Plot Synopsis

Host Morgan Freeman embarks on an epic exploration of and intimate reflection on God, immersing himself in religious experiences and rituals around the world. He'll also become a test subject in scientific labs to examine how the frontiers of neuroscience and cosmology are intersecting the traditional domain of religion. Each episode centers on one big question about the divine, from the mystery of creation, to the true power of miracles, to the promise of resurrection. These timeless and universal mysteries impact people from every faith, from Christians to Buddhists, Muslims to Hindus. Freeman goes on the ground to some of humanity's greatest religious sites, such as Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, India's Bodhi Tree and the Lakewood megachurch in Texas. He'll also travel with archaeologists to uncover the long-lost religions of our ancestors, such as the 10,000-year-old ruins at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey and Mayan temples in Guatemala. "Over the past few months, I've traveled to nearly 20 cities in seven different countries on a personal journey to find answers to the big mysteries of faith," said Freeman. "I've sung the call to prayer at a mosque in Cairo, taken meditation lessons from the Buddhist leader of the oldest line of reincarnating Lamas, discussed Galileo with the head of the Papal Academy of Sciences and explored the first instructions for the afterlife rendered in hieroglyphs inside the pyramids. In some places I found answers, and others led to more questions. The constant through it all is that we're all looking to be part of something bigger than us. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that we certainly are." In the event series premiere, "Beyond Death," Freeman explores how different religions of past and present answer the question: What happens when we die?

Season 2 of THE STORY OF GOD WITH MORGAN FREEMAN premiered on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT on National Geographic Channel, with the first of three new episodes. Each of the three episodes in the new season explore a different major theme: "The Chosen One?" "Proof of God" and "Heaven and Hell." In each one-hour episode Freeman meets with individuals, faith leaders, scientists and archaeologists to help him understand these big topics, including the following: a 9-year-old boy in Minnesota who Tibetan monks believe is the reincarnation of a lama; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the keeper of the sacred pipe of the Nakota, Lakota and Dakota tribes; Kenneth Bae, the American Christian missionary held captive for two years in North Korea; theoretical physicist Ard Louis, who believes that you can find God in scientific knowledge; a woman whose heart stopped for more than eight minutes, who describes in great detail the feeling of heaven she had in that time; and much more. The series also visits some of the world's most sacred places, including Angkor Wat in Cambodia, constructed in the 12th century as a model of Hindu heaven; Devil's Tower in Wyoming, which the Lakota tribe believe to be one of the power points of their worship; the underwater caves, or "cenotes," of the Maya in Mexico, which they believed were the entryways to heaven and hell; rare access inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith; and the Meskel celebration in Ethiopia that commemorates the discovery of the true cross by Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine.

The six-episode third season of THE STORY OF GOD WITH MORGAN FREEMAN premieres Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on National Geographic Channel. In Season 3, the series continues to explore the impact of religion on the human journey by examining the aspects of faith -- or lack thereof -- that shape us daily. With Morgan Freeman again as a guide, audiences are transported to some of the world's holiest sites to investigate the similarities of religious principles across faiths and their impact on the world. Morgan's curiosities drive him to explore some of the most pressing religious questions: Do people among us embody the divine? Is there a way to overcome our sins? Are morals still instructed by God's commandments? From "Satan's Throne" in Turkey to the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem to the United Kingdom's Diwali celebration, Morgan ventures to sites around the world to search for answers. In the season opener, "Search for the Devil," Morgan meets a Vatican exorcist, goes to the Judean desert where monks battle Satan, and visits a Buddhist temple in Nepal filled with evil spirits.
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On Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT, National Geographic Channel premiered the Season 3 finale of THE STORY OF GOD WITH MORGAN FREEMAN. In the season ender, "Holy Laws," Morgan Freeman explores what holy laws mean for different religions and the punishments awaiting those who disobey; he investigates how the eruption of Vesuvius was seen as divine retribution; he sees the oldest existing copy of the Ten Commandments.