Two of the three production companies involved in "The Dating Project" are Christian companies – Paulist Productions and Family Theater Productions. Most of the single people featured in the film end up talking about their faith and values at some point, some more explicitly than others.
Rasheeda is the most outspoken about her Christian faith in the film. At one point, she expresses dismay that she can't seem to find a man who shares her values and wants something out of dating besides a sexual encounter.
Harrington, herself a Catholic, told CNA that faith wasn't necessarily meant to be a central theme of the film, but faith and values are a topic that inevitably come up during the dating process, and each person in the film talked about it to the extent they felt natural.
What the film does show, Harrington said, is that Christians are not really any better at dating in the modern world than anyone else is.
"It's very apparent that even in the Christian world, in this area of life – dating and relationships – we're just as lost as anyone else, we're really not leading the way," she said. "I think it's just as difficult for Christians as it is for anyone else."
Both Cronin and Harrington said that dating sites and apps are not bad in and of themselves, but they should be viewed as a tool.
"Use it as a tool to meet someone in person, because meeting in person is how you get to know someone," Harrington said.
"The danger with apps is that people can become objects and we become consumers, and you're swiping left and swiping right. Part of what is bad is that some people use them for just a hookup or sexual experience," she added.
"The thing I think with any app is – have a plan, and that plan should be in line with your values and should result in you getting to meet someone face to face and having a conversation," she said.
Cronin said the most heartening thing about her dating assignment has been that it gets students talking to each other about what they really want dating and relationships to look like.
"It's one thing to give out an assignment to 25 students and that's great, but what I was really heartened by is that most of those students go home to their resident halls and talk to their roommates and their friends about it," she said.
"Within maybe two or three semesters of giving this assignment way back when, people were talking about it so actively and that was really wonderful, it ended up being one of the best thing about the assignment, because people knew about it, and it just gave people permission to go on casual, non-intense...dates," she said.
She added that she hopes that this documentary will accomplish the same thing.
"My hope for this movie is that it will just get people to talk about our crazy fears and our crazy anxieties and why we hide so much and what it is we really want," she said.
Harrington added that she hoped the film would encourage people to examine and re-evaluate their own relationships and dating behaviors.
"I think that the change has to come individually, we have to change ways in which we're seeing people as experiences instead of as human beings," she said. "You have to make a decision of changing a behavior that isn't bringing out the dignity of the human person."
"And if you're of a faith, it has to be your relationship with God strengthening that and saying ok, I'm made in the image and likeness of God, and so is the other person," she said. "So in order to change the dating culture, we have to change our own behaviors and look at the ways that we're engaging with people."
"The Dating Project" will show on April 17 in select theaters throughout the country. More information can be found at: https://www.thedatingprojectmovie.com/
This article was originally published on CNA Feb. 18, 2018.
Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.