Religions Reviewed

     The theoretical basis of this study is very much in line with the assertions of the Frankfurt School. (Adorno is cited prominently in the conclusion, p. 150) Rycenga analyzes popular culture with an eye to its malign ideological agency. She observes not only the manner in which “residual religion” is enlisted in support of totalizing capitalism, but also the extent to which “Christian exclusivism” is promoted through cultural commodities. (pp. 142, 148, 152-3) She sees this collaboration facilitated by the shared authoritarian orientation of the religious and commercial interests.

At first glance, it may seem that Rycenga is working with a dual approach of popular culture in the religious context of Christmas, as well as religious holiday references in the popular culture commodity of the Precious Moments products. Ultimately, however, her analysis seeks to demonstrate that the former is a mirage, since American Christmas has always been first and foremost a matter of popular culture with varying degrees of religious inflection. She highlights the déclassé and kitsch elements in this genealogy, thus suggesting that they are not properly ‘religious.’ (p. 142)

She does not provide much evidence for the definition of religion that guides her work here, although—like a good Frankfurter—she cites Marx approvingly. (e.g. p. 145) She does aver that “Religion is a way of addressing the hunger for genuine human relations.” (p. 182) But she sees it as a failure in this regard, because of its vulnerability to cooptation by economic ideology. She uses the Precious Moments figurines’ occasional critique of compulsory Christmas shopping as a case in point, where a superficial opposition to popular culture is simply an ornament hung on a more substantial participation in it.  (p. 144) (The Peanuts Christmas special, with its devout anti-commercialism, is similarly an enduring vehicle for broadcast advertising.)  

The notion of “residual religion,” which Rycenga takes from Robert Bocock, is an intriguing one. (pp. 142-3) It seems proper only to a modern context in which the religious sphere has been highly differentiated from commerce, civil governance, and other social functions. The resulting effect is that cosmetic elements of religion can serve to cloak the exploitative and/or coercive nature of these other spheres.

Tomorrow Part II…