Prior to my further writing I would like to take an attempt in defining the core values of religion in general. Since each religion has its practilicaties, it is hard to determine and to describe the exact core values of religion in general. That’s why I will describe it in my words, following my interpretation and my experiences that I made.
First, I would like to describe it as devoting and having blind trust into a higher and invisible power and follow its practices, beliefs, and values. Secondly, it is also about sharing all of this with a larger good or community. In Christianity, a hierarchy exists within the community. This hierarchy can only exist with the help of rules, laws, solidarity, loyalty and surveillance. Disobeying rules or values will have their consequences. At last, one of the core values is education and to pass on God’s messages to his followers (alas missionairing others).
While writing this thesis I discovered that almost all of the core values of Christianity are shared or immediately connected with the core standards of capitalism itself. I did not only execute my research lingering behind the computer or a single book, but in this research I include conversations, and reflections on experiences from the past. Having this insider knowledge, I was able to analyse imagery and sometimes to even enter sacred spaces that remain closed to others. In this thesis, I will bring up examples that will support the following values I discovered during my empirical research: hierarchy, power, community, individualism, consumption, monetary capital, knowledge and the invisible hand (I will explain this later on this thesis). These are the shared pillars of Christianity and capitalism of the 21st century. [fig. 2 & 3]

figure 2 (top): The Pyramid of Capitalist System (1911), a cartoon made to critique the capitalist system, with its hierarchy of power and wealth. © Public Domain

figure 3 (bottom): Protesters demonstrating against the influence of bankers and financiers next to the Euro symbol in front of the European Central Bank in 2011 in Frankfurt. © Getty Images

Before we find ourselves in the midst of this research I would like to share why I decided to write about Christianity and capitalism. I grew up in a small town in-between Rotterdam and Gouda, situated in the Dutch Bible Belt. From my birth until the age of 21 I’ve lived there, I went to school and made friends there. Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (its literal translation is Old Church at the IJssel) was named after an old church that has been a prominent landmark for centuries now, visible on the horizon for ships traveling along the IJssel river. The population of this town, approximately 5.700, is mainly religious. Orthodox Christians have been ruling over this small, seemingly, peaceful village for many centuries, until this very day. [fig. 4a + 4b] To me this was suffocating and an important reason to leave.

figure 4a (top): The Pyramid of Capitalist System (1911), a cartoon made to critique the capitalist system, with its hierarchy of power and wealth. © Public Domain

figure 4b (bottom): Protesters demonstrating against the influence of bankers and financiers next to the Euro symbol in front of the European Central Bank in 2011 in Frankfurt. © Getty Images

During my whole formative years and young adulthood, I had to deal with restrictions and rules made up by the church on a daily basis. Within my parental home, I was raised differently than all my classmates and friends. I was the only one not baptized, I had TV and the Internet and I was freely allowed to use them. I was not raised with the Bible, I didn’t go to church and on Sundays I was allowed to go out and do activities. Both of my parents were raised as Christians, but not as very strict. My parents gave me the freedom to interpret religion as I wanted to. But unfortunately, this completely clashed on a mainly social level, because my friends were living in the opposite world. This led to not fitting in and always being some kind of misfit. You can safely say that this made me feel lonely and sometimes even desperate. For a while, I even went to catechesis^[1] on Saturday evening. I was convinced by my friends and was happy to join them. Reflecting on this time I can conclude that I only went to catechesis to actually socialize with my friends. To gain social contacts I had to admit to the church.

When I grew older I went to a Christian high school in Rotterdam. In order to be accepted for this Christian high school, I had to be signed up at a Protestant church, since the school was Protestant orientated. This is often the condition to be accepted at a Christian school in The Netherlands. Reformed Christians go to Reformed schools, Protestant Christians go to Protestant schools.^{[2] [3]}

This automatically draws students from the exact same communities and even towns, which resulted into a lack of diversity in my high school. The average student of my high school was white, Christian, heterosexual and from middle- or higher class. It was my own choice to proceed my education at this specific Christian school, since the quality of education there was very high compared to other schools around. Unfortunately, before I started to study there I received some misinformation about how much Christian faith was involved and directly connected to my education.
During my time there I got into numerous discussions with teachers and deputy directors. They knew I didn’t fully follow up on the schools’ policy and the values of the church. I started to really question religion in general. Why did we only treat Christianity during religious studies classes?
Why weren’t gay boys and girls allowed to express their sexual preferences like a straight person? Why were there only white kids and teachers? At some point, my high school tried to stop me from passing to the next year, because I had an insufficient for religious studies class. This resulted in several heated discussions between the school and my mother, since the law says that students can not fail a whole year based upon a bad grade for religious studies classes. In this case, the school tried to elevate the values of their religion above the constitutional law. Eventually, after a lot of negotiation between my mother and the school, I got the chance to pass the year. But it was under one condition: I had to study for a big test that included all the material of that year’s religious study class and I had to pass the test with a sufficient. We accepted the conditions and in the end I passed the year. But at that moment, and still, it actually didn’t felt like a chance, but as a punishment. I was still forced to learn about Christianity and it felt like I had to be disciplined. The French philosopher Michel Foucault describes in his book Discipline and Punish^[4] that disciplinary power consists of three elements: hierarchical observation, normalising judgement and examination. It might sound far-fetched, but one should not underestimate the power of discipline. In essence all of these three elements can be directly connected to the school’s way of handling my disobedience. They observed my behaviour and concluded that I didn’t suffice to pass the year. They normalised their judgement because they presented this final test as an opportunity that I shouldn’t resist. And finally, they literally examined me via the test.
When I was fifteen years old I was in a relationship with someone from my class for several months. According to his parents, I was not Christian enough and I wasn’t the right girl for their son. They never actually stated this in a literal way, but I could notice it on every level. I was never welcome at their place, especially not when they were away from home. When I was there, they always acted stand-offish and cold. I tried my best to be a nice ‘daughter-in-law’, always being very polite and careful with my words. The only time I spend a full day at their place was once on a Sunday while joining them going to church. I constantly had to prove myself and my devotion to the church to be accepted. I was completely at the bottom of the hierarchy ladder, since I didn’t practice Christian faith as they did and how the church instructed.

This is how spending my childhood and young-adulthood at these schools and in this village felt to me. For more than a decade I daily admitted to something I didn’t want. I muted my thoughts, questions, disapproval, and frustrations to not clash and get in trouble. It was a subtle way of washing my brain. Although my family is white and Christian, I was still considered the misfit in the community since I was not partaking in the protocol of the church and the Christian schools. Already being more liberal, critical or even neutral is being treated as difficult or ‘the other’. When I moved away from this environment I found the space to think about these things, which I did extensively over the past few years. Only now I notice how much all of this affected me, but also shaped me into the person I am now. Surely, it made me critical about religion and society. This kind of liberation was necessary to realise how conflicting some power structures, hierarchies and ideologies are.

It is 2003 in my hometown Ouderkerk aan den IJssel. I was only eight years old, but I can remember my mother being incredibly frustrated about the events that took place at that time. It was the year that they tried to merge two different churches: the Protestant Church and the Reformed Church. [figure 5] Both churches have the same roots from many centuries ago but don’t share the same ideas anymore on this day. This fusion resulted in the following years into big problems all over the country, like lawsuits about the property of church buildings, pastors who weren’t supported by their church anymore and ruptures through whole communities and even families.^{[5] [6]}

figure 5 (top): An almost complete overview of the ruptures and merges of the Christian church of The Netherlands. The circled rupture shows the events of 2004. © Wikimedia Commons: Gpvos

The Reformed Church was fed up with the situation and started a new church in 2004: The Restored Reformed Church. By using this name they claimed that they were the ones that ‘restored’ everything. In Ouderkerk all of a sudden, this Restored Reformed Church didn’t have its church building anymore but had to share it with the Protestants. This was something they couldn’t accept and came up with the idea to build a brand new church building of their own. The costs: more than €7 million. The municipality suggested a green area at the entrance of the town to build the new church, next to a business park. [figure 6]

figure 6 (bottom): The business park of Ouderkerk aan den IJssel with the new build church next to it. © Google Earth

But then Pandora’s box was opened. The opposition accused SGP-councilor Leo Barth (SGP is a conservative Christian political party in The Netherlands) of enforcing his religious preferences in the town council so the church could be built. Barth denied every accusation, claiming his consciousness was clean. This fight continued and resulted in a big influence on politics in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel and its residents. Barth on his turn accused direct neighbors of being influenced and following other political parties’ demands. As you may notice, religion was leaping here into the local political realms. You would assume that there is a strict separation of church and state at all times, but in reality it isn’t.
Until this day approximately 23% of the residents are Reformed Christian versus 10,5% Protestant Christian.^[7] When this Reformed Christian group strikes back it doesn’t stay unnoticed. One man, member of the Protestant Church, protested against the giant church which was planned next to his hardware store. This led to furious reactions of the Reformed Christian population. In the following months, the profit of the hardware store decreased by half. The stores were literally boycotted by those who wanted the church being build. It is somehow similar to when I was young and was disciplined by the church and the schools I went to. Christian discipline starts in your childhood and continues into adulthood. If you disagree with the construction of a new Reformed Christian church you get rapped on the knuckles.
As the owner of the hardware store, there were many others, seeing their companies getting into financial trouble. After many years of discussing and negotiating the construction of the church building started mid 2015. The church was finished in 2017, providing more than 1.000 seats every Sunday morning and evening.^[8] [figure 7] Until this day there’s still a tensed relation between the two churches and the citizens.

figure 7: The finished church building of the Restored Reformed Church (right) and the business park (left) next to each other. © Laura Brouwer

People and religion go way back in time, but of course, the big question is: why do people need religion? Why is there constantly the need to worship the invisible? During my research I forced myself to return to the church I’m still signed up for, this subscription is one of the remains of my childhood in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel.^[9] The church service was inspiring and suffocating at the same time. It was suffocating because it, of course, reminded me of my childhood, confirming my thoughts and emotions I have with the church. It was a strange experience, being an observer in this situation. Being still partly immersed in that community I’ve been trying to avoid for so many years, but also with the other foot outside of the door.
During the sermon, the pastor preached that the physical church is the house of God, the true center of Christian faith. To me this was indicating that the true center of Christian faith is the church, meaning that if you don’t visit the church, you are not a true Christian. Although I don’t want to position myself as a Christian or a religious person at all, I do have my concerns about these kinds of statements. These are the kind of rules and restrictions that repelled me from the Christian religion. I think that the center of ‘true Christianity’ lies within yourself.
But I have to be completely honest about the fact that this sermon was inspiring in the sense of the community that shaped out of this church. The church service I visited was the last one of the church year (the Protestant church follows another calendar than the regular Gregorian calendar). The church year of the Protestant church follows the life of Jesus Christ, which means that the opening of a new church year is characterized as a start of hopeful times of advent (the preparation before Christmas) and Christmas itself (the birth of Jesus). During the last service of the year, Protestant Christians reflect upon the past year and honour the church members who lost their lives. During this service, the pastor mentioned the names of the deceased and lit up several candles. It was a way to honour, remember and support relatives with all their grief. Although I have all my questions and concerns, I have to admit that this was something special.

I think the reason why people need religion is that it’s about guidance, something to hold on to and have stability at all times. This stability is something politics usually can not guarantee.
The stability also consists out of repetition, doing the same rituals such as praying, reading the Bible, going to church, etc. It is a haven at any place at all times. You share something important with a large group of people which shapes itself into a solid stable group that gives you comfort and support. [figure 8] However, these social group dynamics of course also create social pressure.
It may sound a bit odd, but I’d like to sometimes compare it to football supporters going to a football match of their team. It is a large group of people having one big important interest. Their team is something they admire and are proud of. Going to football matches and watching matches on TV are their rituals. They never miss out on any news and are closely involved. The community has its rituals and culture, such as clothing, songs, and way of behaving. The supporters belonging to this community support each other during good and bad times, forming a stable group. Imagine the powerful feeling of standing in an arena, together with your community, all supporting and admiring the same thing. [figure 8] This is exactly how a church feels like for the members of a church community.

figure 8: Football supporters of Feyenoord showing the flag of Rotterdam, the biggest banner ever made in Europe. © Unknown

The same kind of inclusivity is happening at the 'Sunday Services' of Kanye West.^{[10] [11]} He introduced his Sunday Services for the first time on January 6, 2019. West, widely known for his compassion for Christian religion and including this not only in his personal life but also in his music career, started these ‘services’ to come together and share a moment of pure joy and happiness. Mostly, these services are exclusive and invitation only. Invitees have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which instantly creates a sphere of mystery. But it seems like attendees are freely allowed to share their experiences with their followers on social media. Since it is so mysterious and connected to one of the most famous families in the world (The Kardashian family is directly involved), social media usually explodes when a new Sunday Service takes place. The locations differ every time; sometimes it is in a room lit by a monochrome light, sometimes in a big stadium and once even at the Coachella festival. [figure 9 & 10] What they all have in common is that these places are chosen or made to make the Sunday Services visually appealing. The trailer of Kanye West’s movie Jesus is King shows the work by artist James Turell, the Roden Crater.^[12] The trailer is directed in such a way that it presents a keyhole, suggesting that God’s kingdom is the key to be able to enter.^[13] [figure 11] Another Sunday Service that took place in a desert can be directly connected to the biblical story of the prophet Moses, wandering around in the desert with his people for nearly 40 years. The whole reason behind this kind of curation can only be two things: to attract people for Christianity and/or attract people including their dollars. Let’s not forget; it is a public event. Kanye West, a popular musician, he deliberately choses to perform his belief in public with a talented choir and invited guests. Him being the husband of the famous soap star Kim Kardashian allows one to at least consider the possibility of incredible smart marketing—even if it does not apply.

figure 9 (top): Sunday Service held at The Forum on November 3, 2019. © Unknown

figure 10 (middle): Kanye on his knees during the Sunday Service at Coachella festival in 2019, wearing Yeezy clothing. © Liam MacRae

figure 11 (bottom): Still from the Jesus Is King trailer showing Turell’s work the Roden Crater. © Kanye West

One can not deny that Kanye West’s Sundays Services are a brilliant concept. In a very short amount of time, these services have become world-famous and gained a lot of international attention due to smart marketing via social media, and performative qualities. Maybe one also has to consider that these happenings are placed on American soil mostly. As the seminal cultural studies philosopher Gayatri Spivak stated during a lecture at the Goethe University Frankfurt in 2011, “lets face it we are speaking of America, where Christianity comes out of your ears.”^[14] The music is a clever combination of existing Christian songs combined with a live gospel choir, talented musicians and present-day Hip-hop and Rap (mostly Kanye’s songs, all altered to the new concept).^{[15] [16]} It is a full experience, bringing the people together with uplifting music and giving a feeling of solidarity.
What all Sunday Services have in common as well is that it’s a mixture of a musical, a fashion show and an overall experience. West doesn’t only use his music during the Services, but the choir is wearing an identical outfit, originating from the Yeezy apparel, Kanye’s fashion brand. After a public ceremony, which happened a few times, Kanye’s Yeezy clothing was for sale. The prices ranged from $50 for a pair of socks to $225 for a sweater. [figure 12] These exclusive items are the relics of Kanye’s church services and are highly popular by fans and attendees of the Sunday Services. The writer of an article at The New Yorker writes spot-on: “Like West, I grew up in a community where Christianity was presented as a mandate. I spent years, when I was younger, wishing that church could be wordless and strange; I felt the presence of God more profoundly when I was in a crowd of people listening to music—rap, in particular—than I did while listening to a pastor speak. I also saw, after a decade inside an evangelical megachurch, how quickly a genuine hunger for salvation and community could be converted into cash and self-aggrandizement.”^[17] Kanye West effortlessly rebranded himself, presenting himself as a worshipper and messenger from God. Kanye even stated in an interview with James Cordon that God gave him a large number of tax refunds: “Last year, I made $115 million and still ended up $35 million in debt. This year, I looked up and I just got $68 million returned to me on my tax returns.” Corden eventually asked if his spiritual awakening is part of his success. “Absolutely. [God’s] showing off. He’s just showing out,” West said. “Yeezy worth $3 billion ... Kanye West works for God.”^[18]

figure 12: Merchandise tent with Sunday Service clothing after the show on Coachella festival in 2019. © Def Jam Recordings

As I already said, West let his family partake in his Sunday Services. In one of his songs, Closed on Sunday, he directly refers to the role of the family in Christian faith: “Get your family, y’all hold hands and pray”.^[19] This brings me to the next similarity between Christian religion and capitalism: the family.

The nuclear family, in its textbook definition, is a family consisting of a mother and father and one or more children, is designed to stay as long as possible in the workforce. The roles of the nuclear family are clearly assigned; the father is the wage worker and the mother the caretaker of the children. The two guardians together are providing for their family. [figure 13] Because of having children, people are somehow ‘forced’ to stay at work. A family with children requires a stable income to provide the care children need. The nuclear family is a micro replica of the major capitalist structure we live in, it is the backbone of capitalism. Feminist economist Heidi L. Hartmann explains in a paper about the relation between marxism and feminism the following thing: “…capital creates an ideology, which grows up alongside of it, of individualism, competitiveness, domination, and in our time, consumption of a particular kind. Whatever one’s theory of the genesis of ideology one must recognize these as the dominant values of capitalist societies.”^{[20] [21]} With the nuclear family comes the house, a private home that provides stability and security. This is as well a clear signifier of the capitalistic system: having private property. [figure 14]

figure 13 (top): My reading of this image is Christian propaganda, showing The Christian Nuclear Family seeking salvation by Jesus Christ. © Unknown

figure 14 (bottom): Still of Edward Scissorhands (26:45) where director Tim Burton is mocking the American dream and its residents in the suburbs. © Twentieth Century Fox

Communism and socialism, on the contrary, had in the past a more shared way of housing; the extended family. While being in Belgrade in 2018, I visited Novi-Beograd, a suburb completely build according to the Socialist ideals. In the planned cities of formerly Eastern Europe, taking Novi Beograd as an example, homes were stacked high in the sky in the shape of many blocks (blokovi in Serbian). Residents shared communal spaces such as parks, hidden courtyard gardens and sometimes even kitchens. [figure 15] The focus on communal life was high and the state provided childcare for parents who needed to work. Mothers and fathers were both in this way able to join the workforce. What was also remarkable was the lack of parking spaces and car roads. Instead, many footpaths were connecting the different blocks and amenities of the city. It was uncommon for people to have a private car since shuttle buses transported residents to their workplaces.
Christianity is here again sharing the exact same ideal as capitalism. The Christian family exists out of two parents; a mother, a father and their children. In Genesis 9:1 God speaks to Noah after the flood: “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth””. Later on, in Jeremiah 29:6 the Bible says: “Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease“. The Bible encourages families to get married, live together and have children. What I notice with my old friends from the Christian schools I went to is that most of them follow this way of living: getting married, start living together in a private house and getting children. Women are the care-takers and men continue their career. It is the exact same thing that keeps us inside the capitalistic system.

figure 15: A primary school in Novi Beograd, surrouned by pedestrian paths, playgrounds, parks and residential blocks. © Nicolas Grospierre

On the cemetery of Roermond (The Netherlands) you can find two very special graves — the graves of Jacobus van Gorkum (1809–1880), colonel of the Dutch Cavalry, and his wife Josephina van Aefferden (1820–1888). The graves of Jacobus and Josephina are separated by a wall because they were not allowed to be buried together. Jacobus was raised as a Protestant Christian and Josephina as a Catholic. Their graves are separated because Dutch cemeteries were all separated by religion. Although it was impossible to be buried together, they are still forever connected because of the statue that connects their graves. The statue images two stone hands clasping each other and bridging the wall that separates them.^[22] [figure 16]

figure 16: The graves of Jacobus van Gorkum and Josephina van Aefferden, forever connected by the clasping hands. © Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed

The separation of the cemetery into different religious segments is called 'verzuiling'. The closest accurate translation of 'verzuiling' would be pillarisation, a phenomenon that can almost only be found in The Netherlands. Pillarisation is simply said that society is divided into pillars. Each pillar is supposed to link people together with the same ideology, values, ideas, and identity which leads to a very strong social control. Protestant, Catholic, socialist and liberal are the four pillars that carried Dutch society. Already earlier I described two examples of pillarisation: the first example was about Protestant Christians going to Protestant schools and Reformed Christians going to Reformed schools. [figure 17] The second example was when the Reformed Christians in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel refused to share a church building with the Protestants and build one of their own.

figure 17: Cartoon from ± 1900 with the text: “Your boy is going to the Christian school, understood!”. © Albert Hahn

This ‘invisible social control’ which I mentioned, is so deeply rooted in our society that probably most Dutch people wouldn’t even notice or recognize. While writing my thesis I had many conversations with my mother about my home village and the Christian church. During one of our conversations, she told me about how Halloween was celebrated in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel. Although this holiday has its origins in the U.S.A., it’s gaining popularity in The Netherlands for the past few years. However, the Christian church doesn’t approve this holiday at all and warns its community that it’s the work of the devil.^{[23] [24]} Around 46% of the residents of Ouderkerk aan den IJssel is Christian, which means that around 54% is non-religious. And here comes the pillarisation back again. In Ouderkerk aan den IJssel there are two primary schools: the school with the Bible (Protestant Christian) and the public school. The public school organized a Halloween party and went trick-or-treating with the children. But beforehand parents and other adults that were connected to the public school agreed to place pumpkins in their front yard or behind their windows so it would be visible from the outside. They did this as a sign that those houses were ‘Halloween friendly’. The pumpkins were supposed to prevent children from ringing the doorbell of a Christian family and get into conflict with its householders.
This is only a very small example of representation of Dutch society. Back in the days the church somehow ‘owned’ at least a quarter of Dutch society with its political parties, unions, schools, hospitals, media, cultural institutions, and sports clubs. Although nowadays the Dutch government claims that there is a seperation between church and state, Dutch society is in fact still soaked with pillarisation. In the 21st century, we still have separated schools, separate newspapers, separate broadcasting organizations, and separate political parties. Although the boundaries of the four pillars are slowing fading, it is remarkable that the Protestant or Christian pillar stayed almost unchanged for the past decades. The Christian pillar of society still ‘owns’ a lot of political parties such as SGP, CDA, and ChristenUnie which still have a big influence on Dutch politics. The EO (Evangelical Broadcasting) and NCRV (Dutch Christian Radio Association) are still airing their programs on national television and radio, Reformatorisch Dagblad and Trouw are still one of the biggest daily newspapers (not publishing or available on Sundays to respect the day of rest) and schools are completely separated by their pillars. Dutch society used to be divided by four different pillars and as already said these boundaries are fading. Times are changing and we are entering a new age of pillarisation. Some new religious pillars are appearing, among other Islamic and Hindu pillars with their own religious organizations and schools. At the same time Christianity in The Netherlands is declining, the number of churches and visitors are dropping already for many years. Secularisation, a cultural transition where religious values are replaced by non-religious values, is globally a fact.^[25] At the same time, we see that Islam is gaining more popularity in The Netherlands with more mosques and more believers. Christian churches are deserting while mosques are filling up. This automatically leads to an obvious result of Muslims seeking property and Christians who have to sell their property because on Sundays the churches remain almost empty. But, as you might expect, this is causing difficulties and troubles regarding redistributing physical property. Christian churches refuse to sell their property to Muslims, although these Christian churches are having a hard time to sell their buildings.^[26] They wish to sell their churches to small foreign Christian organizations, such as Chinese or Surinam communities. Muslims are out of the question because of all the differences and the meaning of ‘the true faith’. The core values of both religions are too different, which results that many churches in The Netherlands remain empty without a function.
Pillarisation is completely woven into our Dutch society, leading to empty churches and social segregation. I connect this pillarisation immediately back to our capitalistic view. Capitalism is partly about individual ownership, having private property and individual rights. This is the same thing with the Protestant pillar in The Netherlands. It still has its unique ownership and control of Dutch society.

The national-socialists had their significant swastika symbol, communists had their hammer and sickle, yellow stars and the bright red color. They spread their ideologies through visual language and art and made sure people encountered these symbols everywhere to show the ideologies' power. [figure 18] I’ve always been intrigued by the work of El Lissitzky. I am highly impressed by the simple, though powerful compositions of geometric shapes. Shapes are disrupting, clashing and destroying each other, having a fight in the composition of the artwork. [figure 19]

figure 18 (top): Nazi parade in Nuremberg, Germany in 1938. © Unknown

figure 19 (bottom): El Lissitzky, Klinom krasnym bei belykh (Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge), 1919. © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

In May 2019 I had a very interesting conversation with Federico Campagna while he was visiting the academy and giving a lecture. In our conversation, we discussed political and religious symbols, but also monuments and the deconstructional part of it. At one point he said: “The moment you monumentalize something, it becomes fragile. You make it visible.” This quote has been lingering in my mind for a very long time.
My first reaction during this conversation with Federico was that capitalism doesn’t have monuments, thus less fragile. Capitalism does not show a logo, a symbol or a monument. It is a strong and working system, showing off with a specific visual identity isn’t necessary. Although I still fully agree with Federico’s comment, I changed my mind over the intangibility of capitalism. But I will come back to this point later.

Douglas Coe, mainly named Doug Coe, was probably one of the most influential religious persons in the world, but, most likely, you have never heard of him. In 1935 Doug Coe founded The Fellowship and was the key-figure until his death in 2017. The Netflix documentary The Family tells the story of The Fellowship, or also called The Family by its own members.^[27] The Fellowship is a right-wing Christian organization that has its roots in Washington D.C. and operates in mainly two ways. The first thing is owning several luxurious residential properties in which future and present politicians communally live and help each other to find Jesus. In one of these houses, called The Cedars, young white alpha men are recruited who are considered to be suitable to work for the U.S. House of Representatives, The Senate or even The White House. Women are also connected to The Family, but they are ought to support the men. The men inside these houses believe that they were chosen by God to run the country and its whole organization. They are the ‘key men’ of American society and politics. [figure 20]

figure 20: Still from the Netflix documentary The Family. © Netflix

C Street Center, a three-story brick mansion in downtown Washington D.C. (estimated value of $1.8 million), caused a lot of controversies in the American media. [figure 21] The building has 12 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, five living rooms, four dining rooms, three offices, a kitchen, and even a small chapel. The house’s residents are mostly Republican politicians who can live in all luxury under bargain rent prices. This wasn’t the only reason of being the center of controversy, but also because of its claimed tax status as a church and that it was allowed to keep the residents’ names secret.
These properties weren’t only used for residential purposes, but they were also the place where dozens of (sometimes secret) meetings and receptions with different world leaders and ambassadors were hosted. Although most of these meetings were exclusive and secret, it is known that praying was a big part of these so-called ‘Luncheons’ or ‘Prayer Breakfasts’. What is remarkable is that most invitees of these meetings are representatives of politically and/or religiously less stable countries, such as Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, and Moldova.

figure 21: C Street Center, Washington D.C. © Wikimedia Commons: John Phelan

But these meetings inside these houses weren’t the only ones, which brings me to the next point: The National Prayers Breakfast. This annual event takes place on the first Thursday of February in Washington D.C. and attracts each year around 3.400 world leaders, politicians, diplomats, lobbyists, and religious leaders. The National Prayer Breakfast is often mistaken for one event, but in fact it is a week-long ‘festival’. During this week many speeches, lectures and presentations are given. Often this event is also seen as a unique chance to get in touch with American politicians or even the President. [figure 22]

figure 22: President Trump speeching during the National Prayer’s Breakfast in 2018. © Alamy Stock Photo

Jeff Sharlet, journalist and author, did intensive investigation in The Fellowship and wrote two books about the organization behind the most powerful Christian group in western society. In 2002 he was even one of the residents of The Cedars, working and studying alongside other young male members of the organization. During several interviews, and also in his co-produced Netflix documentary ‘The Family’, he stated that The National Prayer Breakfast is nothing more than a giant corporate lobbying event or a recruiting device. The Fellowship Foundation earns more than $1,000,000 annually through its sponsorship of the National Prayer Breakfast. Besides that, the group received nearly $16.8 million to support the 400 ministries from private donations in 2007.^{[28] [29]}

But The National Prayer Breakfast doesn’t stop at the borders of the U.S.A.. Another primary activity of The Fellowship is to develop smaller prayer groups, meant to spread out and develop roots all over the globe. A Prayer Breakfast Movement started and currently, there are many annual Prayer Breakfasts organized all over the world. What I noticed after checking some leaked documents on WikiLeaks, is that all of these smaller prayer groups constantly report back to the Secretary of State in Washington D.C.^{[30] [31] [32]}
It seems like The Fellowship wants to remain its influence and power on all departments abroad. The Fellowship doesn’t only undermine the constitutional separation of the church and the state, but also quietly builds its influence on global politics in the name of Jesus. In the past few years, The Fellowship focused on small countries in Europe such as Romania, Albania, and Montenegro. In these countries, they’ve spread their ideas about the Christian identity, the LGBTQ community, the meaning of marriage between men and women and abortion. Indirectly The Fellowship influenced a national referendum in Romania about gay marriage which almost led to a ban on same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, Romania, Albania, and Montenegro aren’t the only targets, but also many African countries. Uganda is one of them. In 2014 Uganda introduced the Uganda Anti Homosexuality Bills, a constitutional law that would impose the death penalty on homosexuals.^[33] [figure 23] Although the members of The Fellowship did not introduce this bill, they did say that this bill wouldn’t square with the teachings of Jesus. As soon this came out in the media, the American representatives from The Fellowship backed off.

figure 23: Front page of the Rolling Stone Uganda (2010) promoting a witch hunt on homosexuals. © Rolling Stone Uganda

Since 60% in the U.S. voted for gay marriage, the battle for The Family over there is already a lost one. The Democrats, in general, are too strong in their influence on American politics. That’s why The Fellowship is currently focussing on other countries and trying to enlarge their global influence. But how on earth is it possible that an organization like this can operate so quietly for already such a long time? This has to do with the structure of The Fellowship, or better to say: the lack of structure.
Doug Coe once said during a sermon in 1966 the following thing: “The Family of God is working invisibly, all over the world. And it is invisibly spreading. You say the Mafia, they keep their organization invisible. The more you can make your organization invisible, the more influence it will have.” The first rule of The Fellowship was to not talk about the organization and to keep everything obscure. Doug Coe made The Fellowship non-organisational, publicity-shy, thus invisible. This quote of Doug Coe immediately reminded me of the thing Federico Campagna said during our conversation: “The moment you monumentalize something, it becomes fragile. You make it visible.”

What Christianity makes in essence so powerful, is because it is for a large part invisible. Christians believe in The Holy Trinity: The Father (God), The Son (Jesus) and The Holy Spirit (the invisible Spirit of God that lives in each Christian person). [figure 24] As some Christians describe it, the invisible church “consists of those who have been redeemed and are truly Christians. They are the ones who have trusted, by faith alone, in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and have repented of their sins.”^[34]

figure 24: The Holy Trinity according to Christian faith. © Unknown

The only visible aspect of Christianity is the physical, earthly church and the organizational structure of the religion. But even if you take a look at these physical properties in a purely visual way, you won’t find any visual representation of God or Jesus. The only repetitive visual you will find is the cross, the symbol of Jesus who died for our sins, as a constant reminder. Christians believe that Jesus and God are too divine to picture, they believe it would be disrespectful to make a visual representation of something so big.^[35]
The Catholic Church, on the contrary, believe way more in a ‘visible church’. This is referring to the visible community of Catholic believers on Earth and constituted by the fellowship of saints. What can be first noticed by the eye only is how Catholic churches and cathedrals are built and ornamentally decorated. [figure 25] In Catholic belief, the one and only true church is the visible church founded by Christ; the Catholic church under the global guidance of the Pope. [figure 26] The differences between the Catholic and Christian church regarding visuals, of course, led to various forms of iconoclasm in the past. [figure 27, 28 & 29]

figure 25 (top): Main dome in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. © Archivio Fotografico Fabbrica Di San Pietro

figure 26 (bottom): Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Dürer (1509–1511). The Holy Trinity according to the Catholic church, not only showing The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, but also the pope and his bishops. © Public Domain

figure 27 (top): Beeldenstorm (1566), image of iconoclasm of Catholic cathedrals in The Netherlands led by Calvinist Protestants. © Atlas van Stolk

figure 28 (middle): Still from an Islamic State video showing the mass execution of Syrian soldiers in front of the amphitheater in the city of Palmyra, Syria (2015). © Unknown

figure 29 (bottom): The same ampitheather in the city of Palmyra, destroyed by the Islamic State. Iconoclasm occurs in almost every type of religion, at all times. © BBC

Now, for a moment I would like to return to capitalism. As I previously mentioned, I changed my mind over the intangibility of capitalism. Capitalism is not invisible, it is maybe even more visible than any other ideology. Shopping malls are the temples of capitalism, Las Vegas can almost be seen as a place of pilgrimage.^[36] Nowadays brands spread their offices all around the world, representing themselves everywhere. It is rare to see an unbranded space or have an unbranded experience. [figure 30] Advertisements are everywhere. Some even take it a step further, like Pepsi. In April 2019 the news broke that PepsiCo was collaborating with a Russian space startup agency to investigate how to project its logo in the night sky via satellites.^[37] Can you imagine? Seeing not only logos on the ground, but even high in the sky, even higher than the skyscrapers that carry large LED signs. It becomes something divine, like new Towers of Babylon, trying to reach for God. “The milky way lit up by Pepsi, in divine capitalism Russian space startups and Pepsi overcome old notions of Cold War and the space race and happily marry into any enterprise.”^[38]

figure 30: Still from the movie They Live, criticizing capitalism and advertisement. © Universal Pictures

Tasaka tells in his TedxTalk that we’re entering the age of “invisible capitalism” and he explains how this will work in the future.^[39] Invisible capitalism is, according to Dr. Tasaka, more bound to knowledge, relationships, trust, brand, culture, and empathy. All of this will play a bigger role than monetary capital, which is seen as the core of “visible capitalism”. Invisible capitalism immediately reminded me of the “true meaning of Christianity”: the invisible church.
Invisible capitalism is not only a concept for the future, it already exists for many decades in a different shape. In 1776 Adam Smith, often called the ‘father of economics’, explained in his book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” what the ‘invisible hand of economics’ means.^[40] Although this might sound very abstract and complicated, it is quite simple in theory. It is the natural supply and demand of economics, the risk, and reward, the price system or even human nature. It plays a very important but under-appreciated role in the capitalist economy.

However, to conclude, the celebrated high times of Christianity and capitalism might be over. The consequences of (turbo-)capitalism are obvious: the supply and demand are out of balance because we over-consume. The Anthropocene is coined. Our trust in major public and private institutions across the world is decreasing. Clear signifiers of this are current events in the past decade. In 2008 the economic crises shook the world, leaving a distrust in the global economy behind and maybe even globalization in general. A significant number of Europe finds itself confronted with the emergence of fear-based societies, existing within physical walls and firewalls. Europe has moved towards problematic populist and right-wing politics. In the United States, Donald Trump was elected as the president. England wants to leave the European Union and voted for Brexit. The so called western societies became afraid of the unknown, of immigrants and Islam. The attacks of 9/11 on the World Trade Center in 2001 have spread a narrative that populists love to exploit, combined with the financial instabilities that Europe sees itself confronted with, builds a contested ground. I will not say capitalism itself is evil nor completely weak, but the form of capitalism that was executed over the past decades and lives on at this moment is not built to last. Eventually it will further damage our Planet, our societies and maybe one day any inch of a sane belief system. I have already stated that Christianity is declining in western society when it comes to church member numbers. I think the ideological crises of global and liberal capitalism is connected to the declination of Christianity. Liberal globalization plays a big role in the declination of Christianity, making societies multicultural and multi-religious. Public opinions are slowly shifting regarding feminism, sexuality, race, class and gender^[41] — also in the Christian church (my personal experiences are an example of one turning away from religion). From Christians themselves, I hear and read different stories. Some blame the declination of Christianity due to the lack of a more orthodox type of religion. Some say the complete opposite and blame the harshness of conservative religion, a conservatism that is not up to date with any wish to live a modern and secular life probably, too.

One could argue that capitalism and Christianity will have to change and renew core concepts in order to survive the future. The Dutch mainstream is slowly turning away from Christianity and capitalism, because their fundamentals are not build for the future. People are loosing interest because religious restrictions are starting to clash more and more with the average values of the 21st century, such as diversity, feminism, sexuality, gender and class. This mechanism of control, power and inclusion are problematic in Christianity and capitalism. The new generations are starting to realise that the ideology they’re growing up in, is not an ideology they agree with.
To create a form of Christianity 2.0 and capitalism 2.0, that actually works for a diverse society as such, we might have to follow Dr. Hiroshi Tasaka’s doctrine. People have to trust, share knowledge, build relationships, maintain the culture and have empathy. Western society needs to step away from some of the pillars that now support Christianity and capitalism. Hierarchy, power, individualism, mass consumption and a main focus on monetary capital needs to be iconoclasted.

However, in the field of arts and in some other aspects of society there is a need for a new kind of spiritualism, one which is not fostered by Neoliberal thoughts or individualism but based on cooperating. As the examples show in my thesis, there’s an emerging need to experience freedom while also experiencing spirituality. In essence, spirituality can be completely separated from unfreedom, as long as it’s not controlled by an institution that maintains a hierarchy.