New documentary looks at the changing face of Christian churchgoing

A four-part documentary series titled Christianity at a Crossroads begins airing Thursday, Oct. 1, on public television stations across the United States. Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier produced the series to examine the current state of congregational church life in America, a period marked by flatlined growth, declining religious participation among younger generations, and various denominational scandals.

The series, funded by the Lilly Endowment, features portraits of churches to illustrate modern Christian expressions. Examples include a closing 120-year-old United Methodist Church in rural Michigan, a Catholic church in New York’s Greenwich Village filled with young adults, a growing network of house churches, and a segment on virtual reality church services.

Doblmeier, whose production company Journey Films has previously made documentaries on Catholic activist Dorothy Day and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, includes interviews with experts such as sociologist Ryan Burge, writer Russell Moore, and pollster Melissa Deckman.