It may be hard to miss, but many agree that the Superman in the new film "Man of Steel" is more spiritual than his predecessors. Evangelical pastors have taken this opportunity to use the hype surrounding the movie as a modern form of Christian outreach.

"Man of Steel" director Zach Snyder told CNN that he took a more spiritual approach to the reboot of the Superman series.

"When we started to examine the Superman mythology, in the most classic sense, I really wanted to press upon the film the 'why' of him, which has been 75 years in the making," Snyder said. "The Christ-like parallels, I didn't make that stuff up. We weren't like, 'Hey, let's add this!' That stuff is there, in the mythology. That is the tried-and-true Superman metaphor. So rather than be snarky and say that doesn't exist, we thought it would be fun to allow that mythology to be woven through."

According to CNN, Superman, born as Kal-El, is delivered as a child by his father, Jor-El, who even says "He will be like a god to them," when he decides to send the baby to Earth to save him.

Unlike the previous Superman movies, once Kal-El comes to Earth and is raised as Clark Kent, he isn't working at The Daily Planet but instead working as a manual laborer in a Midwestern town. Clark may not be a carpenter, but as CNN points out, the parallel between him and Jesus is there.

"This character has a balance between the modern world that we live in, and the archetype that exists in this ancient, other way," Snyder said. "I wanted to make it real."

Clark must eventually sacrifice himself for the world, in which many people do not believe his powers are real. Clark even sports a beard during part of the film.

USA Today reports that evangelical pastors have noticed the subtle parallels between the Bible and the themes in the new Superman movie. They have taken the opportunity to use the secular film as an outreach resource, and are preaching and teaching the themes from the reboot.

The outreach idea, implemented by Grace Hill Media, gives pastors sermon outlines, "Man of Steel" photos and video clips, and free screenings of the film to share with Christians.

USA Today reports some of the sermon notes: "Superman's mythical origins are rooted in the timeless reality of a spiritual superhero who also lived a modest life until extraordinary times required a supernatural response. ... How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the greatest hero who ever lived and died and rose again?"

"Man of Steel" will open in theaters June 14.