Every age of Christian art has wrestled with power. From the earliest icons to contemporary murals and prints, artists have used sacred imagery to question authority, confront injustice, and call the church to stay accountable to its own ideals. As chaplain Federico Cinocca writes, protest art can serve as “a precious ally to help theology in its [critical] role and uncover narratives that reinforce marginalization.” In this sense, religious art does more than depict belief; it performs theology through resistance.
When artists turn to Christian symbols not to flatter power but to challenge it, they act in the prophetic tradition—reclaiming artistic creativity as a force for liberation. This tradition continues today in the work of Catholic and queer artists who reinterpret sacred figures to stand with the oppressed.
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