Kevin Smith’s Red State had an infamous, three ring circus-worthy world première at Sundance this past January, complete with Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church—the nation’s hardest working in-real-life trolls and the inspiration for the violent extremist group in the film—picketing outside. As far as spectacles go, it wouldn’t be outdone by anything else in the year’s Park City offerings, even if many left in a huff when Smith auctioned the film off to himself after the credits rolled. But as far as religion-baiting went, Red State was just one of a crowd of films there to feature broad villainy in the name of fundamentalist or evangelical Christianity.

This year’s festivalgoers were also...