Sacrilege

Sacrilege is generally defined as an offense against the sacred. Sacrilege derives from the Latin word sacrilegium (sacer, sacred and legere, to gather). In its Greek and Latin usage sacrilege is understood as the crime or sin of stealing any object consecrated to the worship of divinities. In its modern usage sacrilege refers to the physical or visual violation of the sacred. Sacrilege differs from blasphemy only in form: Sacrilege is physical and visual; blasphemy is spoken or written.

Sacrilege results from the violation of codes that designate the proper interpretation and use of sacred things, including sacred persons, places, objects, and symbols. Sacred things receive their meaning and power from religious groups who hold them in high esteem. Religious groups also establish norms, rules, and procedures that govern their meaning and use. The improper use of sacred things may elicit averse reactions from believers who attach strong sentiments to them. What is sacrilegious to one person may not be to another. Two criteria are used to determine whether sacrilege has occurred: the intention of the offender and the interpretation of the sacrilegious act or object. For example, artists may not intend to profane religious symbols, but religious persons may interpret their art as sacrilegious.

Physical violations of sacred things are usually referred to as desecration and include acts such as vandalism and the theft of church property. A more striking example is the excavation of Native American burial sites for universities and museums. Many Native Americans protest excavation because it violates their sacred beliefs regarding death and burial. In response, Congress created the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, which requires the return of Native American artifacts and the preservation of their sacred burial sites. Church arson and bombings are the most frequent type of sacrilege in its physical form. From 1980 to the present, thousands of church arsons have occurred in the United States, the majority against African-American Baptist churches. As a result of these crimes, Congress enacted the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996, and President Clinton created the National Church Arson Task Force (1996).

Visually and symbolically, sacrilege assumes three general forms: syncretism, secularization, and profanation. Syncretism refers to the blending of religious traditions. Syncretistic religious art, for instance, combines sacred symbols from diverse religious traditions. Because it is not antagonistic toward religion, syncretistic art rarely incites accusations of sacrilege. Secularization involves the diminution or elimination of the traditional religious meanings of sacred things. Profanation occurs when sacred symbols are degraded by improper use or when they are mixed with profane symbols. In either instance, the meanings of sacred symbols have been altered or the codes regulating their use have been violated. Other factors increase the possibility for sacrilege. For the visual arts, the more significant the sacred symbol and the more realistic its representation, the greater the likelihood that it will offend. For example, many of the most controversial sacrilegious works of art contain easily recognizable representations of Jesus or the crucifixion.

The following examples of sacrilege from American visual culture aroused public controversy: Popular music singer Madonna's Like a Prayer (1989) is perhaps the most well-known sacrilegious music video. In the video Madonna is erotically kissed by an African-American saint while lying on a pew inside a church. One of the most controversial examples of sacrilegious art is Andres Serrano's Piss Christ (1987). Serrano's photographic art shows a plastic crucifix submerged in a jar of the artist's urine. Director Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, created tremendous dissension because it alters the biblical account of Christ's life. In fact, Christ's last temptation is to live a solely human life without fulfilling his obligation to die and be resurrected. The most recent example of sacrilege onstage is playwright Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi (1998). In McNally's play the Jesus character, Joshua, has sexual relations with his disciples and is crucified as king of the queers.

Antagonism toward sacrilege may produce conflict among cultural and religious critics. These conflicts over the control of public expression have come to be known as the culture wars. On one hand, cultural critics view efforts by religious critics to censor artistic expression as a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech. On the other hand, religious critics view sacrilege as a form of religious bigotry and as a threat to the public image of religion. As illustrated by the recent McNally play, sacrilege continues to be a controversial issue in American culture.

See alsoBlasphemy; Freedom of Religion; Heresy; Secularization; Syncretism.

Bibliography

Dubin, Steven C. Arresting Images. 1992.

Meyer, Jerry D. "Profane and Sacred: Religious Imagery and Prophetic Expression in Postmodern Art." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 65 (1998):19–46.

Westin, Alan F. "The Miracle Case: The Supreme Court and the Movies." Interuniversity Case Program 64 (1961):1–38.

Jonathan F. Cordero