Olympics Drag Controversy Poses Broader Questions on Christianity, Art, and LGBTQ+ Inclusion

With the Olympics Games in Paris concluded, perhaps finally the din over a drag performance at the games’ opening ceremonies will quiet. But in its wake, some Catholics have questioned why the performance became such a point of outrage for Catholics and whether the faithful might respond differently in the future.

In the National Catholic Reporter, Rebecca Bratten Weiss, digital editor for U.S.Catholic, asks whether Christians who were so outraged over the performance which may—or may not—have harkened back to Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” had learned anything. For Bratten Weiss, outrage from the Christian right to culture and art is not new, citing reactions to the film “The Last Temptation of Christ” and the artwork “Piss Christ” as previous iterations of this dynamic. And she is clear that mocking religion is, at times, objectionable. But she continues:

“Knee-jerk angry reactions to any representation of Christianity in art that is not cardboard-cutout pious indicate both confusion over the nature of art and a failure to engage thoughtfully and critically with the broader culture. And Christian rage at drag queens representing a Gospel scene indicates that many have forgotten what it means to live that Gospel in a diverse and rapidly changing world.

“It’s still a little unclear whether the ceremony organizers had ‘The Last Supper’ in mind. But even if they did draw on Da Vinci’s famous work for inspiration, Christians should not perceive this as mockery. Art alludes to other art, comments on it, engages with it. This is the case with work that represents serious or sacred events as well as with art that is overtly playful or secular. . .

“Considering how often ‘The Last Supper’ has been mimicked — in the television shows ‘Lost,’ ‘The Simpsons’ and even the notoriously crude ‘South Park’ — why did people decide to take umbrage in this instance? If it was the presence of drag queens and other queer pop culture icons that got Christians upset, perhaps Christians should ask themselves why they think this was a bridge too far. Do Christians really believe the mere presence of a queer person is blasphemous or demonic? Are Christians incapable of seeing the image of God in LGBTQ+ bodies?”

While Bratten Weiss is clear that Olympic organizers did not intend to offend by including drag artists in the opening ceremonies, she suggests that even if it was mockery, the response from outraged Christians should still be considered wrong. Demands for respect on the part of those offended come across as “fragile entitlement,” she explains, noting that Christians have not actually lived out the gospel they profess by enacting a just society. The author notes:

Also in the National Catholic Reporter, theologian Steven Millies used the Olympics controversy as a launchpad to object to the way many Catholic bishops today have set themselves, and their vision of the church, against the modern world.  Millies is troubled by seeing leaders diverge from Vatican II’s desire for positive engagement with the world. Citing numerous examples of bishops who believe they are victims of the world, Millies writes:

“We Catholics have come to prize a little too much being outsiders set against the culture and the world. Quite often, Catholics seem crouched defensively as though the church were under constant attack. That’s not a coincidence. For several decades, Catholics in the U.S. have been taught to see the world as a hostile place set against us, and to think of ourselves as a ‘sign of contradiction’ set against that world.”

This language of a “sign of contradiction” is notable for Millies, who names Pope John Paul II as having popularized it, followed by prelates opposed to Vatican II who took the idea up in setting the church in opposition to the world. He concludes by turning to the upcoming assembly for the Synod on Synodality as an opportunity to reset the church on the path of engagement in line with Vatican II:

“Thinking of ourselves as a ‘sign of contradiction’ for so long has driven the Catholic Church out of the cultural mainstream and, doing so, fueled the disaffiliation of Catholics from the church. . .Inevitably this has consequences for the effectiveness of our witness, our ministries and our mission.

“Another synod will have its second session in a few months. It will, in part, address some of those issues left unresolved since the 1987 synod. Perhaps this time, the call to become a synodal church can help Catholics cease to contradict the world with such determination and rediscover how to walk together with it.”

Returning to Bratten Weiss, she concludes with an appeal for calm over the Olympics controversy and the wider culture war mentality behind it still held by so many Catholics—and perhaps even the humility to apologize for overreacting:

“Sometimes Christians are the victims, sometimes the oppressors. Sometimes we are the helpers, sometimes the bystanders. Unfortunately, when it comes to our treatment of LGBTQ+ people, Christian culture on the whole has failed, even to the point of committing real sacrilege against Christ in the marginalized. With this in mind, maybe it’s not the ceremony organizers who should be offering the apologies. “