MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Modern views and experiences of death and dying became prevalent in American society in the first half of the 20th century. Modern features of death and dying included an enhanced emphasis on the role of the medical professional, an increased emotional distance between the dying individual and surviving family members, a minimization of the spiritual meaning of death, and a decreased emphasis on the reality of the afterlife. Prelates and religious leaders within the American Catholic Church juxtaposed a Catholic – and “proper” – view of death and dying with a modern – and “dangerous” – view. Institutional authorities and priests fervently reminded the laity of the need to embrace and live by the attitudes of the Catholic religious culture. Of particular import to church leadership and local parish priests was the reality of the afterlife, in all its dimensions – Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory – because of its concrete connection to the religious goals of the Church, the salvation of souls.

This paper examines the American Catholic imaginings and visions of the afterlife as a key feature in a religious culture that emphasized the salvation of the individual soul, the interconnectedness of the earthly and afterlife, and the need for individual Catholics to embrace an understanding of living and dying that resisted modern trends – and seemingly dangerous ones at that. These written imaginings were largely communicated in popular prescriptive literature and often assumed a defensive position against a modern, and increasingly secular culture, and a critical tone towards lay Catholics who seemingly too often embraced these modern views. This was no minor eschatological issue, but one that was intimately tied to the ability of lay Catholic men and women to achieve a “good death,” not only for themselves, but also their loved ones.