Fiona Greaney ‘29
Opinions Chief
Hello, Catholics. Happy Halloween!
Every October, a familiar argument resurfaces in Catholic internet circles. Is Halloween harmless fun or a gateway to the occult? Instagram accounts with sleek graphics and confident captions weigh in while comment sections split into camps and ridicule each other. These Halloween-themed debates feature the recurring arguments around women’s bodies, party culture, and the perversion of violence. By Nov. 1, everyone has voiced their opinion, but no one has actually done anything.
Catholics have always had celebrations where physical indulgence and religious devotion go hand-in-hand. The Feast of San Gennaro, Mardi Gras, and the Greek Panigiria are all examples of this. Jesus knows you are not perfect, which is why forgiveness is built into the structure of Catholicism. Confession is never too far away! At Holy Cross, after a night of irreverent behavior on Boyden Street, one can return to the safety of a confessional at St. Joseph’s Memorial Chapel and be forgiven.
But really, why is this a debate in the first place?
I think debates similar to this one arise in Catholic circles for the same reasons political ones do– it is because debating is easy. Arguing about Halloween online costs nothing because the person arguing has the luxury of anonymity. They can hide behind a Holy See or Ignatius of Loyola profile image. They do not have to interact with another person, sit across from them, or acknowledge their humanity.
Yale professor Eitan Hersh calls this habit in politics “political hobbyism.” In his 2019 Boston Review article, he describes well-educated Americans who treat politics as if it were a game. He talks about the “amateur Democrats” of the 1960s who saw themselves as better than “the working-class party regulars” because the amateurs “cared about the big important ideas, not fixing potholes and helping neighbors.”
This same problem is present in the Catholic Church. Religious hobbyism, as I now deem it, is a disease already prevalent in online spaces and unfortunately is making its way into the real world. I am sure this existed in some form in monasteries of the past. But now it can occur on a globally endless scale. A Catholic can now debate the results of the Second Ecumenical Council from his bed while eating cheese puffs.
Religious hobbyism is equally dangerous as political hobbyism. When doctrine becomes paramount in our minds without real-world experience to back it up, it remains abstract and therefore not useful. For us laypeople especially, our role is to “sanctify the world from within by actively engaging in temporal, secular affairs and directing them according to God’s will.” The uniqueness of the lay vocation is that we are active in the world, not just within our religious subsects.
Doctrine does matter. The theologians and doctors of the church are around for that reason, and were particularly called to protect the nitty-gritty details of the church. But these details should not get in the way of active faith. Instead, they should act as strengthening scaffolding to an already established building. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote volumes that require entire lifetimes to understand, but at the end of the day said his writings were like “straw,” flimsy and breakable, when compared with the fullness of God. Saint Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that if one “understands all mysteries and all knowledge” and has “all faith to remove mountains,” they are still “nothing” without love. Both of these saints (whom we celebrate this Sunday) support the idea that abstraction damages our relationship with God by removing us from the world.
When Christ was asked which commandment matters most, he said to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” As laypeople in America, one of our greatest opportunities to follow what Christ says this week is by voting. Laws shape who is housed, fed, protected, and welcomed. While voting is not an exhaustive way to live the gospel, faithful citizenship is part of living it. Irrespective of how you vote, contributing to Christ-filled change is one of the primary ways us laypeople can fulfill our vocation.
So have your online Halloween debate. Dress up, or don’t. But then, maybe go to Mass and bring someone with you. Visit someone who is lonely. Help out at a food drive. Go vote! Some of us will be out on Thursday night, and others will be going to Eucharistic Adoration, and God has more than enough mercy for both parties. He calls us to spend the rest of the week loving our neighbors.
Happy Halloween, and happy All Saints’ Day.
Featured image courtesy of Catholic News
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