Research Implications

George Barna, founder of BRG and director of the research, anticipates that many people will be surprised to learn that The Passion of the Christ has not had a more lasting and intense effect on those who saw it. "Immediate reaction to the movie seemed quite intense," he says, "but people's memories are short and are easily redirected in a media saturated, fast-paced culture like ours. The typical adult had already watched another six movies at the time of the survey interview, not including dozens of hours of television programs they had also watched."

One of the lessons to be learned here, Barna says, is that major transformation is unlikely to come about from a single exposure to a specific media product. In a cultural environment in which people spend upwards of 40 hours a week absorbing a wide range of messages from a variety of media, the researcher says, "it is rare that a single media experience will radically re-orient someone's life."

While these facts do not negate the potency or value of The Passion of the Christ and its message,  Barna says it does remind us that a single effort without adequate reinforcement is unlikely to result in a lasting effects. The Christian cultural analyst says media's greatest impact seems to come from constant exposure to a consistent message that is both well presented and personally relevant.

Still, Barna believes it is significant that 13 million adults said they changed some aspect of their typical religious behavior because they saw Gibson's biblically-themed film, and about 11 million people had some pre-existing religious beliefs altered as a result of the experience. "That's enormous influence," the researcher says. Ultimately, he contends, The Passion of the Christ cannot be faulted for failing to satisfy the "religious agendas that some people assigned to it."

And Barna adds, "More than any other movie in recent years, The Passion focused people on the person and purpose of Jesus Christ." In a society that "revolves on relativism, spiritual diversity, tolerance and independence," the researcher says galvanizing such a response is, in itself, a major achievement.

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Barna Research Group (http://www.barna.org)