10 MORE Non-Religious Movies That Have A Spiritual Message

Way back in 2020, I released an article on 10 Non-religious movies that had spiritual messages. If you are curious, you can read that here. Being a huge fan of movies, I am not sure why I have not gotten back to this theme. However, I cannot help but see deeper meaning in movies as I watch them. A lot of these on the list just came out this year, so if you have not seen them yet, it will be fun to watch them with these spiritual lessons in mind.

This is actually an important way to view the world we live in. Everything you encounter in the books you read, music you listen to, movies, conversations, and experiences can all teach you about God, your relationship with Him, and how you live your life in relation to Him and others. There is deep meaning everywhere! Ask God for the gift of wisdom, to see the world how He sees it, and you will be amazed at the deep meaning you uncover.

It is especially within stories that we can uncover this meaning. As I said in my previous article, “Every story is modeled after the Greatest Story Ever Told in some way. Regardless of genre or medium, stories can symbolically resemble things of God. As a result, the Bible and any spiritual truth of the Faith are easily reflected in the books we read, the music we listen to, and the movies and shows we watch.”

This means that every movie can point us to God in some way. Let’s look at some of the examples I found.

1. Moana

Honestly, there are many great themes in this movie that we can talk about. However, I will just point out my favorite one about identity. Essentially, Moana’s people had forgotten about their true identity as sea-voyagers. Instead, they promoted the false tradition and identity that they were meant to stay on the island without ever going beyond the breaking waves. They truly believed the lie that they were not meant to leave their island. We can then also see the Ocean as a symbol of God who interacts with Moana and calls her to discover her true identity and sail across the sea to save her people. Furthermore, the movie mentions a “voice inside” Moana that helps her discover her true identity and purpose. This is definitely what God does with us as well as He also speaks to us in our hearts, reminding us “who we are”.

2. The Odyssey

While I loved the epic poem from Homer, The Odyssey that I am referring to here is the film from Christopher Nolan. Nolan made a few changes to reshape the story to show us quite a bit about ourselves, and I really appreciated what he did. The main message that I pulled from this movie is that our sins have consequences. In the movie, there is a lot of talk about people not following Zeus’ Law anymore. We see the suitors imposing upon Penelope and Odysseus’ property and acting without regard for Zeus’ Law. I believe that Nolan shows that this is a direct consequence of the disregard for Zeus’ law that Odysseus and other soldiers battling in the Trojan War showed first. Sin and selfishness tend to have a much greater effect than we realize and generally impact more than just those who sin. The order and morality of the world in the Odyssey is breaking down because of the soldiers’ sins committed during the Trojan War. We too must see that sin is never just personal. Even if it seems like we are the only people involved, we are somehow breaking down the morality of our world.

3. Project Hail Mary

This is my favorite movie of 2026 so far. Truly a fun, awe-inspiring movie that my whole family enjoyed (minus the 6-year-old who did not see it yet). We spent months talking about this one.

Truly, I see it as a cool retelling of the story of Jonah and the Whale. I don’t want to give anything away, but more will come to light with this once you watch it. However, I will say that in the very beginning, we see the main character, Grace, spewed from his sleeping chamber where he was in a medically induced coma. This is much like the whale spitting out Jonah in his story before he goes to preach to the Ninevites to eventually save them. A friend of mine also pointed out that the star that Grace is going to in order to save the world is called Tau Ceti. If you break it down, Tau being a cross, and Ceti being the passive form of whale, the two things that Jonah and Jesus go through to save others, things get deeper. In this way, Grace is a symbol of both Jesus and Jonah in each of their roles in salvation. Grace is going to save the world through the cross and the whale.

It’s also fun that the ship Grace travels in is called the Hail Mary, so essentially, what saves the world is the “Hail Mary full of Grace”.

4. The Mandalorian and Grogu

This movie received some negative pushback, but I honestly loved it. The show is quite a masterpiece as well. However, this movie had pretty much everything I liked about the show. There really is a lot more, but I will point out just a few themes. One, I loved the Ratta the Hutt character, who showed us that we always have a choice to choose good. Even if we have a family or friends that choose sin, we do not need to follow in their footsteps.

I also pointed out to my 10-year-old son how much Grogu (Baby Yoda) made me think of Baby Jesus, to which he responded, “Yeah, and the Mandalorian is St. Joseph”. I was blown away. I had not made the connection, but this story can point us in the direction of seeing how St. Joseph protected and cared for Jesus throughout his infancy and childhood. While Joseph did not have a blaster or a Starfighter spaceship, the analogy is still there. It’s also good to mention that I don’t think that baby Jesus did special tricks like make things float; I am merely pointing out that even as a baby, He was special and did have power.

5. Toy Story 5

I actually loved this film, which was creative and had some really great jokes. Not bad for a fifth installment. Now some might not see this as a spiritual message, but it truly is. The basis of the plot is that kids are starting to use technology and “screens” instead of good old-fashioned play to spend their time. It then shows us the problems that can come from this. I believe that this is a spiritual problem in that, while I think tech has its place in improving the world, there is a danger it imposes on the soul when we use it too much. The soul of the human person needs to encounter the things of the world around us, both physical and spiritual. More specifically, we are wired to experience other people in this way. Yes, sending a quick text to my wife about what to get at the grocery store is helpful, but my life would not be what it is meant to be if I only experienced other people through screens. Furthermore, the stimulation from tech can make it hard to escape using it too much, so often our prayer life and communication with God and others suffer due to our incessant attachment to it.

6. Die Hard

Whether you think this is a Christmas movie or not, this movie can still teach us about Christ in an analogous way. Just like Jesus entered into human life to save us from within our world, the main character, John McClain, who was an outside guest at the Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper, also saves the hostages from death. John does this by ridding the building of the terrorists who had taken over. One can say that Jesus did this after He arrived on Christmas morning. 33 years after His birth, Jesus frees humanity from the terrors of sin and death through His sacrifice on the cross. While his language was not as pure and uplifting as Christ’s, Officer McClain’s sacrifice to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of saving others does reflect Our Lord’s in a way that some might not find fun to watch. However, if anything, it’s always great to see Carl Winslow from Family Matters show up to help.

7. The Lion King

Another great Disney movie that teaches us about identity. In this one, Simba is poised to one day take his father’s place as king. Unfortunately, Simba thinks this means his identity is to be an undisciplined wild animal instead of an intentional, self-giving, and generous king who has mastered himself and chooses to put others before himself. After a traumatic incident, Simba flees to the jungle, where He lives a carefree life without discipline (exactly what he wanted) with new friends, Timon and Pumba. Unfortunately, though, this new life is killing him (lions cannot sustain on bugs) and his kingdom (Scar and the hyenas are depleting resources and viciously mistreating all members of the kingdom).

It is not until Simba has a mystical vision of his father in heaven, who tells him to remember who he truly is, that Simba is able to know his true self. This encounter inspires him to return to his kingdom as the hero he was meant to be. This is truly a great reminder to all of us that we too are made for more than a comfortable, aimless, and self-serving life.

8. Band of Brothers

Ok, so this is technically a show, but in my opinion this is truly the greatest piece of media ever produced. There are countless lessons to be pulled from this show that can help us with our spiritual lives. One that stood out to me was the profound love of neighbor that the men of Easy Company showcased. They fought and sacrificed for one another in incredible ways. This is especially seen when some men were injured and taken to the hospital, away from the front lines of battle.

More than a few of these men would break out of the hospital and find a way to return to the war so that their fellow soldiers would have the help they provided. Sometimes they would still be fairly injured. I equate this to the importance of staying in the state of grace. If we ever gravely sin, we lose the state of grace, and essentially we are removed from the battle. We must fight to go to confession to regain it and be the help that our brothers and sisters in Christ need!

9. Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars Episode 3)

“You were the chosen one!” What a great line. While they have their issues, truly I believe people were too hard on the Star Wars prequels. This movie especially shows us the dangers of allowing fear and hatred to creep into your life. We see Anakin Skywalker make some very seriously wrong decisions because his understanding of reality became blurred when he gave in to his fear and allowed his anger to influence him to hate.

Much like the Bible does with certain characters, this movie teaches by example, showing us what happens when someone gives in to the dark side and the terrible things that they can do when they lose themselves to this. It especially comes to light when you compare Anakin from this movie to the younger Anakin in Episode 1. The fear and hatred have drastically changed him and caused him to fully embrace evil and the death and destruction that comes with it.

10. The Wizard of Oz

Such a great movie that I believe has stood the test of time. In this movie, Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Lion are all looking for something they already have. During their journey to the Wizard, the Lion shows that he has courage, the Tin Man shows he has a heart, the scarecrow shows he has brains, and Dorothy discovers that she has the way to get home on her feet the entire time. This is a profound lesson to help us see that we already have everything we need in life as well. We have Jesus who will provide and guide us in all circumstances. Stay close to Him and He will bring good to you always. Just like the answers for each of the Oz characters was already within them, so too do you already have Jesus already within you.

These are just a few more of the many movies that I have seen that, in their stories and imagery, can bring us beautiful messages of the Faith. If you have any others that you find inspiring or teach great lessons, we would love to hear about them. Please share them by emailing us at [email protected].