Market Screening: Heathens

Over 80 million American adults, roughly one in three, hide their religious doubts or exaggerate their faith (Schnabel et al., 2024), often under pressure to conform.

Heathens follows five such Americans over three years: a stuntwoman, two former preachers, the frontwoman of alt-pop band Transviolet, and a Christian musician who meet at a secluded retreat in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Each has quietly left the religion that raised them, risking family, security and livelihood. Over a cathartic weekend of confessions, music and laughter, they resolve to reclaim their lives, taking back the slur "heathen" as a proud identity. They return home to learn, one by one, what the truth will cost them.

As Christian nationalism gains power, Heathens asks what happens when a politicized faith treats non-believers as enemies and traitors. The film moves from private closets to Charlottesville to January 6, showing where a culture of religious conformity can lead.

Warm, funny and unexpectedly hopeful, Heathens is about what becomes possible when people decide they do have a choice, and the realization that you are not alone.