Religious Discrimination in Media: How Catholics Are Portrayed in American Entertainment
An analysis of bias, representation, and the need for balanced religious storytelling.
There's a scene in Apple TV+'s Your Friends & Neighbors that crystallizes something deeply troubling about anti-Catholic sentiment in modern American entertainment. Two characters break into what appears to be a Catholic church, open the tabernacle, remove the ciborium containing consecrated hosts, and proceed to eat them like crackers—dipping them in jam for good measure.
One character smirkingly holds up a communion wafer and calls it "the Body of Christ" before consuming it as a snack.
This isn't accidental. This isn't ignorance. This is calculated mockery.
The Pattern We Can't Ignore
Hollywood's relationship with Catholicism has always been complicated, but something has shifted in recent years. What was once occasional irreverence has become systematic derision. The faith that built hospitals, schools, and charitable institutions across America—the faith practiced by roughly 70 million Americans—has become acceptable target practice for writers' rooms and streaming platforms.
The Your Friends & Neighbors scene is particularly egregious because it serves no narrative purpose. The dialogue could have occurred anywhere. The characters could have shared their intimate moment in a park, a coffee shop, or an empty office building. The choice to stage it in a Catholic church, with deliberate desecration of what Catholics believe to be the actual Body of Christ, was made for one reason: to provoke and mock.
This matters beyond hurt feelings or religious sensitivities. This is about the normalization of bigotry against the largest religious denomination in America.
The Double Standard Problem
Imagine if Your Friends & Neighbors had depicted characters invading a mosque and mocked Islamic prayer rituals. The response would be swift, unanimous, and devastating. The show would be canceled. Executives would be fired. Public apologies would flow like water.
But when it's Catholics? When it's the Eucharist, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls "the source and summit of the Christian life"? When it's a deliberate attack on beliefs held sacred by nearly a quarter of all Americans?
Silence from Apple. Business as usual for Hollywood.
Why Catholics Have Become Acceptable Targets
The targeting of Catholics in American media isn't random. It's strategic. Catholics represent a safe target for several cultural and political reasons:
First, the institutional failures. The sexual abuse scandals have provided cover for broader anti-Catholic sentiment. Legitimate criticism of institutional failures has morphed into acceptable bigotry against ordinary believers. The crimes of some have become justification for mocking the faith of millions.
Second, the political positioning. The Catholic Church's positions on abortion, same-sex marriage, and traditional sexual ethics put it at odds with progressive cultural values. In an increasingly polarized environment, religious beliefs become political positions, and political positions become fair game for attack.
Third, the perceived power. Catholics are seen as institutionally powerful—they have universities, hospitals, and political influence. This perceived power makes them seem like acceptable targets rather than a vulnerable minority deserving protection.
Fourth, the forgiveness factor. Catholics are taught to turn the other cheek, to forgive, to respond to hatred with love. This Christian virtue becomes a practical vulnerability. Other groups fight back more aggressively. Catholics pray more and protest less.
The American Catholic Pope Factor
The reality of an American pope adds another layer to this cultural dynamic. For the first time in Church history, an American ascended to the papacy.
An American pope should fundamentally alter the media landscape around Catholicism in this country. Suddenly, the same entertainment industry that casually mocks Catholic beliefs would find itself in the awkward position of ridiculing a faith led by a fellow American, potentially someone from their cultural sphere.
The Catholic faith has a tradition in this area. Saint John Paul II possessed a literary and entertainment background.
The entertainment industry should pay particular attention to this possibility, especially given the precedent of Pope John Paul II. Before becoming pope, Karol Wojtyła was deeply embedded in the world of literature and theater. He was a playwright, poet, and actor who understood the power of narrative and performance. He wrote plays like "The Jeweler's Shop" and poetry that grappled with human dignity, love, and faith. He knew firsthand how stories shape culture and consciousness.
John Paul II's theatrical background informed his papacy in profound ways. He understood staging, timing, and the dramatic power of gesture. His papal visits were masterclasses in cultural communication. He knew that entertainment and art weren't peripheral to faith—they were central to how people understand themselves and their relationship to the divine.
An American pope should bring similar cultural fluency, but with an even deeper understanding of American entertainment specifically. Unlike John Paul II, who had to learn American cultural rhythms, an American pope would already speak the language of Hollywood, Broadway, and streaming platforms. They would understand not just the artistic possibilities, but the commercial imperatives, the audience expectations, and the cultural codes that drive American entertainment.
Suddenly, the same entertainment industry that casually mocks Catholic beliefs would find itself in the awkward position of ridiculing a faith led by someone who might have grown up in their own industry, attended the same film schools, or worked in the same creative circles. The entertainment establishment that treats Catholic doctrine as fair game for mockery would have to grapple with the reality that the global leader of their target faith might be someone who understands their world better than they understand his.
More significantly, an American pope should command a different kind of media attention. American journalists and entertainers couldn't dismiss papal statements as the musings of an out-of-touch European. Every encyclical, every major address, every policy position would carry the weight of American cultural relevance. The cognitive dissonance of mocking a religion led by an American, potentially one with entertainment industry credentials, would be harder to sustain.
This prospect should concern Hollywood executives who have built entertainment models around casual anti-Catholic bigotry. Because an American pope shouldn't just change how the Vatican relates to American culture—it would change how American culture is forced to relate to Catholicism. Just as John Paul II used his artistic background to revolutionize papal communication, an American pope could leverage intimate knowledge of American entertainment to challenge the industry's anti-Catholic assumptions from within their cultural framework.
Perhaps that's why the mockery feels so urgent now. There may be a cultural clock ticking, and the entertainment industry knows it.
The Cost of Silence
Josh Mercer of CatholicVote sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook requesting the removal of the offensive episode. Apple hasn't responded. This silence speaks volumes about how seriously major corporations take anti-Catholic bigotry.
But the cost of a silent citizenry is higher.
When we don't respond to deliberate mockery of sacred beliefs, we signal that such treatment is acceptable. We teach our children that faith is something to be ashamed of rather than proud of. We allow the narrative that Catholics are backward, superstitious, and unworthy of basic respect to go unchallenged.
Most importantly, we fail to protect the religious liberty that our founders considered the first freedom, not just the freedom to believe, but the freedom to believe without being subjected to systematic ridicule and contempt.
Beyond Offense: The Bigger Picture
Earlier mocking was offensive, but there is now a step beyond earlier examples.
Both Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" generated significant anti-Catholic controversy, but Madonna's "Like a Prayer" is arguably more offensive from a Catholic perspective.
Madonna's "Like a Prayer" (1989) is likely the most offensive because:
The Vatican called the religious imagery blasphemous, and urged Christians to boycott her Blond Ambition tour when it came to Italy the following year
The Vatican banned it, and Pope John Paul II encouraged fans to boycott Madonna in Italy
Years later, the "Vogue" singer lied that the Catholic church excommunicated her
The music video mixed sacred Catholic imagery with sexualized content and burning crosses
It was real enough for Pepsi to withdraw financial support - they canceled a $5 million endorsement deal
Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" (1977) was controversial but perhaps more insidious, sung as pleasantly as it is:
"When I wrote 'Only the Good Die Young,' his excuse was that the song wasn't so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust," Billy Joel said
The single off Joel's 1977 album "The Stranger" drew the ire of some Catholics across the country, particularly the Archbishop of St. Louis
The song was about trying to seduce a Catholic girl away from her faith, and mocked standard Catholic practices
Madonna's "Like a Prayer" stands out as arguably the most offensive anti-Catholic musical source because it directly prompted Vatican condemnation, papal boycott calls, and falsely claimed excommunication - a level of institutional Catholic response rarely seen for popular music. The combination of sacred Catholic imagery with sexual content crossed lines that even Billy Joel's offensive lyrics did not.
This isn't ultimately about hurt feelings or wounded pride. It's about the kind of society we want to live in. Do we want a culture where the sincere religious beliefs of 70 million Americans can be mocked for entertainment? Where do the most sacred elements of a faith tradition become props for cheap laughs?
Do we want corporations like Apple, which markets itself as inclusive and diverse, to profit from content that would be considered hate speech if directed at any other religious minority?
The Your Friends & Neighbors incident is a symptom of a larger disease: the acceptable bigotry that has found a home in American entertainment culture. Left unchecked, this kind of systematic mockery doesn't stay contained to one faith community. It spreads. It normalizes. It becomes the standard.
What Comes Next
The response to anti-Catholic bigotry can't just be letters to CEOs or calls for boycotts, though those have their place. The response has to be cultural, sustained, and strategic.
Catholics need to tell their own stories better. We need to create compelling content that shows the beauty, complexity, and humanity of faith traditions. We need to support Catholic artists, writers, and filmmakers who can offer counter-narratives to the stereotypes and caricatures.
We need to engage more seriously in the culture wars, not as angry protesters but as confident advocates for beliefs and values. We need to show up in writers' rooms, production companies, and executive suites.
Most importantly, we need to stop accepting the premise that religion deserves less respect than other points of view. We need to demand the same courtesy extended to every other religious tradition in America.
The characters in Your Friends & Neighbors treat the Eucharist like a snack. The writers treat Catholic beliefs like a punchline. Apple treats Catholic concerns like background noise.
It's time for Catholics to treat dignity like something worth defending.
Because if no one defends religious freedom, no one else will.
Mick, The Doctor of Digital Book Doctor 🚨 I Diagnose Why Manuscripts Die & Revive Them Into Authority-Building Books | Literary CPR for Thought Leaders & Visionaries
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