Investigative Animal Rights Documentary 'Christspiracy' Aims to Expose a "2,000-Year Cover-Up"

The Gist:

• Filmmakers Kip Andersen and Kameron Waters continue the Spiracy documentary franchise (Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy, What the Health) with upcoming film Christspiracy.
• The investigative documentary examines the exploitation of animals in religious and spiritual contexts, exposing secrets of the church in the process.
• After buying its rights back from Netflix, Christspiracy became a controversial and uncensored Kickstarter project — and it will debut in movie theaters in March 2024.

Boasting an intriguing tagline, "the documentary they don't want you to see," upcoming film Christspiracy: The Spirituality Secret sets out to enlighten, educate, and shock hyper-curious viewers. Promising to expose a "2,000-year cover-up," controversial filmmakers Kip Andersen and Kameron Waters direct their attention to religion and spirituality and the contradictory upholding of animal exploitation. Said cruelty continues "despite compassion being the one core principle in all world religions," as mentioned on the film's Kickstarter page.

Before being a Kickstarter project, Christspiracy was set to release on one of the world's biggest streaming platforms. Since Andersen and Walters weren't willing to censor even a second of their sacred message, their documentary became the first film to have its rights bought back from Netflix.

Christspiracy aims to be "more than a movie." In fact, "it's a movement."

Kip Andersen and Kameron Waters assure Christspiracy "will change the way you think about faith, ethics, and our relationship with animals, forever." That's a big promise, but Kip Andersen has changed viewers' minds in the past, transforming them into dedicated vegetarians, vegans, animal rights activists, and all around health-conscious and inquisitive individuals.

Andersen co-produced and co-directed 2014's Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret — a documentary about the hushed environmental devastation caused by animal agriculture — and 2017's What the Health — a documentary about government and big business corruption and how it impacts American health — alongside documentary filmmaker Keegan Kuhn.

He also produced 2021's Seaspiracy, which highlights the environmental effects and the sinister secrets of the global fishing industry.

Andersen's projects are marketed superbly, as viewers are curious to know the dark secrets of the industries they support every day. No one wants to be kept in the dark, especially in situations involving our money, our health, and our home — aka Mother Earth. Christspiracy shines a light on our faith.

The five-year journey began when Waters — once a gospel songwriter — asked thought-provoking questions during a Cowspiracy Q&A: "Is there a spiritual way to kill an animal? I'll put it this way, how would Jesus kill an animal?"

Andersen and Waters call this creative meet-cute "a divine chance encounter." From there, the two activists set out to answer the question and expand the Spiracy legacy.

"Whereas our previous films focused on the environment and health, this one dives deep into the spiritual and ethical aspects of our relationship with animals in a way never seen before," Andersen says in the official Christspiracy trailer.

The film sees Andersen and Waters travel the globe as they interview theologians, archeologists, Christian farmers, and Indigenous shamans, many of whom get flustered, uncomfortable, and aggravated by their forward questioning. Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism — no religion is safe from examination in Christspiracy.

Christspiracy debuts in movie theaters on March 20, 2024. You can check out showtimes and buy tickets on the Christpiracy website.

This is in large part, thanks to the film's Kickstarter, which raised more than $433,000, greatly surpassing its $300,000 goal.

"A percentage of all 'pay-it-forward' proceeds from the film release will go to animal rescues and tree-planting former livestock ranches," Waters stated in the Kickstarter video.

With a goal of reaching ultimate virality and "1 billion views to save billions of lives," Christspiracy certainly has a holy mission.

This article, originally published on Nov. 13, 2023, has been updated to include information about Christpiracy's release date.