Matthew McConaughey Talks About "Free State of Jones" and the "Mankind Bastardized Religion"

Actor Matthew McConaughey stars in the new faith-based movie "Free State of Jones," already showing in theaters across the US.  In the film, the famed actor plays Newton Knight, a man of faith who inspired a revolution. 

"Free State of Jones," written and directed by Gary Ross and released Friday, June 24, tells the story of Knight, a controversial figure in American history. Knight was best known for his role in the Knight Company, a band of farmers and Confederate deserters who rose up during the historic Civil War.

The story is based on the history of Jones County, Mississippi during the Civil War and the immediately following period. Although the plot of the movie is fiction, the overall story follows the history of Jones County, and many of the events portrayed are true.

After surviving the 1862 Battle of Corinth, Newton Knight, a poor farmer from Mississippi, leads a group of deserters and local slaves in an armed rebellion against the Confederacy in Jones County. Knight subsequently makes a home with a former enslaved woman, Rachel. He establishes a mixed-race community.

McConaughey, who is a Christian and attends a Texas-based nondenominational church, described Knight as one who had a "moral code rooted in the Bible and the Declaration of Independence: love thy neighbor as thyself, and all men are created equal."

The Oscar winning actor also cited how the Christian movement led the abolition of slavery during the Civil War based solely on their beliefs in the Bible  Yet, he laments that such oppression is again surfacing in our society because "mankind bastardized religion" because it's no longer binding people together as he observed.

"It means exactly the opposite of what and how we are often practicing it these days!" McConaughey told The Daily Beast during a phone interview.

In its opening weekend the film grossed $7.6 million, finishing 6th at the box office behind Finding Dory ($73 million), Independence Day: Resurgence ($41 million), Central Intelligence ($18.2 million), The Shallows ($16.8 million) and The Conjuring 2 ($7.7 million).

 

Tags : Matthew McConaughey Matthew McConaughey new movie Matthew McConaughey faith state of jones state of jones movie free state of jones free state of jones movie trailer