A Quick Glance at the Relationship Between Religion and Entertainment
- A Writer for Christ
- Sep 17
- 4 min read
Image Credit: Media from Wix
I am highly fascinated by the relationship between Biblical Christianity, as a religion, and all the various areas of life (as well as the relationship between false religions and those same areas of life), because I have an unquenchable hunger to know how belief-systems shape human hearts and, consequently, human feelings, affections, and actions. So, in this post, I will give a summary and rough-draft treatment of how the Bible describes the relationship between religion and entertainment, which is one of the relationships that I’m intrigued to learn, from God’s own mouth, about the inner workings thereof. To do that, I will find and use two clear definitions for both “religion” and “entertainment.” Then, based on those definitions and Biblical data, I will summarily describe the relationship between religion and entertainment. So, let’s do this!
First, we must define “religion” and “entertainment.” So, we will first define “religion.” One of the times the term “religion” occurs in the Bible is James 1:27, which says: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (KJV). When I look up the meaning of the word translated “religion” in this passage, I find this definition: “ceremonial observance” [1]. While this definition, by itself, makes religion look like a very narrow area of life, we must remember that the passage we looked at, James 1:27, characterizes pure and undefiled religion before God the Father as visiting the fatherless and widows in their suffering and keeping one’s self unspotted by the world. This “ceremonial observance” encompasses more than is usually thought of when talking about such observances, including works that are often thought of as menial (attending to the fatherless and widows in their suffering) and dispositions that are to characterize the whole of our lives as Christians (being unstained [2] by the world). It is as though a Christian’s whole life is worship [3]. So, based on everything we have heard about religion here, we may define religion as “one’s life lived in service to his god.” And we know from the rest of Scripture that whatever we relate to in the way that the Biblical God commands that He exclusively be related to is our “god.” Biblical (i.e., true) Christianity is simply a Christian’s life lived in service to the one true God as his God. Now, secondly, we must define “entertainment.” According to Wikipedia’s “Entertainment” article, entertainment is “a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight” [4]. Put another way, a man’s entertainment is what he focuses on and receives joy from.
Second, we must, again summarily, describe the relationship between religion and entertainment. As we covered in the previous paragraph, Biblical Christianity being one’s religion means that, if one is a true Christian, he will live his life for God as though his life was one overarching ceremonial observance, or worship service, dictated by God and participated in for God. So, in this big worship service of life, does the Bible describe anything like entertainment, as we’ve defined it here? In other words, does the Bible describe experiences of what we should focus on and receive delight and pleasure from as Christians? After typing in “Bring up Bible passages that say what godly people should focus on and derive joy and pleasure from!” on ChatGPT, these are the Biblical passages it brought up:
1. Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
2. Colossians 3:1–2
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
3. Psalm 1:1–2
"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked... but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night."
4. Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
5. Psalm 37:4
"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
6. Nehemiah 8:10
"...Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
7. Psalm 16:11
"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
8. Romans 14:17
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
9. Galatians 5:22–23
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
10. 1 Timothy 6:6
"But godliness with contentment is great gain."
Again, these are the Biblical passages ChatGPT brought up for me. All these passages demonstrate to us the distinct nature of Christian entertainment, or what is fitting for Christians to give their attention to and to derive their joy and pleasure from. If you claim to be a Christian, is this what has your focus and gives you your happiness?
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment (accessed 09-16-2025)
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