During the 19th century, Bohemian immigrants sought better lives for their families by leaving their homelands. However, their religious beliefs caused conflicts within communities. The majority of citizens in the United States during this time were Protestants/Lutherans, while Catholics practiced their religion differently. Consequently, these religious differences led to many issues.
In terms of religious beliefs, disagreements have arisen between Catholics and Protestants/Lutherans. The Catholic perspective deems suicide as a transgression against god, with the belief that the soul would endure suffering in purgatory. Additionally, they believe that prayer through icons can assist the soul. Conversely, Protestants/Lutherans do not regard suicide as severely sinful and do not subscribe to the concept of purgatory. They place emphasis on direct prayer to god. In Willa Cather’s novel My Antonia, the Burden family, who follow Protestant/Lutheran faith, struggle to accept the Shimerda family’s Catholic views encompassing suicide, purgatory, and iconography.
The topic of suicide was controversial in their area due to religious differences. Most of the citizens were Protestant, while the Shimerda family was Catholic. In their article “Religion and Suicide,” Daniel Doyle, Jesse Rushing, and Rodney Stark discuss the Catholic belief that suicide is a mortal sin (p. 121). According to Catholics, taking one’s own life signifies a belief that life is meaningless and not worth living.
According to Doyle, Rushing, and Stark (p. 121), many Catholics believed that individuals who committed sins would be condemned to eternal damnation. The Catholic Church considered suicide a serious sin and prohibited the burial of any suicide victims near the church. In My Antonia, the Catholic citizens shared the belief that Mr. Shimerda’s decision to take his own life was a sinful act. Anton Jelinek acknowledged this belief by stating that their father had committed a great sin by committing suicide (Cather, XV, p. 85).
The passage highlights Jelinek’s suggestion that suicide is seen as a serious offense against God in the Catholic religion. In My Antonia, the Shirmerda family discovers that they cannot bury Mr. Shirmerda in a Catholic cemetery because “a man who killed himself could not be buried in a Catholic grave” (Cather, XV, p. 88). On the other hand, the Protestant/Lutheran faith does not view suicide with the same severity as the Catholic faith. According to an article titled “Religion and Suicide” by Daniel Doyle, Jesse Rushing, and Rodney Stark, “The Protestants/Lutherans also considered suicide to be sinful” (Doyle, Rushing, and Stark, p. 21). However, Protestants/Lutherans have a more lenient perspective on individuals taking their own lives since they lack the concept of mortal sin (Doyle, Rushing and Stark p.121). Because of this difference in belief about suicide as a mortal sin or not , Protestants/Lutherans hold a more tolerant stance towards it. Several Protestant/Lutheran characters in My Antonia exemplify their attitudes towards suicide; for instance,the Burden family demonstrates this when Grandfather Burden tells Anton Jelinek that “we believe that Mr.Shimerda’s soul will come to its Creator.”(Cather,p85)
According to Grandfather Burden, suicide is a tragic event, but he believes that the soul of the deceased will find peace with God. The Burden family is understanding and does not condemn the Shimerdas for their father’s suicide, as they have strong religious values. Some Catholics believe that those who take their own lives will endure suffering in purgatory. In the book “A Reading of the Development of the Doctrine of Purgatory” by John E. Thiel, it is mentioned that purgatory was considered a realm where the deceased would undergo trials that could be shortened through prayers and spiritual assistance from the living (p. 42). Purgatory was believed to be a dreadful place where souls were tormented until their families prayed for them. Catholics sought to help souls in purgatory by praying for forgiveness from God. In “My Antonia,” Jake Marpole expresses his belief that Mr. Shimerda’s soul will suffer in purgatory as a consequence of his sin of suicide. He states that it would take years of constant praying to release his soul from torment (Cather, XIV, 82).
This passage discusses the contrasting beliefs about the afterlife in the Catholic and Protestant/Lutheran faiths as portrayed in the novel My Antonia. The Catholics believe that committing a great sin would result in suffering in Purgatory until forgiveness is granted by God. In contrast, the Protestant/Lutheran faith does not believe in Purgatory and holds that suicide leads to a new life beyond death. Some Protestants/Lutherans view suicide as a desperate plea for help. The protagonist, Jim, contemplates whether Mr. Shimerda’s soul is present in his house and questions the validity of the Catholic belief in Purgatory. Furthermore, Jim wonders about Mr. Shimerda’s state of mind and if there was any truth to his Catholic beliefs.
In Jim’s religion, it is believed that Shimerda’s soul would eventually return to his own country after death. Jim Burden, along with many other Protestants/Lutherans, did not believe in the punishment of souls in Purgatory like the Catholic Shimerdas. The Catholic belief was that communication with God could only be achieved through praying to specific icons such as trees, priests, candles, and other spiritual objects. This is discussed in the novel titled “Iconoclasm and Iconoclast: Struggle for Religious Identity” by Daniel J.
Sahas discusses the concept of iconography, which is the act of breaking physical images as a way to counter representation of the divine (p. 578). These objects were considered important for Catholics as they allowed closer communication with God. In Sahas’ novel, he states that iconography is essential to the identities of Catholic faith (Sahas, p. 578). In “My Antonia,” Mr. Shimerda kneels before the Christmas tree with his head bowed down during Christmas time (Cather, 71). As a Catholic, this act holds significance for Mr. Shimerda.
Shimerda demonstrated his faith through the symbol of the Christmas tree, as described by Cather: “the candle ends sent up their conical yellow flames… against the green boughs” (Cather, XII, p. 71). Through his prayers to the Christmas tree and candles, Mr. Shimerda expressed his faith and drew closer to God. In the Catholic faith, priests serve as divine icons, allowing worshippers to communicate with God. In My Antonia, it is mentioned that “the Shimerdas were very upset when they could not find a priest to attend their funeral” (Cather, XV, p. 5). Without a priest present, the Shimerda family believed they could not pray for Mr. Shimerda’s soul and seek forgiveness from God. Anton Jelinek also expressed belief in prayers for the dead (Cather, XV, p. 85). Without a priest to pray through, the Shimerda family and friends would struggle to plead for mercy on their father’s soul, as priests are seen as the closest intermediaries to God. In contrast, Protestants/Lutherans do not believe in praying through icons; instead, Catholics pray through priests, candles, and Christmas trees.
In their book “Praying About Difficult Experiences as Self-Disclosure to God,” Mark Janus, James Pennebaker, and Bradley Binau discuss the Protestant/ Lutheran perspective on prayer. They explain that these faiths consider prayer to be a sacred activity, allowing direct communication between individuals and God (p. 31). Unlike Catholics who use icons for prayer, Protestants/Lutherans believe that God can hear their prayers without such intermediaries. Similarly, in the novel “My Antonia,” the Burden family also believes in praying to God but does not engage in iconography. Jim Burden recounts how his grandmother reacted with unease when she witnessed Mr. Shimerda praying to a tree (Cather, XII, p. 71). This incident highlights the discomfort that Jim’s Protestant grandparents felt towards the use of icons in Catholic prayer. The Burden family had previously found the tree unremarkable, but now saw it differently when they observed someone kneeling before it. Jim’s grandfather performed a Protestant gesture by bowing his head and touching his brow, thereby asserting their own religious beliefs (Cather, XII, p. 72).
The Burden’s grandfather is currently feeling threatened by the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism/Lutheranism. To maintain balance in the room, he bows his forehead. Throughout the novel My Antonia, the Catholic Shimerdas and the Protestant/Lutheran Burdens display various religious disparities. These include their perspectives on suicide, purgatory, and iconography. Catholics view suicide as a mortal sin against God, whereas Protestants/Lutherans do not perceive it as such. Additionally, Catholics believe that souls of suicides suffer in purgatory; however, Protestants/Lutherans do not acknowledge purgatory at all. Protestants advocate for a direct connection with God through prayer, while Catholics employ icons to communicate with God. The novel My Antonia by Willa Cather effectively illustrates these historical religious distinctions between Catholics and Protestants/Lutherans.
Work Cited Bradley Binau, Pennebaker James, Janus Mark-David, VandeCreek Larry. “Praying About Difficult Experiences As Self-Disclosure To God. ” International Journal For The Psychology Of Religion 12. 1 (2002): 29-39. Academic Search Premier. Web. Nov. 2012.
Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918. Print.
Sahas, Daniel J. “Iconoclasm And Iconoclash: Struggle For Religious Identity. ” Catholic Historical Review 95. 3 (2009): 578-580. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2012
Stark, Rodney, Doyle, Daniel, and Jesse Lynn Rushing. “Religion and Suicide. ” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion: 22 Feb. 1983: p 120-131. Print.
Thiel, John E. “Theological Studies”. A Reading of the Development of the Doctrine of Purgatory: 2008: p 741-785. Print.
