Making Comedy Independent of Religious Context

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The comedy performed by the speakers at events was light-hearted and separate from any religious context. Their sketches did not aim to make points about Jesus, but were clean and devoid of cursing, leading others to assume they might be Christians or Mormons. By creating comedy that could stand alone without the Christian setting, the speakers inadvertently laid the foundation for their future success. Their early sketches and videos, disconnected from the religious themes, were the first uploaded to YouTube.

Best friends Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal started out as “comedians for Christ,” and grew their partnership into one of the most successful YouTube platforms in existence. During college they created silly videos and songs for Christian events, and later built a following on YouTube before most people knew what it was. After struggling to find stardom in Hollywood, they continued to build a presence on YouTube: sampling punishingly hot peppers, writing ear-wormy songs about random things, showing off glasses that turned the world upside down. Nowadays, their entertainment company, Mythical, reports over 75 million subscribers and 25 billion lifetime views.

This episode was produced and researched by Katherine Sypher with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei.

It was edited by Neva Grant.

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