There have been a lot of Christian movies released lately, and there are more to come. That got me thinking: why are there no atheist movies? With the exception of The Ledge, there are really no movies aimed at atheists. I haven’t really seen any movies about any other religious/ non-religious group either. Most media aimed at atheists are in the form of documentaries, and I enjoy watching most of them, but there have to be some atheists that are more interested in entertainment than education when it comes to films. So why aren’t there really any atheist movies?
I have heard it posited that it is because bible stories are good stories in the sense that they are entertaining. Atheists don’t have any entertaining stories ready to go. So what would an entertaining atheist story look like? What would count as an atheist movie?
hessianwithteeth 
August 15th, 2014 at 3:39 pm
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August 12th, 2014 at 5:57 pm
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Thank you!
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August 12th, 2014 at 10:17 pm
We went with the free option because this is a hobby for us. I’d only suggest going for a paid option if you intend to ake money off your blog.
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June 2nd, 2014 at 8:05 am
I haven’t really thought about it. Can you give me a little more info?
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:06 am
I might be wrong, but a lot of Atheist come off as mocking or elitist. Most religions focus on love, they want to share their faith with you out of love. When an Atheist shares their truth, is it out of love or out does it come from a pursuit of truth? It just seems to have a movie focused on Atheism not come off as judgmental or mean spirited is a hard task.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:17 am
It should be possible. I don’t want a propaganda movie, just one that doesn’t either ignore religion or discuss religion through the eyes of a christian. Don’t you think many Christian movies come across as judgmental? Because I find that to be a major problem with them. But you are right: a good balance would have to be found.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:24 am
I have not seen a lot of Christian movies, but a movie like Heaven is for Real shows both doubt and anger at God, so it’s actually pretty judgmental free. I think the time of the judgmental Christians is coming to an end and we are entering the love and social justice movement.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:31 am
What about God Is Not Dead? That’s quite a judgmental movie. Not only is it pro-christian, it’s also anti-atheism.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:48 am
The idea behind God’s Not Dead is very real, college students are told God’s not real all the time in college. (the inspiration for the film was derived from some very real First Amendment court cases) For a Christian film to respond to that topic, it’s not anti-atheism, it does not make fun of or judge people for their faith, but rather encourages Christians to be able to intellectually defend their own faith. I see nothing wrong with that.
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May 29th, 2014 at 11:01 pm
Really? Because everyone that I have talked to (American and Canadian alike) has said that no prof would ever get away with that. It’s a trope. It’s based on internet chain-mail. And many of those cases weren’t really related to the themes of the movie. Many were as simple as the community wanting to implement something in the school that the school said no to.
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May 29th, 2014 at 6:54 am
what about the hobbit? or even star wars or star trek or dr. who? none of these movies (except maybe star wars) demonstrate any basic religious dogma or belief system based on believing in an unknown supernatural being. star wars does have some tendencies to analogize a christian type belief system with the force, but then again, they continually remind the audience that the force is not a god and does not rule them. it is more like a power that can be used for good or evil by anyone, but the jedi task is to keep the force balanced, not tipped either way. as for the others i mentioned, i don’t see any faith based stories, i see them as using science as their belief system. that is, they base their decisions on facts and research, they don’t take action without clear thought. and the protagonist is always superior than the faith based enemy ( ie federation v. klingons) or the protagonist is superior because they use logic rather than emotion to make decisions (see the ‘good guys’ in hobbit story v. the bad ones)–as in, the bad ones fall because they are ruled by their own want and ambition and desire and care nothing for others, while the protagonists (many races combined) don’t have issues with clashing religions (cause they don’t have them) and they are moral and logical and caring ( ie good) and so they win. in dr who, there is clearly no religion. the doctor is clearly without a religious belief, as are the majority of his companions, even the ones from earth. however, the show does like to demonstrate that religion of others should be respected unless it is being used to abuse others or to take advantage of those not of that religion. dr who actually shows in almost every episode how religion exists, but it is not necessary for people to be moral and have values. often it is shown to be a way to control people.
i could probably think of another dozen or so, but i will stop here 🙂
ps-this was a really great topic!
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:13 am
Thank you :). But I mean movies that promote atheism. I don’t mean something that will come across as atheist propaganda, but something meant to put atheism in a positive light. Star Trek and Dr. Who are definitely great for encouraging a love of science and critical thinking, but they ignore religion (for the most part). Shows like Bones and House have openly atheist characters, which I think is great, but both characters aren’t exactly the most relatable. I think that if would be nice if religion was brought up and discussed from the point of view of an atheist character in a movie. Something where a characters atheism was either the central theme or was openly discussed. This is simply because atheists are so demonized and hollywood is great at normalizing things.
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May 29th, 2014 at 6:27 am
I think you simply don’t know what an atheist movie is….
Oblivion? Blade Runner? The Grey?
Any movie that doesn’t promote gods is an ‘atheist’ movie so to speak.
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May 29th, 2014 at 6:47 am
That would be a secular movie. Most movies are secular. I mean one that promotes atheism in the way that Christian movies promote Christianity. By which I mean they show it as desirable. I think that having media portray atheism in a positive light would help lessen the stigma against atheists.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:07 am
The Grey was very nihilist in my view. It promoted that view without preaching…
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:20 am
But atheism isn’t nihilism. I’m not really a fan of nihilism. What I liked about the ledge is the fact that the plot was written around the main characters atheism. Surely there are more stories that can be written like that but with different themes. I’d prefer something a bit more fast-paced.
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May 29th, 2014 at 7:30 am
I guess I just see movies as secular/atheist unless they promote a god. That is how life is.
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May 29th, 2014 at 10:56 pm
True. I’m just trying to be more specific because I’m curious as to what others will say. I’m enjoying the ideas that everyone is putting out. Plus now I have like 20 new movies to track down and watch ;).
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