This story contains spoilers about the movie “Sinners.”
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” earned $48 million domestically and $63 million globally as the top new film at the box office this weekend. But those numbers can’t fully quantify its cultural impact: the film has everyone sharing their opinions about the film’s overall message regarding race, creativity, and spirituality. One of the most vocal people to share his thoughts about the film is Lecrae, a Christian rapper whose music has earned him Billboard success and Grammy Awards.
In several posts on Threads, Lecrae said that while he admires the the film’s visual creativity, that he has issues with what he calls “anti-Christian propaganda.”
“From a filmmaking standpoint, it’s dope. Great visuals, storytelling, strong character development — definitely inspiring for young Black creatives. The time travel, cultural callbacks, and imagery are powerful,” he said. “But…I felt some anti-Christian propaganda.
“The film flips traditional vampire tropes — usually it’s crosses, holy water, and the church standing strong against evil. In this movie, Christianity is either irrelevant or oppressive, and power is found in African spiritual practices. Hoodoo, not the Holy Spirit, is the weapon of choice.”
He cites a scene where one of the main characters, Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore, says the Lord’s Prayer as he’s having trouble escaping the main villain, a vampire named Remmick. Remmick says the prayer along with him, and the other vampires join him by way of the hive mind. He then says that his irish ancestors had been forced into Christianity, but that the prayer still brings him comfort. At the end of the film, Moore not only escapes the vampire, but he also rebukes the attempts of his father, a pastor, to encourage him to abandon his music.
“The “Sinner’s Prayer” scene lowkey mocks the faith, and the church is portrayed more as a place of shame than sanctuary,” Lecrae wrote. “The voodoo priestess is the wise guide. And a character says something along the lines of, “Blues was created by us, not like gospel which was forced on us,” I was like daaang.”
Lecrae wondered if the film was Coogler’s attempt to “work through some church hurt” after his own experiences with Catholic schools and forced religion. But he didn’t let his own issues with the film make him attempt to dissuade other people from seeing it.
“It’s a BEAUTIFUL piece of work. So yeah, watch it — but go in with eyes wide open,” he wrote.. “He’s fighting evil with evil in the movie, and unfortunately Christianity takes the L for the sake of cultural empowerment. Beautifully shot. Spiritually conflicted.”
Lecrae ended his Thread by quoting escaped slave and abilitionist Frederick Douglass.
“As Frederick Douglass says about religion, there’s a difference between ‘the slaveholding religion of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ,” Lecrae wrote. “To be the friend of the one, is to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”
It looks like Lecrae is saying the corruption around Christianity doesn’t mean that the church has to be dismissed completely. But if you ask him, “Sinners” doesn’t allow that nuance.