The portrayal of clergy, saints, missionaries, monks, and other spiritual leaders dates back to the very beginnings of motion pictures and television. Over the years, filmmakers have portrayed religious figures as heroes and villains, sinners and saints, and nearly everything in between. Through their works, filmmakers have influenced how society viewed these religious figures and, by extension, religion itself. This work details over 900 films and television series made from the 1890s through 2003 in which a religious figure plays a prominent or recurring role, or in which a character poses...

The teaching profession has a long history in motion pictures. As early as the late 19th century, films have portrayed educators of young children--including teachers, tutors, day care workers, nannies, governesses, and other related occupations--in a variety of roles within the cinematic classroom. This work provides a broad index of over 800 films which feature educators as primary characters. Organized alphabetically by title, each entry contains a short plot summary and many also include cast/crew details .