Congregation and Audience: Accepting Truth through Practice

On page 296, Rose contends "Audience studies focuses most strongly on the site of audiencing in its social modality." She further discusses the benefits of these studies stating, "[They] can explore the richness and complexity of audience's engagements with visual materials while paying attention to social power relations." Thus, Rose acknowledges the social benefits of studying people in environments which are essentially considered culturally normal and/or safe. That is to say that every celebration of the Eucharist, every prayer, every act of reverence, every normalized practice associated with the Catholic Church during this time of worship, unless deemed by an individual who holds a higher position in the hierarchy or priesthood, always remains constant. It is this continually employed precept of security through practice which is capable of both cultivating and solidifying Catholic beliefs of what is true, for in the ever changing world, patrons will always make the sign of the cross, genuflect before entering their pew, christen their foreheads with holy water and repeat the same prayers and responses in unison. All in all, mass will always remain the same.

Through this unspoken yet understood promise of safety, the Church once again attempts to establish a sense of truth and further present it to the congregation as a contention to their audience claiming that through their abilities to maintain and deliver a traditional mass on a weekly basis, they in fact have the power to conserve a sense of peace within God's house. This stabilization and further preservation of practice and tradition fulfills those ideologies of that which is believed to be true. Jennifer A. Scott's article Our Callings, Our Selves: Repositioning Religious and Entrepreneurial Discourses in Career Theory and Practice highlights the dangers in the potentially false sense of security and desire presented by religious institutions. Scott examines the metaphor of "the call" which often times summons individuals into a religious discourse and on occasion, begs their life long devotion. In regards to her study Scott asserts, "By incorporating the integrative concept of discursive positioning, this study alerts us to a more nuanced understanding of the tensions and contradictions that arise in and through calling narratives." (261). Thus, as these narratives are perceived as true, they become cultural fictions, or rather traditions, and develop the power to withstand the test of time.

This illustration therefore exhibits the idea that within these areas where individuals may feel most comfortable and secure they potentially may submit to a higher institutional power where a mere idea or fleeting thought has the potential to be transformed into dogma. This situation in itself raises a question of agency in that it reverts a sense of accountability back upon the individual. In his article Developing a Critical Discourse: Michel Foucault and the Cult of Solidarity, Hearn references Foucault's stress on power relationships as they relate to solidarity. Hearn applies Foucault's view on ethics, which he states are "based in the notion of care of the self…" Furthermore, this care of the self can "only be reinvigorated by applying the Socratic ideal of self-examination and self-transformation" which, as it relates to the congregation, imposes a sense of agency upon parishioners (Hearn 21).

Therefore as depicted in both the various apparatuses and technologies of the Catholic Church, along with an audience which highlighted some of the normalized practices within the Catholic faith, it is evident that the call into a culture by historical institutions is one which can be misguided I belief and veiled deceit due to its previously established historical validity. While the Catholic Church has stood steadfast in tradition and passionate in belief, the culture of judgment which it has created among its parishioners is one initiated by fear of a being bigger than any society could imagine. Thus, the Church attempts to feed its congregation truth through normalized practices and accepted beliefs instead of allowing and expecting their followers to set their own standards of morality and govern themselves instead of each other.

As it relates to the Catholic Church, multiple aspects from its architecture, the progression of the mass, to the symbolism of each individual, both priest and patron, represent some sort of governmentality within the institution. That is to say that the church itself provides a particular discourse in which Catholics, some more devout than others, attempt to appeal to the better nature of an all seeing God. If we take into consideration the architectural/spatial aspects of a Catholic Church, we can note the presentation, and rather separation between the priest and his congregation simply because the priest, along with other leaders, such as the deacon, can be located at the front of the church closest to Jesus Christ. This distance creates and further symbolizes each individual's place, or rather role, within the church - some are made to feel big, while others are made to feel small. In relation to Rose and Foucault, the Catholic church doesn't necessarily represent a regime of punishment, but rather a regime of judgement. Its production of Catholics, all of whom are being "watched" by the head of the church, the saints, each other and above all the spiritual representation of Jesus Christ, somewhat brings Foucault's theory of panopticon to a new level in the sense that the material aspect of the representation of fear is removed and instead replaced by the fervent belief that someone else is in charge. Thus, through this somewhat "invisible" sense of panopticon, in combination with an overwhelming sense of governmentality, the church's production of Catholics provides a vivid illustration of the ways in which an institution calls its subjects into existence, formulating practices which are considered the norm, and even more so bestowing an overwhelming sense of significance upon the objects and their symbolism within the church.


Works Cited