Jonathan Frakes is best known as Commander William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He has also directed many Star Trek stories. One of them, the Discovery episode “New Eden,” gave him a chance to talk about faith and science. Does that tell us what Frakes himself believes about God? It is worth looking closely at what he actually said.
What has Jonathan Frakes said about faith?
In a 2019 interview about “New Eden,” Frakes discussed how the episode handles religion. He said the show was not necessarily embracing faith, but was embracing “the conversation about science versus faith.” He also spoke about the idea of a higher power being part of that conversation. These were comments about a television story he directed, not a statement that he belongs to a church or follows Jesus Christ. TrekCore’s report of the interview gives the fuller context.
That distinction matters. A director can make a thoughtful scene about prayer without telling the audience whether he prays. An actor can play a skeptic or a believer without sharing that character’s views. Frakes was explaining why a story about people with different beliefs made for good drama. His interest in the subject is real, but it does not settle the question of his personal religion.
Is Jonathan Frakes a Christian?
I could not verify a clear public statement in which Frakes identifies himself as a Christian or names another current religious belief. That does not prove he is not a Christian. It also does not give us grounds to say he is one. The honest answer, based on the public material I found, is that his personal faith is not clear.
Search results can make this confusing. Frakes has spent decades in a science-fiction series that often asks big questions about life, truth, and the future. He also hosted a show called Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. Those titles may sound religious, but a show title is not a confession of faith. Nor can we transfer the views of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, the character Riker, or other cast members to Frakes himself. Each person has to speak for himself.
Why the “New Eden” interview is worth reading
Frakes’s comments are still interesting. “New Eden” puts people with different ways of explaining the world in the same story. Frakes described the tension as a conversation, not a simple contest with a one-line answer. In that same interview, he noted that people within a belief system can disagree with one another. That is a fair observation. It is also a reminder to listen carefully instead of assuming we already know what another person means by “faith.”
Frakes knows something about telling stories that invite questions. According to an interview on the official Star Trek site, he began watching directors on the set of The Next Generation and spent time learning the work of editing before he directed episodes himself. That work helps explain why his remarks about “New Eden” focused on what a story can explore. He was talking as a filmmaker. We should not turn a filmmaker’s discussion of a script into a label for his soul.
What about science and the Bible?
The science-and-faith question raised by “New Eden” can be a good starting point, but the Christian message goes beyond the question of whether some higher power exists. The Bible makes a much more specific claim: God has made himself known through Jesus Christ. Christians do not merely say that the universe might have a maker. They say that Jesus died for sins and rose again. The apostle Paul makes the resurrection central to the message in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4.
That claim deserves an honest look. A television episode may help us ask whether faith and reason belong in the same conversation, but it cannot answer what we will do with Jesus. The Gospel of John says its account was written so readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ and have life in his name (John 20:30–31). You can read that account for yourself, ask hard questions, and consider its testimony. You do not have to settle for a vague idea of spirituality.
A question for us, not a verdict on him
It is easy to search “Is Jonathan Frakes a Christian?” and hope for a yes-or-no label. But a search result cannot see a person’s heart. For Frakes, the public comments I found show a director willing to discuss faith as a theme in a story. They do not show a verified personal profession of Christian faith. That is where this article should stop speaking about him.
For you, the question is more personal. Scripture says that all of us have sinned and need God’s mercy (Romans 3:23–24). Jesus calls people to repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:14–15). If you are reading this because you are curious about faith, please do not stop with a celebrity’s possible beliefs. Turn from sin and trust in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again. He offers forgiveness and new life to those who come to him.
Sources: TrekCore, Frakes on “New Eden”; StarTrek.com, “Trek Directors’ School: Jonathan Frakes”.
Photo: Jonathan Frakes at GalaxyCon Columbus (2023) by Super Festivals, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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