I. Introduction

 II. Issues in Christian liturgical arts

1. The icon and religious images

2. Church architecture

3. Music and the structure of the liturgy

III. Secular art and religion

1. Nature, art, and religion in Romanticism and the 19th century

2. Religion, spirituality and the art of the avant-garde

Electronic Syllabus Fall 2010

Comparing and contrasting material from Western and Eastern Christian traditions, the course discusses some important issues related to the role of art in religion. The first part of the course is devoted to liturgical arts and some theological interpretations of the role of art in liturgy. The goal is to show the basic tension between the crucial role of arts in Christian liturgy and the danger of being distracted from religious sentiment by the power of art. The second part examines some connections with spirituality and religion in secular forms of art.

I. Introduction.

Some basic issues regarding the interrelation of art and religion are discussed. In Christianity, the important status of art is rooted in the biblical account of creation that presents God as creator-artist, and his creation as beautiful.