Jesus Kristus på samlebåndet: Kirkens masseproduksjon av religiøse symboler og funksjonene de spiller for medlemmene deres En kvalitativ studie av funksjonene til den masseproduserte og standardiserte kirkekunsten til Jesu Kristi Kirke av De Siste Dagers Hellige på Fantoft

Abstract

This Master thesis discusses the functions which the standardized religious pictures of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints can have for its members. The Church leading administration have through The Church’s short history taken complete control over The Church members’ building activities through creating a branch of The Church that monitors and organizes the building of The Church’s church buildings and temples and the decoration of them. It is easy to think that such standardization of religious expression can be experienced negatively by its members where they could lose some of the interest in these standardized pictures since the members will then see the same religious pictures at home, in their religious education, and in the church buildings years after years, with very little variation. This thesis examines the surprising amount of functions that the standardized pictures had for Latter-Day Saints in Bergen where the pictures could be tools for learning, create powerful feelings, moods and inspirations, operate as objects to focus their religious thoughts upon and help the members of The Church becoming better persons. Clifford Geertz defined religion as “a cultural system of symbols which establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.” I will in this thesis look at The Church standardized pictures as religious symbols that are a part of The Church culture, where the pictures in the church buildings can help establishing “powerful, persuasive long-lasting moods and motivations” in The Church members. The paintings, can also help in formulating The Church’s religious ideas about how they view the world’s general order, and help clothing The Church religious conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations the members receive from these pictures seem realistic to them. My data was collected by interviewing some of the local members of The Church in Bergen together with the missionaries that was the on mission during my fieldwork. I also observed Latter-Day Saints in Bergen at Sunday services where I would also wander the building and observe and talk to the members of The Church.