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• COMPLETE LIST: Click here to find out who are the most powerful Christians in Hollywood. 

Hollywood's golden boy of the moment, writer and actor Tyler Perry, seems to have a new movie or TV show coming out daily. Though well known for years among urban African Americans, Perry burst onto the Hollywood scene in 2005 with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," which took in more than $50 million after being made on a $5.5 million budget. Since then, he's come out with the films "Madea's Family Reunion" (2006) and "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007). His second movie release of the year, "Why Did I Get Married?" arrives this month. He's also conquered the small screen, producing the sitcom "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," for which TBS reportedly gave him a whopping 100-episode commitment. Citing filmmakers who keep their faith "in the closet," Tyler told Beliefnet last year, "I'm not afraid to have a character say, 'I am a Christian,' or 'I believe in God,' because I think they represent real people on this earth." 

You know her as the harried wife and mother--and Ray Romano's comic foil--in the popular sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," a role for which she was awarded two Emmys. Off-screen, she's not shy about making her faith or her opinions heard. Born a Catholic, she embraced evangelical Protestantism as an adult, and now attends a Presbyterian church and advocates on behalf of an anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life. Since "Raymond" ended, she has emceed a Christian comedy tour featured in the DVD "Thou Shalt Laugh," and told Beliefnet last year that she had "an opportunity to get back to reading and studying and praying more, which I didn't have much time for" while doing the show. That period of calm didn't last long, however: She returned to TV this fall, starring opposite Kelsey Grammer in the new sitcom "Back to You." 

Not one to wear his faith on his sleeve, Denzel Washington surprised many by lending his voice to "The Bible Experience," an audio Bible featuring some of the country's top African-American stars. (Washington and his wife Pauletta narrate The Song of Songs.) The two-time Oscar winner is in the upper echelon of Hollywood actors, receiving a $20 million paycheck per movie. But his superstar status rises far above mere moviemaking. A 2006 Barna study found that Washington is better known and better loved than any living American religious figure. The son of a Pentecostal minister, he has reportedly donated $2.5 million to his church, the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. It was in the parking lot of that church that Washington landed the "Bible Experience" gig. Casting director Robi Reed told the L.A. Times that when she saw her fellow churchgoer and started describing the project, he interrupted her to say, "I have to do it."

Despite everything--a drunken-driving arrest, an anti-Semitic outburst, movies brimming with graphic violence--Mel Gibson still tops the list of most powerful Hollywood Christians. His "Passion of the Christ" changed everything for Hollywood when it comes to matters of faith, waking up the powers-that-be to the box office potential of the Christian audience. Since then, "making the next 'Passion'" has been Hollywood's own unique Holy Grail quest, resulting in movies successful ("The Chronicles of Narnia") and disappointing ("The Nativity Story"), and leading to the creation of FoxFaith and other religion-focused studio subsidiaries. And even after Gibson's Summer '06 PR nightmare, his "Apocalypto" went on to make a reported $50 million--and was seen by many as a Christian allegory, despite its ancient Mayan setting.

Well known for his liberal political activism, Martin Sheen is a Catholic who chose his stage name in honor of Catholic theologian Fulton J. Sheen. Though he strayed from the Church, he returned after falling seriously ill during the filming of "Apocalypse Now." Sheen, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, has often been quoted linking his faith and his activism. "You know, the essence of the Gospel of Jesus was extremely radical, and that's why they killed Him," he told one interviewer. To another he said, "It doesn't really matter how much of the rules or the dogma we accepted and lived by if we're not really living by the fundamental creed of the Catholic Church, which is service to others and finding God in ourselves and then seeing God in everyone--including our enemies." Most recently, he played President Josiah Bartlett on "The West Wing" as a liberal Catholic who was often known to debate theological issues and quote the Bible. Since his TV presidential administration ended, he's appeared in the Oscar-winning "The Departed" and made news protesting the Iraq war with Cindy Sheehan.

Best known as the producer of such blockbusters as the "X-Men" trilogy, "The Planet of the Apes," and "The Fantastic Four," Ralph Winter has also produced such Christian fare as "Left Behind," "Thr3e," and "The Visitation" and works regularly for FoxFaith. He is also a frequent speaker at Christian conferences and prayer breakfasts. Of his unofficial but unrelenting role as a liaison between Hollywood and the Christian community, Winter told Beliefnet prior to the final "X-Men" release, "I have been placed in this job for a purpose, and I am just trying to make great movies and keep my eyes on Him. I don't deserve any praise....It is definitely all God's hand that I get to do this. And who knows how long this will last? He may choose someone else." Having brought in a reported career total (so far) of $1.6 billion, here's betting that Hollywood's decision-makers will stick with Winter.

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