Something Old and Something New: Illustrating Spousal Ceremonies in "Religious Ceremonies of the Known World"

The "Idolatrous Peoples" of America

            Scholars regard Religious Ceremonies of the World as one of the great examples of a burgeoning religious tolerance in eighteenth century Europe; however, the idea of radical toleration must be placed in the context of that period. Although Bernard offered and included descriptions of the religious practices of indigenous peoples of North and South America, he did not consider their lives and traditions as being equal to those of Europe. Indigenous peoples are still referred to as “savages,” and their customs are often written with an air of superiority—can you believe they really do that? Furthermore, since neither Bernard nor Picart ever set foot in the New World, they rely on other sources to weave narratives and illustrations. La Potterie, a French historian who also never went to America, and the records of various Jesuit priests seem to be their strongest sources. The question thus arises: how can we include Bernard and Picart as advocates of religious tolerance when they, like most other Europeans of their time, refused to grant to the indigenous peoples of America (as well as the rest of the world) a full humanity?
            This question does not have an easy answer. One significant point to be made, however, is that Bernard and Picart’s focus on finding a “universal” religion brought them to writing about the “idolatry” of these people. Hunt and her colleagues argue, “If all religions shared certain qualities, then distillation of those qualities might reveal a universal underlying religion—or it might reveal that all religions suffered from the same defects.” (213) Toleration and skepticism go hand in hand, a partnership Bernard and Picart wanted to cultivate. By writing about religious traditions and cultures of North and South America and providing direct comparisons between them and those of Europe, the author and illustrator were, indeed, doing something radical. Bernard and Picart, like countless other collectors of other cultures throughout history, are not heroes separated from the beliefs of their cultural context—they are merely preservers, offering valuable information on difference that can be analyzed through a modern-day understanding of the significance of granting full, unfiltered, protected humanity for all.
 

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