Religious Intolerance and the Arts:

Bach Under the Microscope
Bach's Passion of St. John

On April 25, 1991 the Institute for Christian Jewish Studies, in cooperation with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, orchestrated a symposium which explored the relationship between the arts and religious intolerance. To focus this vast topic, the program was centered on Bach's masterpiece, Saint Matthew's Passion.

Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, rooted the problem in the tradition of interpretation that grew from the soil of Matthew's Gospel. As the church struggled to establish its identity, tensions mounted and tempers flared. Negative images were deployed which later became embedded in Western literature, art and music. Dr. Robert P. Bergman, Director of the Walter's Art Gallery, graphically illustrated subsequent developments by reviewing the stereotypes of Judaism which were enshrined on the very portals of Christian cathedrals. As the sculptures from the Strasbourg Cathedral demonstrate, the image of the church triumphant stands in dramatic contrast to the caricature of the defeated synagogue. The portrait of the Jew became increasingly demonic in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as the fantasy of a Jewish conspiracy penetrated the Christian imagination. While Dr. Eric Chafe, Associate Professor of Music at Brandeis University and a Bach scholar, noted the dangerous undercurrents of Luther's invectives, he maintained that Luther's theology of the cross provides a critical corrective to a church which has often projected its own failings onto the Jewish people. This piety encourages introspective confrontation and repentance and lies at the heart of Bach's creation.

The program exhibited the subtlety of our prejudices. We are quick to notice the bigot who has little to hold onto but his hate. We readily recognize the fanatic who struggles to overcome doubt by destroying its carriers. Yet we seldom recognize the extent to which we are caught in the grip of misconceptions. To identify the distortions in our own world view, we may have to examine those sacred commitments and aesthetic affections which in large part govern the imagination. Such an enterprise raises ticklish questions and involves unsettling risks.

At one end of the spectrum, critics have argued that even the greatest artistic masterpieces must be restricted or censored if such productions disseminate misunderstandings. In contrast, others have contended that efforts to track down and expose ideological defects generate suspicions which easily grow into hysteria. When a work of art is subjected to intensive analysis, its capacity to inspire and uplift us rarely survives. Beauty is buried in the rubble of the deconstructed artifact.

Yet between the extremes lies a middle way which maintains that every human innovation can only be understood and appreciated when placed within its historical, theological and aesthetic context. The performance of Bach's masterpiece provided our community with the opportunity to ponder serious questions from a variety of angles. What criteria do we involve when we judge our most hallowed traditions, when we evaluate our most treasured creations? Can we educate ourselves so that we are immunized from infectious distortions, yet alive and responsive to the power of the work? How are we to weigh the claims of religion and art when they rest uneasily in the balance?

Though resolution was neither promised nor achieved, the gravity of the issue was brought into sharp relief during the symposium. Our thanks goes to the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, our visiting scholars, and the College of Notre Dame for helping us bring these vital concerns before the public eye. We are delighted that this event has been heralded as a model program for cities around the country.