Survey: Impact of 'Passion' doesn't match viewers' enjoyment of it

Published: 2004-07-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A telephone survey examining the attitudes of moviegoers who saw "The Passion of the Christ" found that while a solid majority liked the film seeing the movie brought about few changes in individuals' faith or beliefs. "The Passion" has become the eighth-biggest domestic-grossing film of all time, with receipts of $370 million. Nine out of 10 viewers rated "The Passion" as either excellent or good, according to a survey conducted by the Barna Group of Ventura, Calif. Barna called 1,618 adults chosen at random; of those, 646 respondents had seen the movie. But only 18 percent of the moviegoers said they had changed their religious behavior as a result of the film; 16 percent said they had changed their religious beliefs because of the movie's content; and 10 percent said they had done both. "Among the most startling outcomes drawn from the research is the apparent absence of a direct evangelistic impact by the movie," the survey said. "Despite marketing campaigns labeling the movie the 'greatest evangelistic tool' of our era, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of those who saw the film stated that they made a profession of faith or accepted Jesus Christ as their savior in reaction to the film's content."

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