Scottish Catholic Observer

Discussion 3: How can we deal with a popular culture promoting values so different from our own?

EMERSON STEVENS

Strathclyde University

For me, this is a very personal question with two pointedly different potential responses—each of them perfectly acceptable depending on the individual—and I look forward to seeing how everyone else deals with this issue.

I know some people who outright refuse to deal with anything even remotely ‘secular,’ and one look is all it takes to show how surrounding themselves with spiritually-beneficial things has helped their own relationship with God. Most of us however—myself certainly—do not live in a vacuum—or a monastery—and are forced to interact with pop culture and the larger world around us, both of which have a tendency to be anti-Christian and specifically anti-Catholic.

We as Catholics are often the sole contrasting evidence to what those around us are presented in the media, and shirking from a contentious issue or subject can be interpreted as a sign of fear or weakness.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not arguing that we should completely immerse ourselves in everything the world holds dear, but understanding—or at least being aware of—the things everybody is talking about can in some instances be a great way to bring to light what the Church actually does/holds.

To offer an example I hope isn’t too dated: The Da Vinci Code, for all its controversy provided ample opportunity to discuss multiple facets of Catholicism today, which, with a genuinely curious individual, could prove quite fruitful. I think there are indeed risks to what I am advocating, but I also believe that the potential rewards far outweigh them.

GERALD BONNER

Strathclyde University

We have to note that tolerance based on relativism is a house built on sand—when relativism fails in practice, as is inevitable, then ‘might becomes right.’ Therefore, recognition that there is such a thing as objective truth is necessary for real tolerance and dialogue.

On the general question, I think it is one of those many ‘both ands’ that permeate Catholicism—we have to recognise both that the world—including us—has been very seriously damaged—and thus disoriented—by sin and that even so it has not been totally corrupted, and so grace perfects nature rather than simply obliterating it.

With this in mind, we certainly can and should engage popular culture, but with due caution to ensure that we are not misled by it. Such caution requires us to consider whether a particular situation is spiritually dangerous given our own particular state at that point in life.

I think it is important to develop a solid Catholic culture, not merely as a fortress to take shelter in—though that will sometimes be necessary—but as the foundation on which the world’s culture can be engaged and converted. Even things which are not explicitly religious can and should be permeated by our Catholicism beneath the surface, whether it is books, films, music, or really our approach to any aspect of life. We should not underestimate the difference that a Catholic worldview makes—often in

apparently very subtle ways, but in the end these make all the difference.

This is an important point in engaging non-believers in our society—we can no longer count on sharing a basic starting point and when asked about some particular issue we often need to first step back and clarify certain essential foundations. We must never forget that everything that is good and true and beautiful in any worldview will find its fulfilment in Christ and His Church.

THOMAS SCHAAB

Glasgow University

There are a lot of things the Catholic community can learn from popular culture. Some of the values that the popular culture promotes would benefit the Catholic Church quite a lot. I am thinking of tolerance in particular. Having strong beliefs puts you more in danger of acting in an intolerant way than does relativism, I suppose.

CHRISTINE GLEN

Strathclyde University

Culture in its true sense is a force for good; it allows us to identify who we are and where we are from. If our modern day culture had nothing in common with our own lives we would not be living in the world.

We should not try to ignore those parts of our everyday lives which are different from our belief but rather seek to change or inform those of our choices and why we feel that way.

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.”

We have to acknowledge that Christ came not only for us but for all of those both believers and non-believers. And only by displaying the positive virtues, especially patience, can we hope for true change in attitudes within the culture of today.

GUIDANCE PANEL: Work towards building a culture that praises God

We are called to live as Christians in the world, yet not be of the world. We cannot live in the world if we do not engage with popular culture, but neither can we accept it unquestioningly without becoming of the world.

A concept that has been talked about increasingly in recent times is that of the evangelisation of culture, the idea that we are called to preach the Gospel not only to individual people but also to the wider culture. In order to do so we need to engage critically with popular culture, rejecting what is bad and purifying what remains.

An example of this can be found in the cinema, where otherwise good films are spoiled by the inclusion of explicitly sexual scenes. As the Catechism states: “Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties.” But how do we react to these films? Do we critically engage with the culture that creates them? Or do we just accept them as they are, even in their immorality?

There is no easy answer to how to engage with popular culture. We are called to evangelise it, but quite what this means in practice is hard to say. One suggestion that Sr Roseann Reddy made at our recent conference was that if a friend plays a song with inappropriate lyrics, let them know what you think, ask them to turn it off. But even here it could be argued that we would merely be dealing with a symptom and not the real issue, that the lyrics are the inevitable consequence of the wider culture.

The approach some Christians have taken is to appropriate these secular styles of music and use them to proclaim the Gospel. The result is Christian rock, rap, and any other number of styles. But is this music really Christianised or does it simply keep its original culture but with a slightly Christian twist? In other words, is it enough merely to change the lyrics or does the actual style of music itself need to be evangelised?

At university, the gulf between popular culture and Christianity is emphasised yet further. When so many student events are basically about getting drunk, and have become so sexualised, it can be hard to know how to deal with it. It takes a lot of strength and courage to stay above the fray, but ultimately that is what we must do. In such a situation, it can be useful to talk about ‘occasions of sin,’ that is, external circumstances in which we are likely to sin. Sometimes, such occasions cannot be avoided, but often we could avoid them if we really wanted to.

In engaging with popular culture, we are required to use our judgment and carefully discern whether a particular situation can be of benefit or whether we should avoid it as an occasion of sin. More widely, we should not simply be closed to popular culture, but we should be open to giving as well as receiving. Just as the whole of Creation sings God’s praises, so too should our culture, whether directly or indirectly, but it will only do so if we go out to meet it with hearts set on evangelising it with truth and love.

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