9 Ways In Which Movies Are Like Church

The most obvious connection between movies and church is the setup of their interiors. Most churches, particularly the traditional ones, are designed so that everyone is seated in horizontal rows, facing a common front area, where the minister presides. Likewise, movie theaters are arranged with rows of people facing a single screen. They’re designed such that you’re not facing any other person, but you’re conscious that you’re in a communal setting.

People discuss the fundamental qualities that make movies different from television, and I always go back to the environment of the movie theater, the enormous, immersive screen, and the sense that you’re experiencing this immenseness with other people, most often strangers. The awareness of experiencing something together is a powerful thing, and it works in modern day movies just as it has in churches for centuries.

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