What Can The Godless Learn From Religious Art? A lot, Says Aaron Rosen

NEW HUMANIST
By Aaron Rosen

“Apocalypse in Lilac, Capriccio” (1945) by Jewish artist Marc Chagall

UNITED KINGDOM---The question of how to get the “godfearing” to appreciate modern art may still be a relevant one, but it isn’t necessarily the most interesting. In light of the religious roots and preoccupations of so much modern art, maybe we should start asking what the “god-less” can learn from modern art. This is not simply to say that all religious expressions are artistic. But what religious symbols can do, more powerfully than any other, is reveal a horizon of meaning towards which art aspires: the ability to make ontological claims about “the way things really are”. What we experience in religious art, ultimately, doesn’t have to lead us into heaven. If looking at religious art can leave us similarly stunned, perhaps for some that’s more than miracle enough. [link]