Tintin as a Catholic comic

How Catholic Values Went Underground

Bibliographic Data

ID20206967
AuthorsKees De Groot (0000-0002-7479-6238, Tilburg University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume19
Issue3
Pages371-400
Publication date2016-12-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueImplicit Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1463-9955 • E-ISSN: 1743-1697
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1558/imre.v19i3.31123
OpenAlexW2588778988
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited6

Historically, the comic series Tintin originates in conservative and, indeed reactionary, circles in Belgian Catholicism. Hergé created Tintin for the children’s weekly of a newspaper that, at that time, shared the main themes of the reactionary Catholic movement: anti-communism, anti-capitalism, anti-Semitism and the fear of “secret societies”, and advocated a leading role for Catholic values in the public domain. During World War II, the adventures were made more fictional. In this way, in the eyes of present-day readers, Tintin has lost much of his politically and economically involved Catholicism. However, Tintin continues to embody Catholic values, albeit in a more implicit way. This interpretation explains those moral aspects of the series that have been considered repellent (e.g. its colonialism), the aspects that have been considered sympathetic (such as its anti-capitalism), and those that are considered self-evident: for instance the dedication to human dignity and the common good

Adventure · Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Capitalism · Charisma · Colonialism · Comics · Communism · Dignity · Literature · Political science · Reactionary · Sociology · Theology · Veneration · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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