Christmas as religion : rethinking Santa, the secular, and the sacred

This work develops critical links between modern representations of Christmas and the category of religion. Abstract: This work develops critical links between modern representations of Christmas and the category of religion. Read more... Christopher Deacy Explores The Premise That Religion Plays An Elementary Role In Our Understanding Of The Christmas Festival, But Takes Issue With Much Of The Existing Literature Which Is Inclined To Limit The Contours And Parameters Of 'religion' To Particular Representations And Manifestations Of Institutional Forms Of Christianity. 'religion' Is Often Tacitly Identified As Having An Ecclesiastical Frame Of Reference, So That If The Church Is Not Deemed To Play A Central Role In The Practice Of Christmas For Many People Today Then It Can Legitimately Be Side-lined And Relegated To The Periphery Of Any Discussion Relating To What Christmas 'means'. Deacy Argues That Such Approaches Fail To Take Adequate Stock Of The Manifold Ways In Which People's Beliefs And Values Take Shape In Modern Society. For Example, Christmas Films Or Radio Programmes May Comprise A Non-specifically Christian, But Nonetheless Religiously Rich, Repository Of Beliefs, Values, Sentiments And Aspirations. Therefore, This Book Makes The Case For Laying To Rest The Secularization Thesis, With Its Simplistic Assumption That Religion In Western Society Is Undergoing A Period Of Escalating And Irrevocable Erosion, And To See Instead That The Secular May Itself Be A Repository Of The Religious. Rather Than See Christmas As Comprising Alternative Or Analogous Forms Of Religious Expression, Or Dependent On Any Causal Relationship To The Christian Tradition, Deacy Maintains That It Is Religious Per Se, And, Moreover, It Is Its Very Secularity That Makes Christmas Such A Compelling, And Even Transcendent, Religious Holiday. Introduction: The Parameters Of This Book -- What Is Christmas? -- Revisiting The Religious Origins And Essence Of Christmas -- Is Christmas A 'secular' Religion? -- Christmas As A Site Of Implicit Religion -- Christmas Films And The Persistence Of The Supernatural -- Reframing Christmas And The Religion Of Materialism. Christopher Deacy. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In Christmas as Religion, Christopher Deacy explores the premise that religion plays an elementary role in our understanding of the Christmas festival, but takes issue with much of the existing literature which is inclined to limit the contours and parameters of'religion'to particular representations and manifestations of institutional forms of Christianity.'Religion'is often tacitly identified as having an ecclesiastical frame of reference, so that if the Church is not deemed to play a central role in the practice of Christmas for many people today then it can legitimately be side-lined and relegated to the periphery of any discussion relating to what Christmas'means'. Deacy argues that such approaches fail to take adequate stock of the manifold ways in which people's beliefs and values take shape in modern society. For example, Christmas films or radio programmes may comprise a non-specifically Christian, but nonetheless religiously rich, repository of beliefs, values, sentiments and aspirations. Therefore, this book makes the case for laying to rest the secularization thesis, with its simplistic assumption that religion in Western society is undergoing a period of escalating and irrevocable erosion, and to see instead that the secular may itself be a repository of the religious. Rather than see Christmas as comprising alternative or analogous forms of religious expression, or dependent on any causal relationship to the Christian tradition, Deacy maintains that it is religious per se, and, moreover, it is its very secularity that makes Christmas such a compelling, and even transcendent, religious holiday. Cover 1 Christmas as Religion: Rethinking Santa, the Secular, and the Sacred 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 14 Introduction: The Parameters of this Book 16 1: What is Christmas? 32 WHY IS CHRISTMAS SIGNIFICANT? 32 2: Revisiting the Religious Origins and Essence of Christmas 48 THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS 48 THE DICKENS CONNECTION 54 FROM SCROOGE TO SANTA . . .TO JESUS? 66 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SANTA AND JESUS 73 3: Is Christmas a ‘Secular’ Religion? 88 A REFRAMING OF THE PARAMETERS 88 CHRISTMAS JUNIOR CHOICE 102 RAMIFICATIONS FOR THE DEFINITION AND STUDY OF RELIGION 117 THE NEED TO MOVE AWAY FROM BINARIES 132 4: Christmas as a Site of Implicit Religion 140 WHAT IS IMPLICIT RELIGION? 140 THE DISTINCTIVENESS AND IMPACT OF IMPLICIT RELIGION 143 HOW MIGHT CHRISTMAS FUNCTION AS A SITE OF IMPLICIT RELIGION? 151 5: Christmas Films and the Persistence of the Supernatural 162 CHRISTMAS MOVIES AS VESSELS OF TRANSFORMATION AND RENEWAL 162 THE PARADOX OF ESCAPISM 166 CRITICAL VS. POPULAR INTERPRETATIONS OF CHRISTMAS FILMS 172 JUXTAPOSING THE TRANSCENDENT AND THE SECULAR 179 6: Reframing Christmas and the Religion of Materialism 184 RELIGION AND CONSUMER CAPITALISM 184 CHRISTMAS’S INDISSOLUBLE ASSOCIATION WITH THE ECONOMY 186 PROBLEMS WITH THE RELIGION OF COMMERCIALIZATION 189 FINDING THE SPIRITUAL IN THE MIDST OF THE MATERIAL: THE PARADOX OF CHRISTMAS FILMS 201 CONCLUSION: MOVING BEYOND THE MATERIAL 210 Bibliography 218 Index 234