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94 | Verena Eberhardt www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 81â99
decorated white candle. It almost made us envious, because we do not have such a
festival in our church.34
While the character admires the clothing of the children who celebrate their
First Communion, she considers the Jewish identity of another classmate fasci-
nating: âJoscha does not belong to our group primarily, but Cornelius and Jos-
cha get along well and often talk to each other. Joscha is Jewish, and this is a
little mysterious for us.â35 The characters use first-person personal pronouns
in narrations to mark religious affiliations: âOur Jewish religion looks back on
a three-thousand-years old history. We Jews believe in one holy, invisible God
who created and guides all creatures.â36
In particular, Lara Lustig und der liebe Gott focuses on historical background
and critical aspects of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Although the pupils dis-
cuss the extent to which the Catholic Church is responsible for wars against in-
nocent people, the aunt of one schoolgirl relativises the discussion and empha-
sises the substantial message of Christianity. Unlike Christianity and Judaism,
Islamic ways of life are quite clearly criticised in the narrations. The accusations
concern gender roles, Ramadan and terrorism, with the pupils expressing their
positions in a highly emotional manner: ââRamadanâ he [Bilal] says, âMuslims
fast during Ramadan.â Louis insults him, calling him a dunce.â37 The emphasis on
Islamic traditions results in the construction of the collective singular âIslamâ.
In this respect, this childrenâs literature is including itself in a popular critical
discourse about Islamic ways of life.
The author of Lara Lustig und der liebe Gott describes religious traditions ac-
cording to âAbrahamic religionsâ. The narrator expresses a view critical of reli-
gion and questions whether it is necessary:
âWhy do people need religion?â, âIt is a difficult question,â Aunt Berthe responds, but
I noticed that she was thinking about it. âIt is not easy to answer. But we will try.â [âŠ]
âReligionsâ she started âare bound to the big questions of humanity.â âWhich ques-
tions?â âWhere am I from? Where am I going? What is the goal, the sense of life? What
happens after death? Why is there good and evil? Where does evil come from? Reli-
gions try to answer these questions. Different religions offer very similar answers.â38
In addition, the characters ask about agnostic or atheistic positions:
âAnd those who think they can only believe in things for which there is evidence â
what about them?â âThat is a difficult questionâ mama responds. âIt is the old con-
34 Zöller 2006, 10.
35 Zöller 2006, 16.
36 Zöller 2006, 64, emphasis in original.
37 Zöller 2006, 87â88.
38 Zöller 2006, 109.
JRFM
Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01
- Title
- JRFM
- Subtitle
- Journal Religion Film Media
- Volume
- 04/01
- Authors
- Christian Wessely
- Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati
- Editor
- Uni-Graz
- Publisher
- SchĂŒren Verlag GmbH
- Location
- Graz
- Date
- 2018
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC 4.0
- Size
- 14.8 x 21.0 cm
- Pages
- 129
- Categories
- Zeitschriften JRFM