 |
 |
> > Does the decline of affiliation in 18th century really equal > > deChristianization? Recent surveys of the "unchurched" often reveal > > religious beiefs despite lack of affiliation and active practice. Might > > this not have been the case in the 18th century, with much of the > > populace slipping away from affiliation without necessarily being > > dechristianized in a more general sense? > > > > tom izbicki > I'd be interested in seeing the questions asked in those recent surveys. I have students in introductory art history classes who identify themselves as Christians, but have never read the Bible. They ask questions like "who is this Madonna you keep mentioning?" To call this lack of affiliation and active practice might be a bit of an understatement. If you look at paintings of, say, the Madonna and child from about AD 1200 to 1700, or paintings of Biblical subjects generally, a gradual dropping away of piety occurs over a period of several centuries. When van Eyck paints the Madonna and child, there's a genuine sense of piety. I can almost imagine him praying as a way of preparing himself to make the paintings. Rubens, a few centuries later, is essentially a painter of pretty girls, many or most of them flaunting their charms. Not quite as blatant as a modern girlie calendar, but probably leaning in that direction. It seems to be almost incidental that some of these pretty girls have the names of Biblical characters and others have the names of mythological characters. Granted, Rembrandt shows a greater sense of piety than Rubens does in many of his paintings, but it might be a new kind of piety, which is essentially cut off from honoring of conventional morality or active participation in a church. To be a member of a church or synagogue today is to be incessantly dunned for money, too often using carnival methods. I don't think this is the entire reason people are fleeing in droves, but it's one of several factors to be considered. Possibly what's being rejected today is the conventional "house of worship," rather than religion itself. I know many people who regard themselves as religious, pious, spiritual, or whatever you want to call it. Yet they belong to no congregation and rarely or never set foot in a house of worship. Their prototypes might be Rembrandt and Abraham Lincoln. pat sloane %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%