Is it okay for Christians to watch secular movies, listen to secular music, and read secular books?

tangi · May 6, 2025, 4:17pm

Hello,
I have a question about watching secular movies, listening to secular music, and reading secular books? Is it okay to do as a Christian? I have asked this question to several different people, and all of them were able to back up their opinion with scripture. Each one was able to make a good point about their opinion. However, I am now more confused than I was before.
I appreciate any insight you can give me.
Tangi Lanning

Carson · May 7, 2025, 5:06pm

Hi @tangi,

That’s a great question. It’s also a complicated one.

The reason is that we need to think about this question from at least six different angles:

Character
Conscience
Culture
Context
Clarity
Community

But before we get started, I think we need to challenge the whole idea of secular vs Christian media.

In plain terms, how can a song be Christian? Only people can be Christians!

And, for instance, I’ve listened to many so-called Christian songs that didn’t align with what the Bible teaches. Just because a book references the Bible doesn’t mean it is helpful to me.

Conversely, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor is ‘secular’ instrumental music. But does that mean it doesn’t uplift the soul?

I understand what the words mean by referencing something as ‘secular’ or ‘Christian’ but perhaps they obscure as much as they clarify?

Let’s start with the character question.

This is simply asking the question, “Will listening to this song/movie/book help me develop into Christlikeness?”

For instance, consider watching the movie UP. It isn’t a “Christian” movie. But, it teaches — through story — wholesome lessons about keeping promises, grieving loss, and finding purpose.

I think it’s a worthwhile movie to see, enjoy, discuss, and remember with anyone—family, neighbors, friends, church members, etc.

On the other hand, there are movies which celebrate evil, immorality, and so on. At some point, nearly every Christian would say, “Ok, there is nothing redemptive in that content.”

At a minimum, I want recommend avoiding any cultural production that would lead me into temptation or outright participation in evil.

When I can, I would prefer works that inspire me to live like Jesus.

In between that range, there are many kinds of art that are beautiful, good, or fun. I think receiving these cultural productions as a gift, with gratitude, and enjoying them, is part of the richness of being human.

The second question is conscience. This is where each of us, based on our personalities, life experience, and preferences, will make different decisions.

For instance, some Christians are comfortable going to hear the symphony. Others would feel this is a frivolous waste of money that should be given to meet the needs of the poor.

For me, I think this is a question of conscience. We all have a responsibility to care for the poor. But does that mean it is wrong to also go to the symphony?

Paul addresses these questions in Romans 14:1-15:13. In short, he wants Christians to live in harmony with one another, so we can glorify God, even when we differ over disputable issues.

That means, in part, having the humility to recognize the difference between a strong personal conviction and a clear Biblical requirement, the love for our neighbor to not unnecessarily offend them with our choices, and the willingness to stick together in Christian friendship even when we have strong disagreements.

Another question is the issue of culture.

In some cultures, dancing, drinking and feasting are essential components of celebrating holidays. To attend someone’s wedding in ripped clothing, with earplugs to shut out the music, and a refusal to eat the choice foods that are served would be incredibly offensive.

In another context, to throw a wedding and expect everyone to dress up in clothes they can’t afford, dance to rock music they don’t like, and drink wine when they believe this to be sinful, would be equally offensive.

There are perhaps thousands of godly ways to host a wedding. But depending on who attends, some Christians would feel offended by how the wedding disrespects the bridge and groom, displeases God, or is otherwise inappropriate for disciples of Jesus.

Both our individual consciences and collective cultural understandings affect how we evaluate the legitimacy of ‘secular’ entertainment.

We also need to weigh the context

If I’m at the gym to work out, and the gym plays offensive music, is it sinful for me to go to the gym?

Let’s say the answer is yes. Then I’m stuck with the question of how do I exercise? What if a doctor tells me that if I don’t exercise, I’ll have a major heart attack?

Let’s say the answer is no, it’s okay to go. But over time, being at the gym leads me to start listening to vulgar music at other times, and eventually, starts to change my behavior.

But then I get a pair of earbuds and start to listen to spiritual songs when I’m at the gym…

But then I can’t have conversations with my friends at the gym who want to talk about Jesus with me…

Back and forth we can go with examples. What I’m saying is: it depends. How many millions of movies, books, and songs are there? How many different environments are they available? Who is there? What’s going on?

Any answer to this question requires a thoughtful evaluation of the specific details in this particular question.

The need for clarity.

Paul teaches us, “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

If we become anxious about every time we want to read a book, listen to the radio, or watch a TV show, how is that helping us to live in the kingdom of God?

At the same time, if we are indifferent to these matters, how will that demonstrate wisdom and spiritual maturity?

My point is that we need to keep the main thing the main thing. Each of us must seek to be led by the Holy Spirit into forming communities of righteousness, peace, and joy.

Can that include singing Happy Birthday? Some will say yes, that’s fine. Others will disagree, feeling that we should not idolize someone’s birth date when their spiritual lives are more important.

Can we eat a pizza with friends? Some will feel that’s not even a discussion that needs to be had. Others will feel this is an unhealthy and wasteful indulgence.

As we navigate this question, I want to remain clear on my primary objectives, and open-handed about the secondary or even tertiary questions that may not have a clear answer.

Finally, the role of community.

As a caveat, of course, if we’re embedded in a controlling, toxic, or manipulative community, this point is more harmful than helpful.

But assuming that we have some godly, kind, humble, and wise Christian friends, then community is a major asset.

Imagine you went to your small group and said, “Hey everyone, here’s what I just watched on Netflix, here’s my Kindle library, here’s my Spotify playlist, and here are the websites I visited. Can everyone tell me what they think?”

Would you be afraid of doing this? That’s an indication that you might be aware of some inconsistencies in your life. (Or that your community isn’t safe).

Or would you feel comfortable inviting your community to discern this question with you?

I’m sad that we often live so independently from one another. What would it look like to form deep, trustworthy, high trust relationships with each other, so we could process more of our lives together?

In conclusion…

It would be nice to have some straightforward rules! But I don’t think that’s possible; this question is too complex. Instead, I wanted to offer a framework that can help all of us to grow into wise, mature, confident followers of Jesus.

It’s like what Paul writes in 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.”

He doesn’t say “if anything uses lots of Christian words.” Instead, he references a broader sphere of virtues that, to my mind, can include both secular and ‘Christian’ media.

I don’t know a way to eliminate the complexity. Instead, we need some rough guidelines that help us to navigate through the complexity as followers of Jesus.

Instead of anxiety about following five thousand rules (Only G or PG movies, these PG-13 movies, and only these four R rated movies), our goal is to be formed by the Spirit to be like Christ for the glory of God.

We want to avoid both complete withdrawal from our cultures and cultural conformity. This means we need discernment, community, and God’s grace to live as ambassadors of Jesus.

I look forward to hearing from you and others as we learn from each other!

tangi · May 7, 2025, 10:19pm

Wow! What a remarkable response! Thank you so much for this clarity and wisdom. I literally feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my back! I feel… free… truly, I’m so grateful that you took the time to give me a complete and thorough response.
I’m a rule follower and somewhat of a black and white thinker so these types of questions can really cause me mental anguish.

I’m incredibly frustrated with my “growth” as a Christian; how can we differ so much in these situations. How do I know if I am going to the right church? My church is very welcoming and “fun”. I love worship music and our church has an amazing lead worship singer. It’s like going to a concert with other believers. They are really good at getting people through the door and baptized, but it kind of ends there. There is no further education. In small group we discuss the sermon topic; we usually talk about what we “got out of it”, then we take prayer requests, pray, and then eat some good food. Everyone seems to be satisfied with this, but I crave more.

Do you have any suggestions for what I should be looking for in resources?

Thanks for your time,
Tangi Lanning

Carson · May 8, 2025, 3:27pm

You are so, so welcome. Thank you for this encouragement. I really enjoyed thinking about your question!

I understand! What’s helped me is to focus on the ‘rules’ that Jesus gave us. For instance:

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:34-40)

Look, on the authority of Jesus, these two commands are the essential commands. Any and all and every other command only finds its moral force if it can be derived from these two commands. If you can’t figure out how a command helps you love God and love others, then it’s not being understood correctly.

People might disagree with me, but this isn’t liberal woo-woo stuff. It is the authoritative teaching of Jesus!

It sounds like your church specializes in hospitality, evangelism, and worship. Those are incredible gifts in the body of Christ. Praise be to God for the great work they are doing to introduce people to Jesus!

At the same time, it seems like they currently lack a clear pathway that enables people to become mature disciples in Jesus. This is one way that Uncommon Pursuit can be a helpful partner to you and your local church. We’re about to start our summer Growth Group (Growth Groups — Uncommon Pursuit) and of course we have the Academy (https://academy.uncommonpursuit.net/). And it’s completely free to ask any and all questions in this community.

I’d love for you to get more involved here, grow as a Christian, and over time, become a servant leader who can equip others in their spiritual journey at your church.