Hollywood spent much of the 20th century demonstrating disdain for religion and the religious ... with some exceptions, of course.

But in the first decade of the 21st century, Hollywood is making a concerted effort to reach out to religion and the religious ... with some exceptions, of course.

There is a definite, concerted, if occasionally misguided effort to appeal to what the industry refers to as its "faith-based audience."

Call it a wake-up call. Hollywood has discovered that people who believe in God also go to movies.

But those people have also been growing weary of the religion-bashing that has been so prevalent in films ever since the mid-1960s, when the Production Code faded away and Hollywood adopted an "anything goes" mentality.

For these folks, there are now movies that embrace "belief." Such as "Evan Almighty," with Steve Carell's prayer being answered more literally than he expects. And "Bridge to Terabithia," where going to church each Sunday is simply a part of life. Both are rated PG.

This audience may also be growing weary of all the sexuality and foul language and graphic violence and lowest-common-denominator comedy that permeates movies.

For them, some films are being toned down a bit, such as the Stephen King horror film "1408" and the Bruce Willis sequel "Live Free or Die Hard." Both are PG-13s in an age when horror films have been trying to top each other in terms of shock and gore, and when the first three films in the "Die Hard" series were rated R.

So what we're seeing is a definite trend, although it doesn't mean we can say goodbye to Catholic-bashing or Mormon-bashing or generic religion-bashing. Those movies will still get made. (Witness "Georgia Rule" just last month, or next month's "License to Wed.")

And don't think that movies won't continue to be profane and vulgar and sexual and violent — even with PG and PG-13 ratings.

As for films that actually depict deity outside of a biblical-period context, the template is clearly "Oh, God!" — the 1977 comedy written by Larry Gelbart (from Avery Corman's novel) and directed by Carl Reiner. These guys took a potentially disastrous premise, treated it with respect and gave it heart. But they also made it very funny.

Leonard Maltin's annual "Movie Guide" says of "Oh, God!": "Film eschews cheap jokes to build a credible story with warm performances and upbeat message."

I can't predict what Maltin's book will say next year about "Evan Almighty," but it won't say the film eschews cheap jokes.

A sequel to "Bruce Almighty" (2003), "Evan Almighty" is about a new congressman whose campaign slogan was "Change the World," and who gets on his knees and prays to God for help. But, of course, when God (Morgan Freeman) shows up, Evan has a hard time accepting the job he's given.