Religion in Children's Literature
"Religion in Children's Literature." Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 121. Detroit: Gale, 2007.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 May 2013.
The article "Religion in Children's Literature", edited by Tom Burns, focuses on the theme and use of religion in literature for children. The articles describes The Chronicles of Narnia as one of the best examples of religion in children's literature. It also describes the character of Aslan as a powerful, yet gentle Christ-like figure. The author goes on to state that while Christian symbolism may not be apparent to child readers, the message of positive moral behavior is accessible to all readers.
Religion in Children's Literature
Edited by Tom Burns
Many scholars regard religion as one of the thematic foundations of children's literature. Born from the early didacticism of the medieval era, religious works represent some of the earliest examples of literature published solely for young audiences, offering moral instruction to children and seeking to address many of the broad spiritual questions that interest early readers, such as the meaning of life and the nature of the afterlife. However, despite the gravity and seemingly wide appeal of such subject material, religious-themed books form only a small percentage of works within the broader spectrum of children's literature. While such spiritual elements as God and faith make regular appearances within children's texts, they rarely register as the primary focus of the narrative. As such, many works that address religion as a supplementary aspect of the lives of their characters are left out of the critical discussion surrounding faith and literature. Instead, most critics point to works that address religion more overtly--albeit in an allegorical sense--when discussing spirituality in children's literature, focusing heavily on such works as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series (1950-1956), Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series (1968-1972), and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series (1937-1955), among others. The Narnia series, for example, is often held as one of the best examples of contemporized religious fiction. Featuring a dense mythology reflective of Judeo-Christian belief systems, complete with a single overarching deity in the form of the lion Aslan, C. S. Lewis's fantasy epic contains a wide series of biblical allusions, such as Edmund's betrayal of Aslan and his siblings in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950). This act carries several strong and obvious echoes to Judas's treacherous actions toward Jesus Christ, which is further enhanced by the death and resurrection of the martyr figure, Aslan. Indeed, Lewis fully intended to create a direct link between Aslan and Christ rather than just establishing a symbolic tangent, commenting himself that, "If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity, he would be an allegorical figure ... In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all." Lewis's portrait of Aslan-as-Christ is deepened further through his expression of Aslan as a lion with all the inherent power and underlying threat evident in the Old Testament portrayals of God and the coming Messiah. As the beavers remind the Pevensie children, Aslan is good, but not gentle. Many scholars have noted how Lewis's depiction of religious tradition couched in the fabrics of fantasy allowed him greater latitude in his recreation of biblical canon. For example, children immersed in the magical tales of Narnia have often been unaware of the Christian tenets at work--a subtile success which has greatly broadened the appeal of Lewis's canon beyond merely Christian audiences--even though some critics, such as Margaret P. Esmonde, have qualified the series as "thinly disguised Christian allegory."It should be noted that more allegorical works of religion fiction, such as the Narnia and Earthsea series, have been among the most critically and publicly popular works of modern children's fiction, while more didactic, overtly religious works have been markedly less popular and marginalized to the realm of specialized publishers and religious institutions. Researchers Julia H. Nixon and Robert C. Small confirmed this trend, asserting that, "in spite of the traditional influence of Christianity on American, very little has been written in the literature available to children that reflects this influence." They further asserted that, "the Christian religion appears only infrequently in novels for young adults and then generally in a superficial fashion. Religion is a part of the setting, but rarely a part of the theme." However, this dearth of religious didacticism in children's literature is largely confined to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Although the deeply allegorical works of authors such as Lewis and Tolkien dominate much of the modern discussion of religion in children's literature, religion has existed as a dominant theme within the genre for centuries. Religious institutions are often credited as being one of the primary forces behind the first written tracts for children. One of the earliest examples of such stories are classical fables, which often had strong religious undertones. Mary Ellen Snodgrass has suggested that these short, allegorical tales were "models of discretion and right thinking derive[d] from many sources, including the pagan stories of the Mediterranean, Zoroastrian, and Sufist lore, Gypsy tales, and Oriental stories adapted from Confucius and Buddhist jataka tales." Eventually, the convergence of religion and children's literature became more overt, with religious institutions publishing several of the first mass-produced books written especially for children in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. In 1809 the Religious Tract Society in England issued their first children's publications, which were reprints of previous adult works altered to appeal to a younger audience. Heavy with Christian dogma and strongly didactic, these tracts were meant to instill obedience and understanding of the word of God in children. Later in the nineteenth century, the first religious magazines for children appeared, including the children's monthly, The Child's Friend, which Kate Montagnon argues, "elevated English values, purveyed the message that it was better to be pious than rich, and included gross narratives and pictures of heathen barbarity. Death was luridly prominent with titles like 'You are not too young to die' and 'The dying Sunday scholar.'" These early primers were purpose-oriented, striving to save souls rather than enlighten or amuse, a philosophy manifested in such works by early writers as Leigh Richmond and Mary Martha Sherwood, who was responsible for a series of books that featured highly moral, yet gruesomely detailed descriptions of the horrible fates awaiting immoral children. Yet, Montagnon notes, these early books by the tractarians offered a important resource that, while often unpleasant in message and approach, nevertheless "in providing a mass of reading material for the newly literate, helped to set a trend for later literature in which the themes of death, repentance, and poverty overcome by virtue remained important."
By the mid-nineteenth century, the formerly dogmatic message of these juvenile religious works began to shift as authors began adapting Christian messages into more non-secular writings. In her study of Christian fables, Snodgrass has asserted that texts like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1845) "elevate[d] Christmas without glorifying the sectarian concepts of Christ, virgin birth, manger miracles, shepherds, magi, or angels," a trend that helped set the later paths of such nonsectarian works as O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (1905), which simultaneously conveyed the message and generalized spirit of Christmas without resorting to overt symbolism. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, book publishing became cheaper and more prevalent, allowing a greater diversity of works that, according to Montagnon, forced writers to reposition their stories for a wider variety of audiences. John Gilliver has argued that, "children's writers in the mid-nineteenth century stressed the value of work and induced a sense of reverence for progress, industry, and science. The secularization of the religious message, as the utilitarian note deepened, was not to be resisted. ... This was a religiousness which lent a thin, but nicely protective, veneer to the industrial and economic motive and the growth of British Imperialism; the emphasis on the conveniently ambiguous notion of Duty led easily to the blurring of the Christian with the Englishman abroad." Another major trend that further weakened the influence of the formerly dominant and heavy-handed tracts was the rise of fairy tales, which emphasized a spirit of fantasy that was generally anathema to most organized religions of the period, who often condemned these sorts of stories in the strongest terms. However, many authors were able to reconfigure popular fairy stories as Christian fables, as seen in the works of George Cruikshank. By the twentieth century, overtly religious books were on the decline, primarily left in the hands of specialty presses like Lion Publishing, Pickering, and Victory Press. Recent years have seen a minor shift in this trend, with religious picture books, featuring a greater culturally diverse emphasis, making a mild resurgence, as evidenced in such titles as David A. Adler's One Yellow Daffodil: A Hanukkah Story (1995) and Chris Deshpande'sDiwali (1985).
Yet many publishers remain reluctant to issue the sort of didactic religious works that once dominated the genre, even when presented in milder tones. This is especially true of young adult literature where Lucy Fuchs has suggested that there "may be strong evidence of a value system at work. But rarely will that value system be tied to any religion." She has attributed this reluctance to "the concern among authors and publishers ... that any discussion of religion at all may offend the non-religious, and a sympathetic portrayal of any particular religious group may be seen as proselytizing. On the other hand, an unsympathetic portrayal may be seen as offensive and discriminatory. With these considerations in mind, it may be easy to see why authors would just as soon avoid the subject altogether." As a result, there is a relative dearth of religious children's texts, given the breadth of titles and subgenres that populate contemporary children's literature. Many critics have worried that this lack of appropriate materials for interested readers may represent an unfortunate trend. Gail Radley has questioned: "If we avoid the questions intrinsic to religion--who are we? why are we here? how should we conduct ourselves--what is there to guide and sustain young readers?" Similarly, K. L. Mendt has suggested that, "Another benefit of these novels is that they provide young adults with points of contact between religion and history. Religious beliefs fueled many events we now consider to be of major historical importance, and students need background on world religions to understand history. Even history-in-the-making requires a basic understanding of belief systems for intelligent response."
By the mid-nineteenth century, the formerly dogmatic message of these juvenile religious works began to shift as authors began adapting Christian messages into more non-secular writings. In her study of Christian fables, Snodgrass has asserted that texts like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1845) "elevate[d] Christmas without glorifying the sectarian concepts of Christ, virgin birth, manger miracles, shepherds, magi, or angels," a trend that helped set the later paths of such nonsectarian works as O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (1905), which simultaneously conveyed the message and generalized spirit of Christmas without resorting to overt symbolism. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, book publishing became cheaper and more prevalent, allowing a greater diversity of works that, according to Montagnon, forced writers to reposition their stories for a wider variety of audiences. John Gilliver has argued that, "children's writers in the mid-nineteenth century stressed the value of work and induced a sense of reverence for progress, industry, and science. The secularization of the religious message, as the utilitarian note deepened, was not to be resisted. ... This was a religiousness which lent a thin, but nicely protective, veneer to the industrial and economic motive and the growth of British Imperialism; the emphasis on the conveniently ambiguous notion of Duty led easily to the blurring of the Christian with the Englishman abroad." Another major trend that further weakened the influence of the formerly dominant and heavy-handed tracts was the rise of fairy tales, which emphasized a spirit of fantasy that was generally anathema to most organized religions of the period, who often condemned these sorts of stories in the strongest terms. However, many authors were able to reconfigure popular fairy stories as Christian fables, as seen in the works of George Cruikshank. By the twentieth century, overtly religious books were on the decline, primarily left in the hands of specialty presses like Lion Publishing, Pickering, and Victory Press. Recent years have seen a minor shift in this trend, with religious picture books, featuring a greater culturally diverse emphasis, making a mild resurgence, as evidenced in such titles as David A. Adler's One Yellow Daffodil: A Hanukkah Story (1995) and Chris Deshpande'sDiwali (1985).
Yet many publishers remain reluctant to issue the sort of didactic religious works that once dominated the genre, even when presented in milder tones. This is especially true of young adult literature where Lucy Fuchs has suggested that there "may be strong evidence of a value system at work. But rarely will that value system be tied to any religion." She has attributed this reluctance to "the concern among authors and publishers ... that any discussion of religion at all may offend the non-religious, and a sympathetic portrayal of any particular religious group may be seen as proselytizing. On the other hand, an unsympathetic portrayal may be seen as offensive and discriminatory. With these considerations in mind, it may be easy to see why authors would just as soon avoid the subject altogether." As a result, there is a relative dearth of religious children's texts, given the breadth of titles and subgenres that populate contemporary children's literature. Many critics have worried that this lack of appropriate materials for interested readers may represent an unfortunate trend. Gail Radley has questioned: "If we avoid the questions intrinsic to religion--who are we? why are we here? how should we conduct ourselves--what is there to guide and sustain young readers?" Similarly, K. L. Mendt has suggested that, "Another benefit of these novels is that they provide young adults with points of contact between religion and history. Religious beliefs fueled many events we now consider to be of major historical importance, and students need background on world religions to understand history. Even history-in-the-making requires a basic understanding of belief systems for intelligent response."