Provoking Religion

Since the 1980s, feminist and queer art has been branded by the Christian Right as sacrilegious or pornographic-sometimes both. But how and why did visual art take center stage in these culture war battles? Provoking Religion provides a new interpretation of the history of the culture wars, one that avoids simply pitting religious conservatives against secular progressives. Anthony Petro explains how the literalist rhetoric of conservative Christians reduced art to obscenity and why so many feminist and queer artists-including Judy Chicago, David Wojnarowicz, and Renee Cox--were drawn to religious imagery in their creative work, often casting their own religious and theological visions.