Who Does God Want Me to Invite to See The Passion of the Christ?: Marketing Movies to Evangelicals

Abstract

This article explores the dominant themes of The Passion of the Christ's marketing campaign to better understand the role and tactics of marketing in the religious media economy. In particular, this marketing-centered textual analysis covers how Passion's purported accuracy, authenticity, rating, and use as a proselytizing device were framed to appeal to evangelicals' skepticism of mainstream Hollywood ideals, R-rated movies, and potential sacrilege of the subject matter.