Art as Religion

It has become common place to observe that art has replaced religion among educated secular people. Philanthropists and civil governments enable architects to erect landmark buildings that impress as churches once did. Visiting, appreciating and collecting art are regarded as superior, almost moral activities. Art is an important element of my own life and yet I often find myself irritated when a religious aura surrounds it. I ask myself why.

It is wonderful that art provides aesthetic pleasure, emotional significance and mental stimulation to people. An impulse toward aesthetics seems to be a basic human trait as is an impulse toward religion. In most cultures, the two combine. In our culture we have separated them.

 However, art advocates sometimes claim the right to denigrate others' beliefs as religions have done historically and still do in some cases. I think the claim to moral superiority if an object is labeled "art" is the source of my irritation.

 Art that denigrates religious symbols brings the conflict into focus. An example some years ago was an image of the Virgin Mary daubed with elephant dung that was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum and incensed then mayor Rudy Giuliani. I came across an interesting commentary on this issue in the Jewish World Review reminding readers that denigrating others' religious symbols is bigotry and asking how they would react if a Star of David had been treated similarly. In effect, the author was asking whether anti-Christianity is more acceptable than antisemitism.

The other aspect of the controversy was that taxpayers, undoubtedly including some whose religious symbols were being denigrated, paid to support the exhibit. Is this an argument against public support of the arts, in which case the issue only would have been one of free expression? Or is it an argument against public support of art that consciously denigrates a segment of the culture?

Is this conflict something that adheres to the visual arts? Literature and music also provide aesthetic pleasure, emotional significance and mental stimulation, but does novel reading attain the moral status attached to visual art? It might be argued that classical music and opera do attain that status.

Dear readers, how do you feel about these issues?