“Hillsong” —Coming to a Theatre Near You

Another Tale of Selling Spirituality

As I sat in the movie theatre the other day, I was shocked that Hillsong was featured in a trailer. Only at the end of the minute and a half clip did I realize it was becoming a movie. That is when my heart sank. Do not get me wrong, I love Hillsong as much as the next person. I find the singing and the message very uplifting and makes me feel really connected to young people from around the world. However, after being a part of RLG233, I could not help but feel like they were trying to sell their message in one of the most overpriced, commercialized settings possible, the North American movie theatre.

What is Hillsong?

Hillsong is a Pentecostal church that originated in Austrailia following the merger of two moderately sized churches 30 years ago. They cater their messages and music to young people, particularly those 30 and younger with their website claiming that they are “young and free” (Hillsong Church Wikipedia; Hillsong.com). Additionally, Hillsong “…is a church that believes in Jesus, a church that loves God and people” (Hillsong.com). Hillsong services often resemble concerts where the audience is very up close and personal with the pastor. Furthermore, the ministry incorporates a lot of music into their services. Their music is so popular and successful they have sold millions of CDs worldwide and some albums have even gone platinum.

Selling Spirituality

As Victoria noted in her blog, “Here I am to Worship”- Hillsong and Televangelism, Hillsong is a great example of Televangelism in which various religious groups and organizations use media to spread their messages worldwide. However, in the process of spreading their messages worldwide, groups tend to commidify religion instead. Carette and King write extensively about this in their article, “Selling Spirituality”. Selling spirituality involves people packaging tradition and selling it as the real thing (Carette and King, 90). Buyers are then able to pick and mix the messages they receive and giving them a false or inaccurate sense of what the religion’s message is about. Selling spirituality turns religion into this “…private, introspective experince, feeling or sentiment that has roots in the debate between Enlightenment and Romanticism and the location of religious in the private sphere of individual choice” (Carette and King, 88).

Arguably, Hillsong has already commodified religion long before this movie about the Chuch even hit production. Through selling their music worldwide and individuals, like myself, are first introduced to Hillsong’s music thinking it was a Christian band, rather than a church. This commidification could easily be taken farther due to the popularity of the Church and its music. Their message which is tailored to young people could easily be taken and placed on water bottles, t-shirts or notepads. Many people could buy these products and claim to like or even be a part of the Hillsong Church without understanding the church’s main message or even listening to a service. Through commodification, the Church’s message, values and teachings may be lost in the popularity of owning a Hillsong product. Listening to the Church’s music or working out with the Church’s water bottle may simple be apart of the eclectic mix of religious practices individuals embrace in their lives without fulling understanding or believing in purpose (Carete and King, 89)

Why the Movie?

The Hillsong movie may actually be a way of informing people about their message. It may a way to correct any misgivings or misconceptions that people, who only know the Church by name or by the products it sells, have formed. If it is produced well, the Church’s main message will be the focus and it will turn fans of of the very popular music that is sold online or searchable on Youtube.com, into legitimate, informed believers or followers of the Church. This could be a great thing that could drum up support and perhaps even expand it further into the North American, Central American and European markets. The only question is will people go?

This is literally the million dollar question. The trailer for the Hillsong movie reminded me a lot of the day in the life type movies released by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and One Direction. Though these are popular musicians, their movies were not very well produced or the highest grossing films of all time by a long shot. Justin Bieber’s Believe released in 2013 only grossed 6 million dollars world wide (Box Office Mojo). Considering it cost more than 5 million dollars to produce the film, it earned less than a million dollars in profit, well short of what he would have earned from a tour or releasing a CD(Box Office Mojo). If the movie flops at the box office, it could do more harm then good. Millions of people go to the theatre where the movie is well advertised on signs and in trailers, thereby introducing to people to the idea of Hillsong without actually visiting the Church or watching a Sermon. However, again, people may take away the wrong message. They may think it is a Christian band or they may misinterupt or draw premature conclusions about the messages of the Church. This could potentially harm the Church’s goal of spreading the word of God by introducing people to God by bringing them into their church.

A Paradox

It is interesting, if not ironic, that throughout these blog posts I find myself writing how traditional religion is having a declining influence on popular culture, like television shows, and why there is a need redefine religion. However, here you have an arguably more traditional religious group, who have used media to help maintain their influence and reach more people. On the other hand, I find myself now writing about how selling spirituality is actually a negative thing because it diminishes the power of the message. Therefore, religious groups are put between a rock and a hard place because if they do not reach out using media, they have a declining importance and impact on society. Yet if they use media as a tool, they are accused of commodifying a religion. So what are religious groups to do?

Check out the Hillsong website to find out more.

References

Box Office Mojo. Believe. 2012. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=believe.htm

Carrette, Jeremy and Richard, King. “Spirituality and the Privatisation of Asian Wisdom Traditions.” In Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion, 87–122. London: Routledge, 2005.

The Hillsong Church. http://hillsong.com/

Wikipedia. “Hillsong Church”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsong_Church