Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Protestant Education and the Fine Arts

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Protestant Education

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Religion and Education ((IHRE,volume 6))

  • 917 Accesses

Abstract

Christian approaches to the fine arts have varied greatly over the years, and the modern Protestant educator is forced to confront a long history of controversy, as well as questions about the proper relationship between Christianity and the fine arts. As the fine arts are an established part of many existing Christian K-12 and college curriculums, the questions associated with the fine arts are not an academic question for most educators, but instead represent fundamental issues that must be addressed in daily instruction. This chapter first seeks to place the relationship between Christianity and the fine arts in historical context, through an examination of the troubled and complex history of the fine arts and Protestant Christianity, with an emphasis on contemporary issues. The next section, through summary of and commentary on previous works, provides an overview of the parameters of a Christian aesthetics that can help educators to make informed decisions regarding the use of the fine arts in their curriculums. This section highlights ways in which aesthetic issues are an everyday part of Church and educational life. In the final section, various practical approaches to teaching the fine arts as part of a broader Protestant Christian educational curriculum are explored through questions and commentary. Specifically, this area looks at vocational and curricular questions concerning arts education and asks questions regarding day-to-day instruction. The chapter calls for a greater and more informed use of the fine arts in Christian education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 349.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 439.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, D., & Apostolos-Cappadone, D. (Eds.). (1990). Dance as religious studies. New York: Crossroad.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, D., Kurian, G., & Johnson, T. (2001). World Christian encyclopedia (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Begbie, J. (1991). Voicing creation’s praise: Towards a theology of the fine arts. Edinburgh: HaperCollins/T&T Clark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bent, E. (2010, October). Angels and demons vie in Colorado Springs. American Theatre, pp. 128–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowersock, G. W., Brown, P., & Grabar, O. (1999). Late antiquity: A guide to the postclassical world. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, F. B. (1989). Religious aesthetics: A theological study of making and meaning. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, F. B. (2003). Good taste, bad taste, & Christian taste: Aesthetics in religious life. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bychkov, O. V., & Fodor, J. (2008). Theological aesthetics after Von Balthasar. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caemmerer, R. R. (1983). Visual art in the life of the church: Encouraging creative worship and witness in the congregation. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coplan, C. (2010, September 24). The new pornographers expelled from Calvin College gig. Consequence of sound. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/14/the-new-pornographers-expelled-from-calvin-college-gig/

  • Coulton, G. G. (1969). Art and the reformation. Hamden, CN: Archon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Gruchy, J. W. (2001). Christianity, art, and transformation: Theological aesthetics in the struggle for justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downing, C. (2006). How postmodernism serves (my) faith: Questioning truth in language, philosophy and art. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyrness, W. A. (2008). Dante, Bunyan and the case for a Protestant aesthetics. International Journal of Systematic Theology, 10(3), 285–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fish, S. (1980). Is there a text in this class?: The authority of interpretive communities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaebelein, F. E. (1985). The Christian, the arts, and truth: Regaining the vision of greatness. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garside, C., Jr. (1981). Zwingli and the arts. New York: De Capo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilson, É. (1957). Painting and reality. New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegeman, D. B. (2004, November). Clashing cultures: Christian art vs. secular art—The importance of Hans Rookmaaker in art and in the life of Francis Schaeffer (Vol. 9). Comment Magazine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. (2005). What has Christianity ever done for us? How it shaped the modern world. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, D. L. (2003). Houses of the interpreter: Reading scripture, reading culture. Waco, TX: Baylor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, R. W. (1995). Essays in theology of culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. P. (1963). Art as the creator of lived meaning. Journal of Bible and Religion, 31(3), 225–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson, D. A. (1989) Theological and aesthetic roots in the Stone-Campbell movement. Kirksville, MO: The Thomas Jefferson University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitzinger, E. (1977). Byzantine art in the making. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowden, J. (1997). Early Christian and Byzantine art. London: Phaidon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masterpiece Christian Fine Arts Foundation—About us. (2010). Retrieved October 30, 2010, from http://www.mcfineartsfoundation.org/about.htm

  • Maus, C. P. (1938). Christ and the fine arts. New York: Harper & Bros.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maus, C. P. (1954). The Old Testament and the fine arts. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalski, S. (1993). The Reformation and the visual arts: The Protestant image question in Western and Eastern Europe. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milburn, R. (1988). Early Christian art and architecture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, K. F. (2005). The male gaze and other reasons for the hypothetical end of Christian art in the West (The Etienne Gilson Series 26). Toronto, ON: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, A. (2007). Redeeming beauty: Soundings in sacral aesthetics. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, P. (2008). Evangelicals in theatre: Inching towards center stage. In Q. J. Schultze & R. Woods (Eds.), Understanding evangelical media: The changing face of Christian communication (pp. 149–160). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, K. (2002). For glory and for beauty: Practical perspectives on Christianity and the visual arts. Minneapolis, MN: Brice Printing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rock, J., & Mealy, N. (1988). Performer as priest and prophet: Restoring the intuitive in worship through music and dance. San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rookmaaker, H. R. (1973). Modern art and the death of a culture. London: InterVarsity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rookmaaker, H. R. (1978). Art needs no justification. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M., & Switzer, L. (2009). God in the corridors of power: Christian conservatives, the media, and politics in America. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryken, L. (1989). The liberated imagination: Thinking Christianly about the arts. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaeffer, F. A. (1979). Art and the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaeffer, F. A. (1981). Addicted to mediocrity. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder, C. (1989). Rediscovering the arts in worship. Calgary, AL: Baptist Union of Western Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seerveld, C. (1977). A Christian critique of art and literature. Toronto, ON: Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serba, J. (2010, September 14). Calvin College cancels the new pornographers concert because of the band’s name. The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved from http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grandrapids/index.ssf/2010/09/calvin_college_cancels_the_new.html

  • Siedell, D. A. (2008). God in the gallery: A Christian embrace of modern art. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, W. D., & Spencer, A. B. (1998). God through the looking glass: Glimpses from the arts. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Viladesau, R. (1999). Theological aesthetics: God in imagination, beauty, and art. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walden, C. (Ed). (1986). Called to create: Christian witness and the arts. San Jose, CA: Resource.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, K. (1954). History of speech education in America. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, M. (1986). Christianity and the theatre. Edinburgh: Handsel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolterstorff, N. (1980). Art in action: Toward a Christian aesthetic. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI, USA

    James M. Brandon

Authors
  1. James M. Brandon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James M. Brandon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dundalk Lane 15872, Huntington Beach, 92647, California, USA

    William Jeynes

  2. S.E. Hunters Bluff Ave. 9388, Happy Valley, 97086, Oregon, USA

    David W. Robinson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Brandon, J.M. (2012). Protestant Education and the Fine Arts. In: Jeynes, W., Robinson, D. (eds) International Handbook of Protestant Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2387-0_35

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation