Here are some excerpts from Professor Romanowski's essay. My commentary is italicized.

The Passion's numbers were an eye-opener for Hollywood. Now, movies with clear religious themes such as Constantine, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and even those without any sort of explicit Christian connection, such as Cinderella Man or The Greatest Game Ever Played, are being pitched by studios to reach the "Christian" market. More specifically, the target is those evangelicals who embraced The Passion with such enthusiasm. Consumers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on religious books and Christian-themed music. The film industry wants to cultivate this market. The problem Hollywood faces as it seeks to maximize this potential audience is that "evangelical" Christians are not easy to define.

I feel your pain. The term Evangelical broadly categorizes Christians with vastly different philosophies but, in theory at least, the same distinct theology. It is our inability to unify over the core beliefs that confuses our message.

A recent MarketCast study co-sponsored by Variety magazine found religious and non-religious people "nearly indistinguishable in their attitudes" about moviegoing, according to a Variety article reporting the results. In fact, these religious folks seem to have a penchant for the sentimental, the melodramatic and the violent (of course that puts them pretty much in the mainstream of American taste in entertainment).

Anyone who has criticized George Barna's research should send him an apology today. This is what Mr.Barna has been preaching for years. Our faith is making little difference in our day to day existence so our message falls on disinterested ears. Jesus should make a difference. When we show that others will listen.

People of goodwill ought to be concerned with the cumulative impact of a steady diet of American movies that often exalt self-interest as the supreme human value, glorify violent resolutions to problems, make finding the perfect mate one's primary vocation and highest destiny, and offer material prosperity as the most reliable source of meaning and satisfaction in this life. Such a value system arguably runs against the grain of most religious traditions.

Amen. And I believe that you can boldly go further than arguably goes against the grain. Such values go completely against the grain of the teachings of Jesus. Try sampling the Sermon on the Mount as a little example of how far those values stray from His.

Of course, filmmakers claim they're only giving people what they want.

Ouch. It hurts because it is true.

Were more evangelicals to think about movies in terms of their faith beliefs, they would actually have an opportunity to not only buy tickets, but also to begin to shape the entertainment industry.

Exactly. If we would support movies like End of the Spear instead of arguing about casting it would make a difference. Hollywood may be perceived as being godless in the evangelical sense but the studios and theaters worship the bottom line. If a movie like "End of the Spear" does well we (the Christian marketplace) will get more movies like that. And maybe the next one will pass our casting critiques. On some days I am sorely tempted to get the "Lord save me from your followers" bumper sticker.