The idea of the panopticon suggests a principle of constant surveillance, which in turn subjugates people and internalizes power (Nye 2008, 72). The presence of these statues within the Catholic Church, which essentially surrounded the entire service, had the sort of panopticon effect that Foucault talks about. Everyone in the service, felt as though they were being watched, and so we had to alter our behavior in accordance with that feeling. It seems as though this same effect was brought on by the presence of the Pastor at the altar, of course he was watching us literally and it was evident as his eyes roamed from person to person while he spoke but it seemed to subjugate the people at the service. Foucault suggests that the prisoner of the panopticon has to behave as though he/she is constantly being watched- even when there is no one looking- thus causing the prisoner to participate in a system which is controlling him/her (Nye 2008, 72). Everyone at the service was trying to be on their best behavior, and the reoccurring theme here was that whether it was the effect of the panopticon by the presence of statues or the Pastor, this subjugation was caused by some sort of male presence. Foucault also suggests that knowledge is derived from power as much as it gives power (Nye 2008, 74). Evidence of this can be seen in the ability of the Pastor to conduct the service therefore assuming he is the most knowledgeable body in the church. This knowledge gives him power over everyone else; he stands on an elevated surface, and is the only one speaking during the majority of the service.
The second most evident pattern I saw within the church was the presence of gold, whether it be in color or actual material form. The gold could be seen in virtually every statue of Jesus Christ, in the paten and chalice (as described by the nun), in the plates surrounding the pews, the candleholders, and in decorative pieces here and there around the church whose names I am not quite familiar with. The gold was also present in the clothes of the pastor, and in the jewelry of the nuns. Every cross that the nuns were wearing was made of gold, as was the cross that the Pastor held up during a part of the service. The pastor himself was wearing a green garment with gold crosses on it. It looked as though the massive statue of Jesus Christ, located central in the church, was made entirely of gold as well. In fact, every statue of Jesus had some sort of gold present in it. I noticed, though, that the two statues of the women, which were placed in the back of the church, did not contain nearly as much gold. Whereas Jesus was represented in gold throughout the church, these statues of women were predominantly white; the only piece of gold that could be seen on them was the presence of a gold chain with a cross on it. I seemed to notice the same pattern with the nuns, whereas the Pastor and the boy assisting him had a significant amount of gold present in their garments, the nuns had absolutely no gold present in theirs other than the cross of course. In fact, the nuns were all wearing black and white as opposed to the bright colors worn by the Pastor and his “right hand man”.
Karl Marx suggests that society is essentially based on prominent inequalities between those who control economic resources and those who do not (Nye 2008, 58). Marx also implies that control over material products serves as the most dominant source of social empowerment (Nye 2008, 58). If gold is known to have high material value, it is safe to conclude that the reoccurring presence of gold in the garments of the higher male religious authorities, as well as in the statues of Jesus Christ, serves as a basis for social empowerment within the Catholic community. The presence of gold and the power associated with it seemed to be a reoccurring theme predominantly in garments that the males conducting the service were wearing and in statues of the only male religious figure. The Pastor, “God”, and Jesus Christ seemed to be most obviously associated with golden materials and it was quite noticeable that these authorities were also most revered. Given this observation, Karl Marx would say that there is a divide in classes visible here. The higher religious male authorities are a part of a higher class than the followers of Catholicism, including the nuns. If power can be directly related to control over material objects, and the presence of gold in this situation seems to be in the control of these higher religious authorities then it is evident that these authorities hold power. Karl Marx would say in this case that the followers of Catholicism are essentially programmed into believing that this existing social relation, and this hierarchy of religious authorities is divinely ordained (Nye 2008, 59). Therefore, the followers of Catholicism have no choice but to accept this social divide, and to avoid questioning it.
The arguments made above are based on a 60-70 minute visit to a religious service that I had very minimal prior knowledge of. I think that, in itself, is one of the biggest limitations, considering it was nearly impossible for me to pick up on every detail necessary to write a concise, detailed and well-informed paper. One of the biggest limitations, which could possibly have hindered my ability to make better-informed arguments, is the Pastors use of a different language during certain parts of the service. The majority of the service was in English, but I feel like I could have made more thorough observations had he stuck to speaking in English for the entire service. Another limitation is the fact that I didn’t ask the nun (whom we spoke to briefly about the service) as many questions regarding the most important patterns I saw during the service as I should have. Had I questioned her more thoroughly about my second pattern, I think I would have been able to conduct better arguments.
The reoccurring presence of statues and gold within “Holy Trinity Parish” serve to prove that power within Catholicism is predominantly in the hands of male religious authorities. If, according to Foucault, “Power is Knowledge” and vice versa it is easy to see that the Pastor and Jesus Christ who both seem to have the most knowledge have the most power. This argument is further proven with Marxist ideas that Power comes with material value, as the Pastor and Jesus Christ – who, the sister we spoke to says, is the key religious figure in Catholicism- are both associated with Golden materials, whether it be on their clothes or their statues.
Bibliography
Nye, Malory. Religion: The Basics, 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2008.
by
git1994 (student)
