IN GOD'S NAME, a primetime special produced in association with the acclaimed French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, will explore the complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of 12 of the world's most influential spiritual leaders. These diverse and powerful voices offer provocative, compelling and enlightening perspective on myriad issues in our post-9/11 world, including the rise of terrorism, fanaticism, intolerance and war. The special will be broadcast Sunday, December 23 at 9pm et/pt.

The program marks the first time that this distinct group of leaders has appeared in one broadcast. These spiritual beacons speak out about violence and hatred and reveal their own thoughts about faith, peace, unity, tolerance and hope. Viewers will see them in intimate settings, including their homes and personal places of worship. Ultimately, through the eyes of these 12 very different religious figures, the filmmakers discover the common ground among believers around the world. 

IN GOD'S NAME is produced in association with acclaimed French filmmakers and brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet.

On the day of the terrorist attacks in September 2001, the two were caught in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Jules was shooting inside when the South Tower fell. "On September 11, we faced death and thought we had lost each other," said Jules Naudet. "This harrowing experience was the first step in a journey that would take us around the world searching for answers to the meaning of life."

The brothers' quest took them to Egypt, England, India, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Russia and the Vatican, as well as Illinois and South Carolina. In regard to the 12 leaders selected for the special IN GOD'S NAME, Gedeon explained, "We chose [them] because of the vast number of believers--more than four billion--that their faiths represent....We also wanted to explore the diversity of spirituality in our world today."

The brothers' previous project, the documentary "9/11," won an Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special in 2002. Their first feature, "Hope, Gloves and Redemption," about young boxers in Spanish Harlem, took grand-jury honors in 2000 at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Born in Paris, both Jules and Gedeon are graduates of New York University's Film School.

The Project:

Who is God? What is death? What is worth dying for? How do you explain fanaticism and violence waged in the name of God? Candid responses and profound comments by the world’s great spiritual leaders are accompanied by magnificent, never-before-published images of these wise men and women, as well as ordinary people engaged in religious practices around the world. Their voices span geographical and theological distances yet come together to create a spiritually satisfying and meaningful worldview.

Luminaries such as the Dalai Lama, Pope Benedict XVI, the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, and the Archbishop of Canterbury appear alongside leaders in the Shinto, Hindu, and Sikh communities. Heads of the Christian and Muslim faiths are represented, including Catholic, Lutheran, Southern Baptist, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Shiite, and Sunni. Each leader’s first-person account of his or her spiritual path is illustrated with powerful photographs of private and public moments. Gracefully interspersed with the photographs are the thoughtful answers to the questions posed by the Naudet brothers, who gained unprecedented access to these world spiritual leaders following their prizewinning documentary film9/11.

Timed for Easter and Passover, In God’s Name offers readers a rare opportunity to know 12 of the most holy people alive today and to read their answers to eternal questions of life and death, war and peace, doubt and belief, and the nature of God.