Film history meets church history through the ritual of prayers Moments of prayer have been represented in Hollywood movies since the silent era appearing unexpectedly in films as diverse as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Frankenstein Amistad Easy Rider Talladega Nights and Alien 3 as well as in religiously inspired classics such as BenHur and The Ten Commandments. Here Terry Lindvall examines how films have reflected and sometimes sought to prescribe ideas about how one ought to pray. He surveys the landscape of those films that employ prayer in their narratives beginning with the silent era and moving through the uplifting and inspirational movies of the Great Depression and World War II the cynical antiestablishment films of the 60s and 70s and the scifi and fantasy blockbusters of today. Lindvall considers how the presentation of cinematic prayer varies across race age and gender and places the use of prayer in film in historical context shedding light on the religious currents at play during those time periods.God on the Big Screen demonstrates that the way prayer is presented in film during each historical period tells us a great deal about Americas broader relationship with religion.