Festivals are an anthropologist’s dream. The combination of ancient national and local traditions, religious imagery and practice and modern commercial pressures make for a fascinating cocktail – but also one that can raise enormous difficulties. One such difficulty is what happens when these festivals seem to demonise or otherwise unhelpfully stereotype a particular grouping in society. In the last week or so these difficulties have come to the fore.

Between the 31st October and early December there are now a string of festivals (Halloween, Bonfire Night and Sinterklaas) which are annually criticised for seemingly demonising, or otherwise provoking prejudice against, a particular group.

Halloween increasingly seems to exercise those who see it as satanic, or in some other way directly undermining Christianity. Sinterklaas, a major festival in the Netherlands and parts of Belgium has a character called Zwarte Piet, who may be a Moor, or Satanic, but is definitely a blacked-up trickster at a Christian cultural festival. As for Bonfire Night I have a theory that every November the Catholic journalists of the UK draw lots and the loser has to stick their head above the parapet and criticise it for being anti-Catholic. This year’s loser was Christina Odone in the Telegraph.

In all three cases the defenders argue that there is no prejudice – it’s just a tradition, part of our culture, with no intent to cause harm (see the comment pieces on any story on these festivals). Fundamentally, all three events, at least in their modern form, are primarily aimed at children and are really good fun. It seems almost churlish of a group, be they Christians on Halloween, Catholics on Bonfire Night or black and Muslim immigrants at Sinterklaas, to protest over what seems like harmless fun for children.

Yet it is hard to totally escape the sense that elements of these events are problematic. In an era when gender stereotyping of toys is increasingly remarked upon and criticised it seems odd that so few people think it is problematic that festivals primarily aimed at children might perpetuate sectarianism. Portraying black moors as inherently untrustworthy tricksters, or Catholics as in some way “un-British” seems to do exactly that.

Let’s be under no illusions. Under no other circumstances would it be acceptable to have signs saying “no popery” (or no to any religion) while burning effigies of a religious figure. Defending this as important to British culture is to legitimise an opinion that certain groups are, effectively, anti-British and untrustworthy. It is notable how few of the defenders of this practice are themselves Catholic. Just as it is notable how few black Dutch citizens defend Zwarte Piet.

These issues point to a bigger issue for how far groups can criticise traditions in the public sphere. It is an issue which Christian groups are increasingly wrestling with. There is always the danger of seeming too defensive, or easily offended, and constantly being a kill-joy presence in society. This is not the image Christian groups want to portray. Pope Francis is clearly striving to avoid such a perception of the Catholic Church as defensive and obsessed with a few particular moral issues. Similarly Archbishop Justin Welby also seems to be trying to drive a new, more positive, agenda for the Church of England.

They are right to do so, being constantly on the defensive is not a healthy way to spread the gospel. Equally, in striving to create an inclusive and plural society it is also right to challenge things which seem to hurt that aspiration. Hardly anyone is calling for an overall ban on Sinterklaas, or Bonfire Night, or Halloween – but recognising that there are aspects which are exclusivist (by virtue of demonising or stereotyping soceital groups) and speaking against them, is not unpatriotic, or “political correctness gone mad”, but a legitimate calling to account of practices which are not necessarily healthy in the pursuing of the common good. If religious groups cannot speak up in the public sphere to challenge issues of how we might build an inclusive society – then what can they speak up on?
 

Ben Ryan is a research intern at Theos.

Image by Peter Trimming from commons.wikipedia.org available in the public domain.