An Artist’s Response to Post-Christian Culture

A Post-Christian Culture?

Fifteen years ago, a colleague of mine lamented that a few students in her literature classes did not understand biblical allusions in their texts. One of the short stories we taught mentioned the Resurrection, and some high school freshmen had no idea what that was. They were similarly bewildered at references in the novel Great Expectations to Noah’s ark and the tax collector in the temple who prays, “Lord be merciful to me, a sinner.” My fellow teacher, a devout Christian, was surprised and dismayed that students in America’s Judeo-Christian culture would be not even vaguely familiar with these references.

That was my first encounter with what I’ve since heard called the post-Christian era. Previous generations would naturally expect that their neighbors were Christian, or perhaps Jewish. Television programs had no qualms about showing their characters attending church or saying evening prayers. I remember Fred MacMurray as the father in the series, My Three Sons, telling young Ernie that he could always pray if he felt lonely. Florence Henderson, as the mom in an early episode of The Brady Bunch, sang at a church Christmas Eve service. The Waltons and the Ingalls family were regular church-goers, and the preacher was a standard character, though not a gun-toting one, in Westerns.

What has happened since then? One could offer dozens of explanations for the loss of faith as a standard in today’s society. After the effects of two brutal 20^th century World Wars, disillusionment during the Viet Nam conflict, the sexual revolution, overindulgence of baby boomers as they became parents, scandal, obsession with technology – any or all of these could be blamed for lower church attendance and the growing tendency for young people to leave their faith if ever it were instilled in them during childhood.

More importantly, what do we do about it? What is the Christian response to our neighbors’ lack of faith? Recently, I had an experience that led me to these questions.

“The Big Good Thing”

A summer theatrical production that I am directing is based on the beloved children’s novel, The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Born in 19th-century England, Burnett had a strong faith, which melded with her appreciation of nature. The Secret Garden features two sickly children who become well and a grieving father who finds hope. All this happens in a garden. Assisting are two siblings from the English countryside and their wise and nurturing mother.

Woven into the story is faith in a Spirit that makes things grow and heals the broken. The main character, a ten-year-old girl who was raised in India, calls this spirit “Magic”. The wise woman from the moor, Mrs. Sowerby, encourages the children in their faith. When the children ask Mrs. Sowerby if she believes in magic, she replies, “That I do. I never knowed it by that name but what does the name matter?” She goes on to identify the children’s “Magic” as “The Big Good Thing,” who made the garden seeds swell and let the sunshine and made the children well. Her explanation is consistent with Christian doctrine regarding God our heavenly Father. In thanksgiving for the healing taking place in the garden, one character sings the Christian doxology, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”. The children discover the hand of God in nature, in a garden and in the healing of their own bodies. Readers, members of what was known as Christendom, understood the Spirit in the story as the Holy Spirit of God.

Removing Judeo-Christian References

Eighty years after Burnett wrote her children’s story, Broadway playwrights adapted it as a musical. By the 1990s, though, it was not in vogue to use a musical to promote faith in the Judeo-Christian God. Mrs. Sowerby’s explanation of the “Big Good Thing” is abbreviated, but still present. Although it is a musical, the script and score contain no reference to the only hymn mentioned in the novel, the Christian doxology. Most interestingly, though, the composers added a lengthy musical number including Hindu chants, high-pitched female Banshee vocals, and a whirling, dervish-like dance. Meanwhile, a fakir intones an Indian charm.

A work of literature, like all art, reveals the culture which produced it. Burnett’s novel reveals the Judeo-Christian concept of God, as discovered by two children and explained by a Christian woman from the Yorkshire moor. The 1990s musical adaptation reveals a culture which is moving away from Christianity. The Hindustani chant and dance and the Irish Banshee reflect the inclusive attitude of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries, open to other cultures and belief systems.

As Christians, how do we respond to this inclusion? Our first reaction may be negative. First, one must note the irony of removing the Judeo-Christian hymn in the name of inclusivism. Then also, nostalgia tugs at our heartstrings. We miss the way things used to be, with Christian belief as the backdrop for everything, in manners, business, art, and education. Introducing something foreign feels uncomfortable, like a threat to our firmly-held faith. The word “pagan” looms over the unfamiliar, and we wonder if other faiths worship the one true God, or if they adore something evil.

A Positive Response

Searching for a positive response, we might begin with a spirit of evangelization, which begins with openness. My understanding of Indian culture may help me to value its people. What might the Hindustani chant teach me about my own faith? I might recall the value of repeating meaningful words, such as we do in a litany of saints or in recitation of the rosary. I might witness the discipline and passion that faith inspires. While an Irish Banshee vocal is more a scream than a song, we might look beyond it, into the appreciation of nature common to pre-Christian Ireland. We might also appreciate the fact that when the Christian faith did come to the Celtic Isle, it flourished due to the example of missionary monks, rather than by a military invasion.

A devout Catholic actress in our cast recently expressed her hesitation to participate in the numbers with the chant and wild dance. She found the spirituality questionable, and worried about whether it might actually invite evil into our midst. I appreciate the sensitivities of my friend. We need more Catholic Christians to stand for their faith as she does. Her questions made me analyze our response to the script material. This led me to repeat the question, how do we respond to a post-Christian society?

Our interpretation of the Indian lyric and dance was cultural rather than spiritual. We have no intent of spreading the Hindu religion, nor conjuring any spirit other than that of the one true God. Catholic schools and universities often teach a course entitled “World Religions”. Our show could have a similar theme. To achieve this, I added choreography which brought in even more cultures. We added the Hebrew table blessing gesture when the woman of the house waves her hands over taper candles. In two songs, we added praying hands, which we learned is almost the same as the Indian namaste gesture.

Finding Christian Messages and Meaning

More importantly, the modern play of The Secret Garden cannot escape the novel’s theme that God reveals himself in nature. A beautiful garden, physical recovery, and emotional healing are all attributed to a spirit greater than humans. This play illustrates Church teaching that one proof of God’s presence is the natural world. To find a message like this in what seems to be a post-Christian society is heartening.

We may need to look harder these days to see evidence of the faith. In fact, we must look harder. Recognizing the underlying faith of our neighbors will help us to reinforce it. Finding evidence of underlying Christianity in society as a whole will encourage us that all is not lost. Even a society which ignores God cannot help but seek him in one way or another.

During the discussion with my Catholic friend, another member of the troupe, also a Catholic, joined in. We commented on how difficult it can be to evangelize in a society that is moving away from Christianity. Standing on a street corner and preaching is probably not the best way right now. We have to live our faith, as shining examples as much as God gives us the grace to do it. The second Catholic friend in our party reminded us of St. Francis’ advice, “Preach the Gospel always; when necessary, use words.”