What work of fiction sold the most copies in the United States during 2003? Why, The Da Vinci Code, of course. For the last 42 weeks this much discussed book has held a place on the New York Times’ list of best sellers and in 2004 continues to rank number one.
The author, Dan Brown, has enthralled many readers with his story of intrigue, mystery, and intricate scheming. However, the fascination that the book has roused in a wide reading public comes in large part from the writer’s use of organized religion and bizarre spirituality as the framework for his adventure.
Friends keep asking me what I think of the book, especially the author’s presentation of religion and spirituality. The simple answer to the latter question is “not much.”
One must judge the book for its entertainment value, not for its supposed insight into spiritual reality. It should be seen as a work of the imagination, rather than as a narrative grounded in real-life religious history.
True, the Catholic Church, its history, some of its policies, and its priorities loom large in The Da Vinci Code. And a mostly lay order of men within the Church, namely Opus Dei, figures largely in the plot. But no one should attribute to the author, skilled as he is with fantasy, realistic insight into the workings of either institution.
Wildly popular as this book continues to be, it amounts to little more than fun. The writer is clever indeed, though personally I found his tale deficient in most of the qualities that make for good literature.
However, my purpose here is not to badmouth Dan Brown but to evaluate the parts of his book that touch on religion and spirituality.
The Catholic Church appears here as an institution full of vested interests, the chief one of which is preventing the truth about Jesus ever getting known. That truth envisions Jesus as a mere man who married Mary Magdalene and who had a child by her. Instead of founding the Church himself, he entrusted that task to this Mary and enshrined around her a cult of the “sacred feminine.”
The author imagines that a secret society was founded many centuries ago to preserve the secret location of the Holy Grail. Usually understood as the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper, here the Grail signifies Mary Magdalene herself, the one who gives birth to the daughter of Jesus.
Another organization committed to keeping the secret from ever getting out is Opus Dei, the religious community sponsored by the Vatican. As a group of men who are pledged to support the church, Opus Dei stands ready to do anything, even murder, in order to prevent the church’s enemies from releasing the truth.
As the story unfolds, the Vatican decides to cut its support for Opus Dei, a move that changes the motivation of this community to discover the secret of the Grail. Now it will use the secret to protect itself against the Vatican, threatening to unveil the truth if the Vatican follows through on its threat to Opus Dei’s standing in the Church.
By contrast with myths like these, what is the reality? Of course, there is no historical evidence for either Jesus being married or his planning to put Mary Magdalen in charge of the church.
It is true that the Catholic Church has a dubious record when it comes to women. Though it extols the mother of Jesus and a great many female saints, it forbids the ordination of women and, by and large, bars them from meaningful roles in running the Church.
As to Opus Dei, it is an organization that does, in fact, have strong support from the Vatican. It also has a reputation for secrecy in its mode of operation.
Even more than the Church to which it belongs, this lay order has a reputation for being anti-feminist. Many Catholics, in so far as they know Opus Dei at all, also feel it to favor right wing policies both in secular and ecclesiastical spheres.
So I would never recommend this book as a good source for information about or insight into religion and spirituality. However, The Da Vinci Code may entertain you thoroughly and hold you in suspense during long winter’s nights.
Richard Griffin