‘A woke Disneyland’

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will become a “woke Disneyland?” Sensational wording aside, The Telegraph released a special report on some proposed renovation plans for the church, which was ravaged by a fire in 2019. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Notre Dame is a powerful symbol that has become synonymous with the French cultural inheritance, serving as the site for Napoleon’s coronation, the funerals of French leaders, and Victor Hugo’s famous novel.

The disastrous burning of the cathedral was a global event. Onlookers across the world gazed in horror as a triumph of architectural genius was threatened with complete destruction. And while some of the faithful expressed loss in theological terms, there was also a sense of anxiety as the last of the flames died out. A non-Christian globalist elite is in the driver’s seat in France, and the prevailing worldview is aesthetic and ideological—fundamentally at odds with the ideals that undergird the grandeur of the French Gothic. So, Notre Dame is to be rebuilt, but will the refurbished Notre Dame be beautiful?

Among the more controversial propositions for the renovation is the replacing of confessional boxes and classical sculptures with modern murals and light-and-sound effects to create “emotional spaces.” In terms of sacred architecture, formed stone crafted from the roots of the mountains and spaces dedicated to pastoral counsel and the remission of sins are to be supplanted by ethereal features that simply create a “mood.”

The real is to be replaced by the unreal, the concrete and representative by the abstract and insubstantial, the sacramental by the virtual. In addition, the proposals include a “discovery trail,” “with an emphasis on Africa and Asia” and with last chapel in the series revealing “a strong environmental emphasis.” The anxious self-loathing values of the postmodern elite are on clear display with these kitschy proposals. Other features of the renovation will include a so-called “Christianity for dumbies” trail and biblical passages in various languages projected on the wall. At least someone understands that this is a Christian house of worship, not just a tourist attraction.

France has a complicated relationship with Christianity. The Catholic Church in France is often called “the eldest daughter of the Church.” France has a storied history as one of the greatest kingdoms in all of medieval Christendom, boasting countless champions and saints of renown. In several instances, she used her might to protect and expand the Christian West, with “Franks” becoming synonymous with western Christians in parts of the Middle East.

France was no stranger to religious controversy, as was revealed in the Avignon Papacy, the protracted conflict with the Habsburg dynasty, the persecution of the Huguenots, and the suppression of the Jansenists. In a notable and deeply ironic twist of history, France became the cradle of anti-religious secularism. The philosophes of the French Enlightenment laid the foundations for the deeply anti-Christian French Revolution, which violently overthrew the pro-Catholic absolute monarchy. However, the ensuing decades involved counter-revolutions, changes in the French constitution, and further instances of civil unrest. In short, modern French history often involves dizzying pendulum swings between monarchism and republicanism, heartfelt religious zeal and skeptical secularism.

In more recent times, France—burned out by the collapse of colonialist empires and two world wars—served as a powerhouse for the movement called postmodernism. As some have pointed out, European leaders continue an attempt to create a secular Christendom—to manufacture a cohesive, shared civilization without the Church.

The controversial renovation plans for Notre Dame arose in this stew of ideologies and intellectual fads, and this renovation project is but one hot-spot in a wider cultural conflict. Nevertheless, Notre Dame has been the center of cultural controversy before.

To be sure, voices of sanity have arisen to criticize (and hopefully prevent) the more radical alterations to the cathedral. One senior source worried that a “global beacon of Christianity” would become an “experimental showroom.” “Can you imagine the Vatican allowing something like this in the Sistine Chapel?” This source declared, “It would be unimaginable.” Maurice Culot, a prize-winning architect, was even more blunt: “It’s as if Disney were entering Notre Dame…What they are proposing to do to Notre Dame would never be done to Westminster Abbey or Saint Peter’s in Rome.” Sadly, Agence France-Presse announced this week that the proposal has now been approved by France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission. 

We must hope that the proposed vulgarization of Notre Dame never happens. After all, beauty matters.