Paul Schrader is the writer and director of the film First Reformed, which centers on a divorced minister who is experiencing a crisis of faith related to the death of his son in the Iraq War.

In an interview with NPR's Fresh Air, Schrader, who grew up in a religious Christian household, reflected on going to church to "be bored"

For me, I like to go to church on Sunday mornings to organize my thoughts, organize my week, and be quiet. And you don't walk out of a church because you're bored. You go to church to be bored—to have that time. And you can have it in your room in the lotus position or you can have it in a pew. It's essentially the same sort of thing for me and that's what I enjoy about it.