Best movies like The Church

A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters - Brea, an introspective pastor's daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea's best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time. Tensions and buried feelings abound, as colleges are chosen and adults behave badly, as Brea, Laura and Tim attempt to hang onto what they have, all the while yearning to break free.

The Next Voice You Hear... (1950) is a drama film in which a voice claiming to be that of God preempts all radio programs for days all over the world. It stars James Whitmore and Nancy Davis as Joe and Mary Smith, a typical American couple. It was based on a short story of the same name by George Sumner Albee.

When crooks set up operations in a traditional town, a minister and a group of church ladies are willing to do anything, no matter how wacky, to get them out.

Just as church services are letting out, a shabbily-dressed stranger is run over by an automobile in front of the church. The stranger is helped mentally and physically by the minister and congregation members, who help him regain his self-confidence and also to accept the death of his wife as she was about to embark from Europe, as a displaced person, to join him in America.

John Burrows, an ordained minister from a small village in the East, envisions himself with a larger congregation. He is mortified when his wife drunkenly interrupts a sermon, then despondent after her suicide. Burrows travels to Los Angeles for a fresh start, but takes to the bottle himself and ends up arrested for public intoxication. A skid-row con man, Gandy, finds him a bed at a flop house, while a street preacher, Doc Thorssen, and daughter Christine take him to a local mission. Christine is blind. She falls in love with Burrows, enjoying his discussions of the spirit and the soul but knowing little of his past. One day she is struck by a streetcar and knocked unconscious, causing Burrows to once again question his faith. He ultimately accepts the Lord's will and is offered a better place to live and preach. Burrows decides he is better suited to the mission, with Christine by his side.

Canadian director Catherine Annau's debut work is a documentary about the legacy of Pierre Trudeau, the long-running Prime Minister of Canada, who governed during the 1970s. The film focuses particularly on Trudeau's goal of creating a thoroughly bilingual nation. Annau interviews eight people in their mid-30s on both sides of the linguistic divide. One tells of her life growing up in a community of hard-core Quebec separatists, while another, a yuppie from Toronto, recalls believing as a child that people in Montreal got drunk and had sex all day long. Annau has all of the interviewees discuss how Trudeau's policies affected their lives and their perceptions of the other side, in this issue that strikes to the heart of Canada's national identity.

After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.

The continuing adventures of the barbers at Calvin's Barbershop. Gina, a stylist at the beauty shop next door, is now trying to cut in on his business. Calvin is again struggling to keep his father's shop and traditions alive--this time against urban developers looking to replace mom & pop establishments with name-brand chains. The world changes, but some things never go out of style--from current events and politics to relationships and love, you can still say anything you want at the barbershop.

A pastor with a shady past moves into a rural town just after the Civil War.

Ephraim Cabot is an old man of amazing vitality who loves his New England farm with a greedy passion. Hating him, and sharing his greed, are the sons of two wives Cabot has overworked into early graves. Most bitter is Eben, whose mother had owned most of the farm, and who feels who should be sole heir. When the old man brings home a new wife, Anna, she becomes a fierce contender to inherit the farm. Two of the sons leave when Eben gives them the fare in return for their shares of the farm. Meanwhile, Anna tries to cause some sparks by rubbing up against Eben.

Part documentary, part expose, this film follows one-time child evangelist Marjoe Gortner on the "church tent" Revivalist circuit, commenting on the showmanship of Evangelism and "the religion business", prior to the start of "televangelism".

An evil corporation tries to pressure a bunch of Arkansas farmers and ranchers to sell their land so they can strip-mine it for coal. The fiercely proud and stubborn Hunter family refuse to give in. This leads to a bitter conflict that results in several casualties. Eventually the take-charge no-nonsense Tom Hunter exacts a harsh revenge on the villains with the help of his bow and arrow.

Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND, depicts the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.

A look at the "Hell House" performed annually in October by the youth members of Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb) — seen by over 10,000 visitors each year.

A bored insurance salesman quits his job to go into politics. He first starts preaching about how man is greater than he thinks and that man can live forever. He ends up forming his own political party, "The Eternal Man" party. He begins to be referred to as "God". Then he starts having doubts about the eternalness of man.

Following up on his 2007 documentary, The Most Hated Family in America, Louis Theroux returns to Topeka, Kansas, for a week-long visit with the Westboro Baptist Church. He again joins the Phelps family on their controversial pickets where they try to antagonise communities with offensive slogans and anti-gay placards. But four years on from Louis's last visit, there are signs of disarray in the Phelps clan. A series of defections of family members has shaken up the church.

Documentary tracking the exploits of aging Calvinist preacher Fred Phelps, a convicted felon who leads his cult (primarily composed of his wife, nine of their children, and his fifty-two grandchildren) on their "love crusades" across America, which include calling for gays to be killed, praising terrorist attacks, mocking mourners at the funerals of AIDS patients and murder victims, and literally dancing and spitting on the graves of his enemies.

A study on a small Pentecostal congregation in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. Explores the individual experiences of Pentecostal Christians at the Scrabble Creek Holiness Church, in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. The documentary includes faith healing, snake handling, speaking in tongues, preaching, gospels and singing. Pentecostal Christians may also be described as "Charismatic." Pentecostals include Protestant Christians who believe that the "manifestations of the Holy Spirit" are alive, available, and experienced by modern day Christians.

A minister from the Deep South is assigned a new parish and moves with his wife to a town in Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains, where he tends to the spiritual and emotional needs of his small flock.

When Polly Fisher, a circus aerialist, is hurt while performing, she is taken to the house of a nearby minister, John Hartley. As she recuperates, they fall in love with each other and secretly marry. But when the truth leaks out , John's congregation rebels at having a circus woman as their minister's wife, and he is fired. Polly decides to leave John in hopes of giving back to him the calling that means so much to him. But fate steps in and rearranges all plans.

Good natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Rev. Biggs prays to God for help - and help arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.

In the small Southern community of Twin Pines, GA, lives Noah Dearborn, a master craftsman and farmer who cherishes his solitude almost as much as the local townspeople cherish him — especially restaurant owner Sarah McClellan. But when greedy real estate developers set their sights on Noah's land and he rejects their six-figure offer, this taciturn man is forced to summon all his strength in order to defend not only his property and way of life, but his sanity.

Reverend Robert Gibbs is a young, hip pastor who temporarily takes over the helm of a Fundamentalist Baptist church while his predecessor Reverend Matthews recovers from a stroke. While trying to impress Reverend Matthews, Gibbs has to win the approval of his congregation, the Deacon board, and most importantly Reverend Matthews? daughter Divine, who has recently lost her faith in God.

Fifteen years ago, their Washington Heights neighborhood was dubbed the crack-cocaine capital of the world, but today it is transforming into one of the most vibrant, Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. While the drug dealers continue to disappear, their violent legacy still casts a shadow over the neighborhood and its residents. Junior, an ex-convict struggling to get his life back on track, is a product of this legacy. His younger brother Manny, the salutatorian of his high school class, embodies the hope of the future. On the night of his graduation party, Manny finds himself faced with an ill-fated decision that could change his life forever

In the grand tradition of the lone hero who mysteriously appears in a town desperate for help (think "Shane, "Billy Jack", "James Bond" and "Chinese Connection"), having survived a war and now serving the government as an undercover agent, Danny Silva takes on his biggest foe yet: the street gangs that have taken over his neighborhood. Unwilling to play by the rules set down by the criminals, Silva forgoes the use of guns and decides to battle the thugs with the strength of his fists, spirit and willpower, turning himself into a real-life, modern-day superhero. Packed with pulse pounding, adrenaline-filled action; "Latin Dragon" gives us our first mainstream Latino martial arts action hero.

A man confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse as a boy by a Catholic priest only to find his decision shatters his relationships with his family, community and faith.

Miriam and Dave Lapp are a charming young couple with a brood of adorable children. Dave works in and part owns a construction company. They are also members of the 'Old Order' Amish community in Pennsylvania,whose church forbids all technology - though Dave gets lifts to work in a car and the couple,by allowing themselves to be filmed,risk the wrath of church elders. Having outlined their traditional life-style to camera Miriam persuades several friends to be happily filmed and it becomes clear that the Lapps and other,younger Amish,believe that,having been rebaptized to allow a more open evangelical approach - risking excommunication thereby - they feel the need for a change in the community. The film ends as the family consolidates its dream to own their own farm.

Heated confrontations and revelations result when a divorcee returns with her young son to the home of her two sisters.

This heart warming film is about a dog named Cooper who is the lone survivor of a terrible car accident. Jake, a family patriarch, loses his wife and children in the accident. Not being a dog person, Jake is angry and resentful toward the dog for even surviving. However, eventually Jake bonds with Cooper, and this bond ends up being the one thing that gets him out of bed in the morning, the one thing that helps him to go on living after such a tragic loss.

A spoiled schoolgirl, her overworked executive mother, and a disillusioned young minister each receives an uplifting message about friendship, commitment, and the truest meaning of Christmas from a friendly, but mysterious drifter.

Charlotte Hart, a distinguished journalist, is spending time with her family over the holidays when a real estate developer approaches their small town with quite an offer. Skeptical and looking for the real scoop, Charlotte drives to see the real estate head honcho to question him. While she's en route, she gets into a terrible car accident and wakes up in the hospital only to realize that her body is in a coma, but her spirit is very much awake. She meets another spirit, who just happens to be the greedy developer. It turns out that he was on the other end of the accident and he too is in a coma. With only a few days left before the town votes on the development, Charlotte must try to change the minds of the developer and the town, but that is no easy task when no one can see or hear her. Will her voice be heard?

On the hottest day of the year, an unknown virus spreads throughout inner-city Philadelphia. The infected victims, crazed by dehydration, begin attacking other residents of the neighborhood in gruesome ways. When the military is brought in to contain the situation, but realize they can't come up with a vaccine quickly enough, they fence off the area and let everyone die. A group of locals, stuck in the basement of their building, behind the fences, and separated from their family members, band together to try to survive.

The ghost of a recently deceased family patriarch tries to help his surviving relatives, in part by preventing a marriage that he knows will go wrong.

A working-class family fights a greedy developer for control of their neighborhood.

Alexandra Pelosi travels through the United States interviewing and filming several evangelical pastors and congregations.

Thomas Cromwell has gone down in history as one of the most corrupt and manipulative ruffians ever to hold power in England. A chief minister who used his position to smash the Roman Catholic church in England and loot the monasteries for his own gain. A man who used torture to bring about the execution of the woman who had once been his friend and supporter - Anne Boleyn. Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church at Oxford University, reveals a very different image of Cromwell. He describes Cromwell as an evangelical reformer, determined to break the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church and introduce the people of England to a new type of Christianity in which each individual makes direct contact with God.

Tiny meerkats survive in the harsh desert elements and follow the matriarch that is pressured to produce heirs and ensure the family's survival for generations to come.

Keith Allen visits Westboro Baptist Church to confront them about their extreme religious beliefs.

A devout Evangelical Christian struggles with his faith and against the insistent pressures from his family and community after a sudden and unexpected tragedy.

The Story of a boy and his bear.

Beautiful and precocious Rivka is a twelve-year-old Jewish girl who believes in Jesus. She and her father attend a Messianic Jewish congregation in their community. But when her father suddenly dies, Rivka's life changes forever. She ends up moving in with her traditional Jewish relatives and attending their synagogue. From her stormy relationship with her uncle, to a meeting with the synagogue’s senior rabbi, to the attention of the cutest boy in the synagogue, Rivka learns life lessons that stir her faith to new levels, touching the hearts of those whose lives she has reluctantly impacted. "The Sound of the Spirit" is the never-before-told story of a young girl caught in the crossfire of strong feelings between two faith communities. It’s told with humor, compassion, and grace.

When a homeless man interrupts the comfortable routine of First Church of Raymond, life will never be the same for the apathetic congregation. Convicted by the vagrant's words, Pastor Henry Maxwell, Rachel Winslow, Virginia Page, Alex Powers, and Jasper Chase are thrust into a journey of discovering what life is like beyond "Christianity as usual." But as they find themselves opposed by family strife, church politics, and scorned lovers, will they be able to keep their commitment, or will they be dragged back into fruitless lives?

The story of Sausalito's houseboat war and the struggle of the people to survive an onslaught by cops, lawyers and courts all stacked against them. Joe Tate and the Redlegs star as the ragtag leaders of the resistance.

A confident and unscrupulous minister begins a 'back to Africa' movement, proclaiming himself Emperor of the United States of Africa.

She watches him through the window as he loads the final pieces of furniture into the truck. They are counting down the last hours in their home. Their seven-month-old baby is asleep, unaware of the trouble brewing. They will either vacate the apartment peacefully, or they will be forcefully evicted. Their home, her father's legacy, used to be their safe haven, their family nest. Now, corrupt courts, greedy bankers, and unscrupulous real estate investors have turned it into a site of their worst nightmares. As tension rise, they struggle to preserve their relationship. In the morning, as police knocks on their door, their future seems uncertain, but their options are very clear: either accept injustice or show resistance.

After a roller-coaster accident kills a large party of school children the fair closes down. The owner vows to make amends by building a non-profit youth club filled with all the memorabilia he's had to remove from the now deserted fairground. An unscrupulous property developer Mark Shepherd, promises to finish the club for the old man as old age and illness has halted progress on the club. But once it's signed over to Shepherd he goes back on his word and proposes to change it into a lap-dancing club. All is going well, until a council planning officer arrives to inspect the building work and claims to be able to see the ghosts of the dead kids. The petrified developer refuses to believe her until one of the builders finds all the fairground paraphernalia behind a false wall, including a laughing clown. Then all hell breaks lose.

Silent romantic melodrama about a wife and mother who is desperate to keep a secret from the past IN the past, despite her husband's intentions to reveal it.

In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.

Documentary tracing the history of the Jewish people from the destruction of the temple in AD 70 to the modern-day nation of Israel. Through scriptural and historical evidence, DNA, mathematics, and testimony from rabbis and pastors, it attempts to answer the question, "Who are God's chosen people?".

An unflinching verité portrait of the children of Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia, an inner-city neighborhood where 90% of the students live below the poverty line. Seen through the viewpoint of devoted principal Deanna Burney, the film shows Stanton as grossly underfunded, understaffed, and filled with children struggling to overcome their difficulties. But for these at-risk kids, however, the hope for their future survives only in the success of their education. A captivating series of vignettes concerning children growing up outside the American dream, echoing current “hot-button” issues in our country’s ongoing political discussion.