The Gospel on program sales according to religious TV. (Higher Talling).

In an age when all things godly are either shunned or fanatically embraced -- even the U.S Supreme Court is currently debating whether or not state sponsored school vouchers can used for religious schools -- the Virginia-based National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) seems to the voice of reason for a growing television niche.

NRB is an association of international Christian broadcasters that consists of more than 1,300 evangelical radio and television stations, program producers and multimedia developers. At their annual conference, which took place February 16-19 in Nashville, Tennessee, mote than 200 of these broadcasting companies, with a record attendance of 6,000 participants, gathered to swap ideas, share experiences, make program sales, and most importantly, gather contacts.

NRB began in 1944 and quickly made a name for itself by lobbying the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to change what it deemed "unfair and unequal distribution of air time." At that time, many radio networks adhered to a policy known as sustaining time," in which free air time was distributed to selected religions. The U.S. National Council of Churches was the organization that the networks entrusted with making air time available to Protestants, but since evangelicals did not consider themselves Protestants, they were supplied with little or no air time at all.

Providing content to religious-themed channels is different than for general-audience broadcasters. Rarely do they venture out on the open market for shows. Most prefer to produce their own programs. Case in point: executives at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Inspiration Networks (INSP), were irate when ABC News broadcast a special titled The Search for Jesus, which, in their view, came to many controversial conclusions about Christ, including: Jesus wasn't born in Bethlehem; his temptations in the wilderness were nothing more than delusions; and his body was eaten by dogs, not buried in a tomb, as is widely believed. Their outrage led to the production of Real Answers: Jesus, The Search Continues, a series of specials that delved further into the questions raised by ABC.

Ron Shuping, vp of programming at INSP, which reaches 17 million viewers on 1,350 cable systems worldwide, explained INSP's programming choices: "[We] receive a steady barrage of tapes and information from independent producers. The selection process for INSP is based on what is best [suited for] our kids, teen and Saturday night blocks. In the past, we acquired a lot of programs and series; however, we are entering into an era when we will produce most of the shows for the 14 hours [we program] each week. The main requirement for [our] programming is that it be either inspirational or evangelical, preferably both. We have no interest in general entertainment because everybody else does that."

Scott Hults, director of communications at Irondale, Alabama-based Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, concurred: "A large majority [of our programming] is produced in our studios," he said. "Priests and theologians host teaching programs, which are basically talking heads." EWTN also airs a mass from Santiago, Chile each Sunday. The network, which was founded in 1981 by Mother Angelica, a Catholic nun, now has the distinction of being the largest religious media network in the world, broadcasting 24 hours a day to more than 70 million TV homes in 38 countries.

The bulk of their shows are produced in-house but, according to John Elson, manager of Spanish acquisitions at EWTN, that is certainly not always the case. EWTN recently bought Mundo Catolico (Catholic World), a 16episode documentary series in which a priest tours famous apparition sites while providing an oral history of Roman Catholicism. The series, which premieres this month, was purchased For $30,000 as a package from Hombre Nuevo, the Los Angeles communications wing of Legionaries of Christ, a collection of Roman Catholic priests. EWTN is currently in negotiations Nith Editorio Casals for an as yet untitled show about a group of kids in an urban environment, that will blend documentary, animation and film. 'We're looking at $5,000 per half-hour episode," said Elson. It's an ambitious project for a network that is used to lower-budget programs.

Unlike the commercial TV sector, most religious broadcasters are supported solely by viewer donations. "Since we're funded by one core audience, we definitely don't have unlimited funds, so we're also looking into co-productions," said Elson. One such joint venture is El Fe en el Mundo (Faith in the World), a talk show from Argentina that takes an in-depth look at religious Catholics with varying professions. EWTN is co-producing eight episodes of the show with Hombre Nuevo, costing it about $3,000 per episode.

Religious broadcasting continues to experience revenue and ratings growth, while other networks are experiencing budget cuts and audience fallout. And with all that's been going on in the world lately --September 11th, the war on Afghanistan, political unrest in Argentina -- one thing's for sure, said Elson: "people [are starting to] appreciate our programming now more than ever."