Running head: THE CHURCH, THE MASS, AND THE MEDIUM 1

The Church, the Mass, and the Medium:

The Root of American Christianity’s Image Problem and a Possible Fix

Jason Kircher

Wheaton College

THE CHURCH, THE MASS, AND THE MEDIUM

American Christianity has a PR problem. At least, that’s what everyone seems to be

saying, with increasing clamor and alarm. In 2007, David Van Biema wrote an article called

“Christianity’s Image Problem”, centered on the increasingly negative view of Christians as

“anti-homosexual” and “hypocritical” according to the Barna Group (Van Biema, 2007).

Mainline denominations have seen a decrease in attendance - the Episcopal Church has

watched as their average attendance across all dioceses dropped by 23 percent between

2000 and 2010 (Episcopal Church Archives, 2012). Even more recently, Rachel Held Evans

blew up the blogosphere with her piece for CNN, “Why millennials are leaving the church”,

discussing the critiques this generation has with the Bride in America (Evans, 2013). After

years of domination and acceptance in the public sphere, church leaders from all across the

theological spectrum are trying to figure out why people don’t like Christians anymore. But

no matter how many John 3:16 posters are held up at football games or how many

Christians join in the clamor to rail against the Church and her misdeeds, the problem

seems to persist.

Perhaps what is most ironic about American Christianity having problems with its

image is that it was Christianity that created and developed the first propaganda campaign

centuries ago. Though the term is rarely used because of its distinctly negative over-and-

undertones (deserved for many reasons), propaganda is a pervasive phenomenon in

modern society. But is there a difference between this nasty word and more acceptable

phrases such as advertising, public relations, and consumer education? Most would

describe propaganda as the intentional effort on the part of a person or persons to

influence another towards a specific end goal, a definition broad enough to include

advertising and public relations, war speeches and peace activism. But Jacques Ellul has a

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better, more focused definition. “In propaganda we find techniques of psychological

influence combined with techniques of organization and the envelopment of people with

the intention of sparking action”, Ellul writes in the preface to his work Propaganda

(1973/1962). It’s the techniques of society, the devices and media used to organize and

leverage people, which turn mere influence into propaganda. By evaluating its own role in

the creation, development, and use of propaganda, the American Church can better

understand the public relations dilemma and correct course.

Propaganda as a phenomenon has roots that trace back thousands of years to the

Ancients themselves. Most discussions of persuasion and influence find their beginning in

ancient Greece, and there we must begin as well. Around 323 B.C., Aristotle developed his

Rhetoric, a comprehensive view of persuasion that focused on communicating a position

based on logic and reason (Pratkanis & Aronson, 2001). In Greek culture at the time of

Aristotle, persuasive efforts weren’t focused on selling product or making profit. Rather,

Greek citizens needed to be persuasive to argue for themselves in court without lawyers, as

well as contribute to the political assemblies of their day. Because of this, Aristotle taught in

his Rhetoric that the art of persuasion helped others see the truth of the speaker’s claims

and come to the right conclusion, both in fact and morality.

As the golden age of Greece came to pass and Rome took over, Roman citizens of

means became the members of society who waxed and waned philosophically (Reid, 1882).

One in particular, Cicero, became established as one of ancient Rome’s most influential

orators, philosophers, and statesmen. In the century before the birth of Christ, Cicero wrote

extensively on rhetoric and oration, teaching and instructing Roman citizens and hired

orators how to be persuasive. In his early years Cicero wrote De Inventione on eloquence

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and how to develop it for further use (Cicero, 1888). Later, he wrote a more complete

treatise entitled De Oratore, discussing the requirements and uses of oration in public

(Burton, 1997). Cicero also spoke to the moral nature of what was being discussed, noting

that good and evil stem from the use of eloquence as a technique. Although neither

Aristotle nor Cicero used these works in particularly religious ways, the moral emphases

they placed on persuasive efforts should be noted. The art of persuasion finds its genesis in

these two men and their foundational works on rhetoric and eloquence.

It is important to note that mere persuasion is not propaganda. The term

propaganda was not even created until the early 17th century, and it is here that the

intersection of persuasive efforts and religious contexts began. A small, Catholic

commission under Pope Gregory XIII was created called de propaganda fide (University of

Notre Dame Archives). In 1622, Pope Gregory XV formalized this group into the

Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, or the “congregation for the propagation of the faith”

(Harper, 2013). This committee of sorts was put in place to supervise all missionary and

evangelistic efforts, especially those in the New World. More importantly, it was created as

a part of the new system of congregations after the Counter-Reformation swept through

Catholicism (University of Notre Dame Archives). Why propaganda never existed until after

the Reformation lies in one of its defining characteristics; namely, mass-mediation.

Between 1445 and 1450, a German metallurgist named Johannes Gutenberg

combined moveable type, oil-based ink, and the wine-screw press to invent the printing

press, the first device to ever produce a mass medium (Febvre & Martin, 1997). His

printing press profoundly changed the way documents and works of knowledge were

transmitted. No longer were manuscripts reproduced by hand; identical copies could be

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made, and at an astronomically faster rate then ever before. This new phenomenon did not

garner a warm reception upon its introduction. Johann Fust (or Furst), Gutenberg’s

financial backer, tried to sell 12 copies of the Bible in Paris, but was taken to court because

the Parisian book guilds believed such identical copying could only come from the devil

(Burke, 1995). The majority of the early works that were printed out of the first press

located in Mainz were Christian religious texts. Although a Gutenberg Bible is perhaps the

more famous of these “first runs”, the Mainz Psalter and Constance Missal were also

printed (Febvre & Martin, 1997). Yet these widely known and beloved works were not the

first mass medium (Eisermann, 2006). That honor belongs to the Indulgence.

It’s simple to see why the Indulgence instead of the other Christian texts became the

first mass medium. For a medium to have “mass” capabilities, many people must have not

only access to it, but the ability to use it as well. The vast majority of people in the Middle

Ages were not literate, and even those that were would not have easy access to the amount

of money required to buy an illuminated, printed Bible. And despite being a word-based

document, the Indulgence does not exclude any members of medieval society for access or

use. A recipient of an indulgence does not need to read it to gain its benefit. For the

common man or woman in the 15th century, the paper indulgence is representative of a

spiritual transaction. Prayers, penance, and good deeds draw from Christ’s treasury of

merit and apply them as remission of temporal punishment of sins (CCC 1478). The

indulgence itself is granted from the Church to authoritatively show that this transaction of

sorts indeed has been accomplished. Simply by receiving an indulgence, the penitent

receives the spiritual efficacy – assurance of forgiveness and less time in purgatory, no

reading required. Indulgences were not restrictive based on income or place in society.

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They were granted “upon the penitent’s purity of intentions, not the amount of money

contributed” (Shaffern, 2006, p. 15).

Indulgences had been around for centuries before the printing press was invented.

The plenary indulgence was first introduced in 1063 under Pope Alexander II for those

who would risk “life and limb in the defense of Christendom” by fighting the Moors in Spain

(p. 13). Pope Urban II continued with this shift in teaching by offering indulgence-like

remittance of penance for sin for those who participated in the First Crusade. This was

further offered to those who could not go on a crusade but assisted financially. The link

between alms giving and indulgence granting grew hard and fast, as later popes sought

funds for further crusades, construction of cathedrals, and other Vatican-endorsed projects.

By the time papal authority came to rest on Leo X, the printing press had

transformed the new mass capabilities of the indulgence into the first case study of

propaganda. In an effort to raise money for the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica in

Rome while at the same time helping solve the debt of Archbishop Albert von Brandenburg,

Pope Leo X issued an indulgence to be printed and distributed for the people of Saxony,

located in modern day Germany, in exchange for funds (O’Malia, 1907). The infamous

Johann Tetzel, who by 1514 was already an acclaimed preacher of indulgences when the

indulgence was issued, was chosen as commissary of indulgences and began touring

through the region. Tetzel’s role in history revolves around being the nemesis of Martin

Luther. An Augustinian monk and professor who resided in Wittenberg, Luther posted his

famous 95 Theses as a response to the sale of Indulgences. What Tetzel should truly be

remembered for is his role as one the first propagandists ever in existence.

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For perhaps the first time, a man convinced and motivated an audience to action

using a medium that was distributed to and accessed by the masses. Tetzel traveled

extensively through Saxony and Brandenburg, offering indulgences for the living and the

dead. As was the understanding at the time, indulgences could also be worked for or

bought by the living for the dead who were serving time in purgatory – and as the dead

could no longer make confession or contrition, neither was required. It is debated as to

whether Tetzel himself actually created the first advertisement jingle, “As soon as the coin

in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs”, although popular history attributes this

phrase to him. What is unquestioned is the doctrine wrapped up in the jingle: an

indulgence purchased for a deceased person in purgatory would free them, no confession

required (Pastor, 1952). Tetzel was known for being “arrogant… pretentious… and carried

out the duties of his office in such a business-like way” that abuse and scandal surrounded

him (p. 350). Pastor quotes Paulus, who writes that contemporaries attributed “’unheard-of

means of making money” to Tetzel during this period (p. 350). In 1517, when Tetzel

entered Jüterbog to offer indulgences, flocks of people from nearby Wittenberg came to

purchase theirs in response to his propagandistic techniques. Never before had someone so

effectively combined the mass capabilities of printed indulgences with the fear mongering

of those who felt responsible for those suffering in purgatory in an effort to sell

indulgences. As such, Tetzel ought to be classified as one of the very first propagandists.

The twisting of a Catholic doctrine into a fundraising machine is today repudiated,

and currently no alms can be given for any project associated with the granting of an

indulgence. But as previously mentioned, there was another side to the Indulgence

controversy. Martin Luther himself turned to the printing press to influence the Protestant

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Reformation. Luther was by no means the first attempted reformer of the Catholic Church.

A century beforehand, John Hus was working on his own list of reforms for the Czech

congregations. Following after John Wycliffe, Hus began changing and reinterpreting how

the liturgy should be performed in the church, specifically when it came to iconography,

Eucharist, and especially worship in the vernacular (Molnar, 1966). In 1410, Hus was

excommunicated, in part because of his political alignments but also because of his

differing ecclesiology from the Catholic Church (Cook, 1973). Despite excommunication,

Hus gained many adherents who believed in his reforms from Prague and the surrounding

area. His reforms never left the Czech state, and on July 6, 1415, Hus was burned at the

stake.

So what was the difference between Hus, whose hope for reform never made it to

Rome or beyond, and Luther, who in a short period of time created a schism in the Church?

It wasn’t theology. In fact, followers of Hus approached Luther once the Reformation was

underway, hoping to unify under their shared aspirations (Evans, 2008). The difference

was that Luther had the power of the printing press on his side. The 1519 disputation in

Leipzig over his 95 Theses made Luther famous. His writings spread “outside of Germany,

and in a surprisingly short time were being read in England, Italy, and France” (p. 120).

This was made possible by the ease of access to printing Luther and his followers had in

Wittenberg. The first known printer, Nicolaus Marschalk, came to Wittenberg in 1502

(Grossmann, 1970). Wittenberg was a university town, and academic centers made it a

priority to have access to a printer to help publish their professors’ work. Luther, a

professor of theology, credited much of the success of the spread of his ideas to the various

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printers who published his work and assisted in fueling the fire of the Reformation (Cole,

1984).

Luther too was falling into propagandistic tendencies. Once discussion became

impossible in Luther’s opinion, he became convinced that separation, not reform, would be

the path to continue on. In 1520, Luther issued To The Christian Nobility of the German

Nation, writing that the secular authorities should become active in the fight against Rome

(Luther, 1966). This and other writings were copied and read throughout Germany and

beyond, convincing secular leaders and the common laity to take action against the Catholic

Church by separating from it. Luther had now manipulated the printing press and the mass

media of the book and the broadside to promote a split in the Christian West. Of course, it

did not result in just one split of the Church. According to the Center for the Global

Christianity, there are currently almost 41,000 Christian denominations worldwide (Pew

Research Center). Luther began with responding to the propagandistic abuse of printed

indulgences, but ended up using the same printing press to split the Catholic Church – a

great irony indeed.

Propaganda would evolve past these primitive beginnings over time. The multiple

factions during Europe’s religious wars all used the printing press to spread their

particular doctrines and theologies, creating confessional states. And as the pendulum

swung from the Catholic worldview to the Capitalistic worldview as a result of the

Protestant Reformation (Fanfani, 2003), propaganda began to be used in secular society as

well. When new communication technologies like radio were invented, governments began

to notice their potential to inform the public while increasing state morale.

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After World War I, George Creel wrote How We Advertised America, and traced the

efforts of the American Committee on Public Information to spread the “good news” of

American democracy at home and abroad. Democracy does have its advantages, but it

requires propaganda to organize and coordinate the masses (Bernays, 1928). During World

War II, the Nazis further refined and developed the uses and efficacy of propaganda.

However, even under the reign of Hitler and the Nazi party, the religious roots of

propaganda were drawn upon again. Films like Triumph of the Will drew the German public

into the Hitler cult as he was shown with messianic-like proportions (Hagopian, n.d.). Who

but the Messiah coming down from the sky out of a plane could gain support from labor

and business, men and women alike? Nazi rally grounds in Nuremburg were built to

aggrandize Hitler and his followers. Zeppelin Field, built according to the “law of ruins” and

meant to withstand the test of time, became home to some of the most awe-inspiring

marches, creating a “cathedral of light” to instill a moment of transcendence amongst rally

goers (Speer, 1970). Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda, further illuminated

the link between an audience and the state controlled media in efforts to motivate the

public (Doob, 1995). Whether it was radio, film, physical structures, or the press, the Nazi

Propaganda machine found ways to transform Germany into cult-like state of submission.

Since the fall of the Third Reich, however, fear and increasingly negative

connotations turned propaganda into a hush-word. No longer would countries have an

“Office of Propaganda”, though organizations and governments continue to use similar

techniques. 21st century advertising and marketing perform the same functions that

propaganda has for centuries now. Propagandists of the early 20th century were working

as admen for companies like General Motors and Procter & Gamble during peacetime

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(Bernays). The techniques found in modern advertising such as the, “famous person

testimonial” and the “bandwagon effect”, are the exact same devices to look for when trying

to detect propagandistic efforts (Campbell & Martin, 2011; Institute for Propaganda

Analysis, 1995).

With the huge success companies gained by using advertising and publicity (not to

mention the vast quantities of profit) in the US, it isn’t a surprise that American Christianity

began to dip its hand deeper into propaganda. In 1973, Paul and Jan Crouch founded

Trinity Broadcasting Network, or TBN, and grew the organization to reach the majority of

Americans, while broadcasting is now carried on 70 international satellites (TBN, 2013).

What was once a single TV station to broadcast their prosperity gospel has now grown into

the world’s largest on-air Christian network. And prosper they have; donations to the not-

for-profit TBN totaled $93 million in 2010, with both Paul and Jan making steady six-figure

sums (Eckholm, 2012). By consistently using emotional appeals, testimonials, and

“glittering generalities”, no Christian could argue against programing such as “Praise the

Lord” to keep their “Christian message” on the air. The Crouch’s and TBN effectively

manipulated propaganda for their brand of Christianity.

Not every church in America used propaganda for monetary gain in arguably

unethical ways. The seeker sensitive movement in evangelicalism that swept in during the

90’s relied on a plain folks appeal in an effort to reach more and more people. Churches

that attached themselves to this model highlighted distinctions from the high and

traditional church forms. There were no longer priests giving a homily – pastors who

looked like they had come from a business casual lunch were giving a message that day.

Instead of building cathedrals, basilicas, and traditional churches, places of worship looked

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more like conference centers and shopping malls. No longer did a “seeker” have to fear

walking into unfamiliar territory these, churches proclaimed. Rather, seeker churches were

described as a church for “people just like you.” Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community

Church helped pioneer this movement (Hamilton, 2000). The affiliated Willow Creek

Association (WCA) allows other churches to join (for a fee) to have access to conferences,

materials, and products to help move any church towards a seeker sensitive model of

“doing church”. There is something to the model and resources; over 20,000 people attend

a service with Willow Creek, and hundreds of churches partner with WCA to join in with

the movement. Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle have recently created what

they call “Campaigns”, a taped sermon series with study guides, promotional materials, and

creative content that any church can sign up for (Mars Hill Church). Now any church across

America can reproduce a copy in their context of what is going on in Seattle without even

having Pastor Mark come for service.

As humanity continues farther along into the digital age, some churches found ways

to have church right on your very own computer. A “Church Online Platform”, developed by

LifeChurch.tv, now invites people from around the world to tune in for live or pre-recorded

feeds of church services from the comfort of their own computer desk. The platform is

intended to help with the following goals, “Taking the Gospel places we wouldn’t be able to

go physically. Reaching people who can’t or won’t attend church in a building. Giving

people an anonymous way to investigate questions about God” (lifechurch.tv, 2013). While

watching an HD feed of a well-tuned contemporary worship band open for an engaging

sermon, individuals “attending” the same service can instant message each other while an

“online pastor” moderates – all the while sitting in their pajamas, if so inclined. In 2012,

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nearly five million people participated in Church Online through Lifechurch.tv

(lifechurch.tv – Because of You 2012). This is the latest effort to further mediate the Church

and her message to the masses.

So how is it that American Christianity has lost face and prestige when these

propagandistic efforts are occurring? These methods were successful in terms of money

and numerical growth. At this juncture we turn again to Ellul, who reflected and expounded

on the interaction between Christians and propaganda. He writes in no uncertain terms

that propaganda in society creates “dissociation… between their Christianity and their

behavior” (Ellul, 1973/1962, p. 228) for churchgoers. The internal, spiritual faith can

remain, but the behavior is overwhelmingly dictated by the propaganda system around

them. The faithful members of churches will forever struggle between their internal hopes

and external desires. Of course, this isn’t exactly news to most Christians; “in this world you

will have trouble” is a promise from Jesus Himself. But for the institutional church, this

leads to another question – ought the Church use propaganda or not? If not, further

numerical decline and cultural irrelevance seems likely. But Ellul warns against making

propaganda because “it seems that people manipulated by propaganda become

increasingly impervious to spiritual realities, less and less suited for the autonomy of a

Christian life” (p. 229). Ellul argues that Christianity spread by such propagandistic efforts

loses the truth and authenticity that the faith carries with it. The organic Church becomes

an institutionalized entity, pandering and adapting to the masses instead of being “an

overwhelming power and spiritual adventure” (p. 230). It does not matter what mediated

technique is used to package and deliver Christianity; if the faith is disseminated in such a

way that it uses the powers of this world, then it itself becomes of this world.

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Broadcasting Christian programming, eschewing traditional church structure for

business-world expertise, and online church services all serve as propagandistic

techniques that substitutes worldly realities for spiritual ones. These mass mediated

techniques cannot serve Christ by nature, independent of the content or message.

Admittedly, the intentions behind using these methods in the Church might be decent

enough – most organizations or local churches attempt to reach more people with the good

news of the Person and Work of Christ. Unfortunately, in doing so they inherently

disincarnate the Gospel message, the very opposite of what faith in Jesus Christ, the Word

made flesh, involves. Yet there is one alternative to propaganda that is as old as the

Christian faith itself.

Instead of developing new propagandistic methods, the Church in America should

be looking to the one medium instituted by Christ to continue on in faithfulness and

Christian growth – Eucharist, commonly called the Lord’s Supper or the Mass. Unlike these

other mediated attempts at Christian development, which taint and diminish faith by their

“mass” potential, Eucharist is emphatically not for the masses. Paul writes in his first letter

to the Church in Corinth that, “Whoever... eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in

an unworthy manner will be guilty” and that “anyone who eats and drinks without

discerning the body eat and drinks judgment on himself” (11.27, 29). Christians across

traditions and denominations agree that non-Christians should not celebrate Eucharist.

They are excluded from participation, which implies that this medium is not for everyone.

A key characteristic of propaganda is that it is for the masses - yet this sacrament is denied

to those separated from Christ, lacking propagandistic intentions by Ellul’s definition. It’s a

unique event that builds up the community and the individual simultaneously. Eucharist is

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celebrated together – congregations corporately participate by approaching a common

altar, partaking in the same elements, and drinking from the same cup. Yet the experience

is individually powerful, as each believer communes with the presence of Christ by eating

the bread and drinking the cup. Eucharist is reserved for singular Christians in the

corporate Church, not the masses.

Despite its lack of mass appeal, Eucharist fulfills the intentions lying behind the use

of propaganda. In Luke’s gospel Jesus, “took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he

broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in

remembrance of me’” (22.19). The celebration of Eucharist reminds Christians to meditate

on the sacrifice of Christ as atonement for sin. It serves as a moment of reflection on,

confession to, participation with, and worship of the God-man Jesus. In addition, Matthew

records in his gospel that Jesus “took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to

them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out

for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (26. 27, 28). This cup of Eucharist points to the death

Christ suffered for the sins of mankind that gives life through grace, the center of the

Gospel. Paul teaches that celebration of Eucharist “proclaim[s] the Lord’s death until he

comes” (1 Cor. 11. 26). Not only does it center on Christ’s Gospel, it also proclaims it to

others. No other religion partakes in a meal that represents a person and his message like

the Lord’s Supper. Every time Christians celebrate Eucharist, they declare their

dependence not on their own works and righteousness, but the finished work of Christ. In

effect, partaking in Eucharist is a testimony to the belief in the saving power of Jesus while

also witnessing to non-Christians concerning the mystery of the Christian faith.

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It may be true that American Christianity has an image problem; but if so, it is an

image problem of its own creation No new technology or improved technique will be

developed that will save the Church in America from its perceived irrelevance and decline.

Relying more and more on propaganda to influence believers and reach non-believers will

achieve the same results as it did during the Reformation – abuse, disunity, and further

alienation from the powerful faith that comes with the presence of Christ. Before working

on what outsiders think of American Christianity, the Church needs to work on what it

thinks about faith in and the presence of Jesus. Being satisfied by the Bread of Life from

heaven is one significant way to image Christ rather than ourselves.

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