even hate-watched) Dogma, you’ll want to give these unorthodox religious films a try.
Nacho Libre (2006)
Comedy is the art of noting the absurdity of serious things. Enjoying comedy requires you to let down your guard, to expect crude or shocking or gross jokes that encroach upon things you care about. Nacho Libre is not so much a collection of deft observations about organized religion, but rather an absurd, slapstick story featuring subtle musings on God.
The popular movie takes place in a Mexican monastery and follows Ignacio (Jack Black), a lowly cook with lofty dreams of becoming a famous wrestler. Nacho Libre isn’t merely unorthodox because it uses religion in a somewhat antagonistic sense (the monastery is stifling his potential to flourish), but because it attempts to hold religious devotion and personal freedom in tandem. Ignacio is devoted to some idea of faith, but not under the monastery’s parameters. One of my favorite lines that illustrates this point is when Ignacio says, “they think I do not know a buttload of crap about the Gospel, but I do.” Perhaps the most unorthodox part of Nacho Libre is that it posits a monastery in which someone could be crude, funny, and flirtatious.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
I have a love/hate relationship with Paul Schrader. His work in film criticism has formed my writing in many ways. His screenplay for Taxi Driver was monumental, and some of his directorial efforts (like First Reformed and Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters) are among my favorite films. But the most controversial effort he’s made is in Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, in which Willem Dafoe plays a doubtful, grieving Jesus on his way to the cross.
I respect Scorsese’s fascination with religion and with Jesus Christ, and I’ve come to respect Schrader for his depictions of the Reformed Christian life he left in pursuit of filmmaking. Their collaborative effort in Last Temptation made Scorsese “the inadvertent poster child for burgeoning culture wars” and has become the seminal controversial film, frequently re-entering the conversation of how to approach religious filmmaking. Its depiction of Jesus is bold, and many Christians across denominations agree it’s theologically erroneous. It’s well worth the watch and will assuredly spark good conversations with people of all beliefs.
The Exorcist (1973)
What hath science to do with faith?
In this iconic horror film, the tension is palpable. The Exorcist was controversial enough to be officially condemned by the Catholic Church following its release. Director William Friedkin said that “one of the best things that could happen is if the Pope denounces it.” He approached the film’s topic in a more solemn manner than others have, but its portrayal of religion and the demonic are not the only controversial elements of the flick. Veteran film critic (and Christian) Josh Larsen wrote that the film is shockingly exploitative of its cast, especially the young Linda Blair, who plays the possessed child Regan and was required to perform the film’s gross moments on command.
Watch this film with an eye for its provocation, its exploitation, and its rumination on the balance between science and faith.
Godland (2022)
I’m pretty sure this is the most beautifully shot entry on this list. Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove) is a young Danish priest and photographer who journeys to a remote community in Iceland to plant a church. Lucas photographs the beauty of nature and recoils under Iceland’s unforgiving terrain, but the unorthodox aspects of this film come as he reaches his destination.
Godland juxtaposes the frailty and kindness of the Icelandic community with Lucas’s growing personal conflicts. It’s an incredibly unique take on missionary stories featuring a slow-burn journey to a shocking and profoundly deep conclusion.
Freud’s Last Session (2023)
“If you could have coffee with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?” The popular icebreaker question must’ve been on director Matt Brown’s mind as he adapted Freud’s Last Session from a stage play to the big screen. The expectedly dialogue-heavy film depicts a hypothetical cage match between philosophical heavyweights Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) and C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode).
Sometimes the most unorthodox idea is that people can hold conflicting beliefs without fallout. Organized religion often conveys the expectation of uniformity—the result of which is a host of films portraying deviance from theological norms—but the subtly revolutionary concept in Freud’s Last Session is that discourse is not dead. The film shows how Freud and Lewis disagreed on several key issues (sex, God, truth, morality, etc.), and practically locks them in the same room until they sort things out. Freud has fallen severely ill, so his words are laced with vitriol against God and Lewis, while the Christian apologist seems muzzled, constantly attempting something between a counterpoint and empathy for Freud’s personal struggles.
Shying away from controversial topics is dangerous, especially considering such weighty issues as morality and the existence of the universe. Freud’s Last Session posits that these topics are difficult, and doesn’t shy away from the idea that we simply might not be able to know what’s True.
The Conjuring (2013)
I couldn’t make this list without including the controversial religious film that launched me into a love for horror. Despite its grim and frightening subject, this is actually a pro-Catholic film. Think about it: The Catholics win. The evil is dispelled (at least for a time; even evil gets the franchise treatment). Good triumphs. God exists.
All religious horror films must eventually answer a vital question about their world: Is God real? Is he powerful? Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu (2024) features an orthodox church and folk religion, which are ultimately impotent against the vampiric evil; as I’ve written before, Robert Eggers wants you to be hopeless.
The Conjuring proposes the opposite. It’s not through evil but through spiritual power (of the Catholic variety) that evil can be destroyed. Good can prevail. Despite the franchise’s often surface-level understanding of Catholicism, which has garnered backlash before, one nun states there are benefits to it as well: “I’m not sure filmmakers get what they are really dealing with. But if people come away believing the devil is real, well then, that’s a good thing.” This is a film that, despite all its frights, isn’t afraid to depict evil in a spiritually deep way.