Chapter 15 Document Questions

Begin Reading on Page 679 of your Strayer Textbook. The reading

concludes on page 687. Make sure you read it all the way through.

Answer the following questions which also appear in the textbook.

Follow along in the textbook so you know which documents are being
referenced for each question.

1. What obvious differences do you notice between the two church

interiors? What kind of emotional response would each of them
have evoked?

Some obvious differences is that in the Roman Catholic church

the churches tended to be elaborate with statues and paintings
and stained glasses but the protestant churches could be
anywhere and didn’t have to be elaborate and beautiful. The
protestant reformation (specifically Martin Luther) believed that
the rich were almost buying their way into heaven by giving
these statues and paintings to the church. The Roman Catholics
believed that the church was a temple or “house of God” whilst
Protestants believed that the churches as meeting or gathering
place.

2. In what ways do these church interiors reflect differences between

Protestant and Catholic theology? (See snapshot, page 647)

The church interiors reflect that the Catholics believe that the
church is a holy place, a temple, or a “House of God” whilst the
Protestants treat churches more as gathering places of a
meeting house and not anything sacred.

3. How might Protestants and Catholics have reacted upon entering

each other’s churches?

Protestants might have been confused why the Catholic church

 was so fancy and Catholics might have been offended or think
that it was disrespectful to God that a Protestants church was so
plain and simple.

4. Keep in mind Source 15.1 is a painting. Why do you think the artist
showed people disproportionately small?

The artist showed people disproportionately small because the

church is a grand kind of place, bigger than life.

5. What is Mary’s relationship to the heavenly beings standing above

her (God the Father on the right, the dove, symbolizing the Holy
Spirit, in the center; and Jesus on the left) as well as to the miners
at work in the mountain? What is the significance of the crown
above her head and her outstretched arms?

Mary’s relationship to the heavenly beings standing above her is

that she’s like a communicator to the beings and the miners are
like people trying to reach the heavens through religion. The
significance of the crown and her outstretched arms being that
the crown was like the royalty and the outstretched arms being
her welcoming all people.

7. The European figures at the bottom are shown in a posture of

prayer or thanksgiving. What might the artist have been trying to
convey? How would you interpret the the relative size of the
European and Andean figures?

The artist might have been trying to convey that the European
figures are God fearing people who are Christian and giving
thanks to God for their life. The Andean figure is significantly
smaller because the figure isn’t a Christian and therefore “lesser”
than the European figures.
 8. Why do you think the artist placed Mary actually inside the
mountain rather than on it, while depicting her dress in mountain-like
form?

The artist placed Mary inside the mountain rather than on it because
Mary is closer to the people than the heavenly beings and separating
her from the mountain would make her higher than the people.

9. What marks the painting and the one on page 653 as examples of
syncretism?

They are examples of syncretism because they are both made to

incorporate small details to add the native religion/mythology into it.

10. Do you read these two images from the Andes as subversive of the
colonial order or as supportive of it? Do you think the artist who
painted source 15.3 was a European or Native American Christian?
The two images from the Andes are supportive of it. The artist for the
painted source 15.3 was probably European because of how they drew
the andean person.

11. What specifically Chinese elements can you identify in this image?

Some Chinese elements in the image are the background, the

architecture, the art style, and the clothing.

12. To whom might this image have been directed?

This image might've been directed towards other Chinese people to

be inspired to be Christian.

13. How might educated Chinese have responded to this image?

An educated Chinese might have responded negatively because they
would know that this is not how Christianity was created.

14. The European engraving on which this Chinese print was modeled
included in the background the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. Why might
the Chinese artist have chosen to omit the scene from his image?

The Chinese artist might have chosen to omit the scene because it
was too gruesome and like the Mongols. Or that the image of Jesus’
crucifixion was too European and the Chinese might not have
understood it.

15. How would European critics of the Jesuits’ approach to missionary

work have reacted to this image? To what extent has the basic
message of Catholic Christianity been retained or altered in this
Chinese cultural setting?

The European critics of the Jesuits’ approach might have reacted

negatively since the art was done as if Mary was Chinese. The basic
message was pretty retained even after being changed into the
Chinese cultural setting.

16. Why do you think that this Mughal painter portrayed Mary and
Joseph as rather distinguished and educated persons rather than as the
humble carpenter and his peasant wife, as in so many European
paintings? Why might he have placed the family in rather palatial
surroundings instead of a stable?

They may have put them as richer people because the people
wouldn’t want to follow a religion where the people were “poor”
because of things like the caste system or just normal social
hierarchies.
17. How do you imagine European missionaries responded to this
representation of the Holy Family?

I imagine that the European missionaries would not like this

representation because i t is nothing like how the scene is in the
bible.

18. How might more orthodox Muslims have reacted to the larger
project of creating a blended religion making use of elements from
many traditions?

Some would have rejected it because the religion would need to stay
pure but others would have not cared much and thought of the
images as spiritually helpful.

19. What similarities can you identify between this Indian image and
the Chinese print in Source 15.4? Pay attention to the setting, the
clothing, the class status of the human figures, and the scenes outside
the windows.

Some similarities are the fact that Mary is shown to be wealthier in

both images than she was described in the bible. Along with that in
both images the people were changed to look like the people the
image was being shown to. Things like the clothes and architecture
were also adjusted to what the people would want to see.

20. What common Christian elements can you identify in these visual
sources? What differences in the expression can you define?

All the elements include symbols of Christian faith and almost all of
the sources had Mary included.

21. The Catholic Christian tradition as it developed in Latin America,

China and India as well as Europe assigned a very important role to
representations of the Virgin Mary. Why might such images of Mary
have been so widely appealing? In what ways does the image of the
Holy Mother differ in Sources 15.3, 15.4, and 15.5? In what ways were
those images adapted to the distinctive cultures in which they were
created?

These images of Mary have been so widely appealing because Mary

was the mother to Jesus and mothers generally are well respected in
cultures. The Holy Mother differs in the sources in appearance to
appeal to the people of the culture that this image is being shown to.
It's easier to like something when it looks like your people rather than
being Chinese and then being shown a white person.

22. From a missionary viewpoint, develop arguments for and against

religious syncretism using these visual sources as points of reference.

From a missionary viewpoint religious syncretism might be good

because changing the appearance of say Mary to look Chinese when
you’re trying to get Chinese to join Christianity might be useful
because people are more likely to join when Mary looks Chinese.
Religious syncretism can be bad because people will realize that the
person isn’t Chinese or isn’t rich and other such things.

23. What are the strength and limitations of these visual sources, as
opposed to texts, as historians seek to understand the globalization of
Chirstianity in the early modern era? What other visual sources might
be useful?

The strengths of these visual sources as opposed to texts are that

uneducated people can be introduced to the religion without having
to learn how to read and write. Some limitations are that the image
can’t show as much as a reading could tell.