2 minute read
One of the insights I most appreciate from the field of cultural anthropology is the identification of the sister paradigms of honor-guilt cultures and honor-shame cultures. In guilt societies, control is maintained by continually reinforcing individual themes of inward guilt for condemned behaviors. The moral order is preserved through law, punishment, and forgiveness. In shame societies, control is maintained by persistently instilling communal themes of outward shame that deplete pride. The social order is preserved via etiquette, self-denial, and humility.
By way of international illustration, the Germanic society of northern Europe is an honor-guilt culture whereas the Japanese society of eastern Asia is an honor-shame culture, which makes a lot of sense of WWII and its aftermath. What I find particularly helpful, however, is applying these concepts domestically to the cultural landscape of American Christianity. It’s a generalization for the sake of brevity, but it’s been my observation that Northern Christianity leans more toward honor-guilt and Southern Christianity leans more toward honor-shame.
Then there are those of us poor souls who managed to experience a conflation of the two. Mom’s background is Minnesota Lutheran and dad’s was Texas Presbyterian, so my family of origin was a double dose of both guilt and shame that blurred together into… opaque, Pentecostal sh-uilt(?) Joy unspeakable. That backstory is probably why I have zero patience for either anymore. As my Baptist turned atheist friend taught me, “Behold the field in which I grow my fucks. Lay thine eyes upon it and thou shalt see that it is barren.” After 37 years, I’m D-O-N-E with both.
Many Christians would be confused/livid about that statement. They believe these themes are part and parcel with the biblical gospel. Here’s where incarnational revelation comes into play. The Bible tells a redemptive story of God meeting people in and through the Ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman cultures where they existed, but I don’t believe honor-guilt or honor-shame cultural paradigms are intrinsic to humanity or The Way of Jesus. Forgiveness? Yes. Restoration? Yes. Reconciliation? Yes. Healing? Yes. Continually rubbing your face in that shit? No.
The original beatniks definitely didn’t subscribe to either the honor-guilt or honor-shame cultural paradigms. One of their defining characteristics is a flagrant disregard for such themes. At least that’s the way it appeared on the outside. Obviously a lot of youthful rebellion is reactionary, fueled by deep-seated feelings of guilt and shame. At this point, all we can do is speculate about their inward psychological states. What can be said with confidence is that the Beat Generation, as a countercultural movement, was also D-O-N-E with oppressive guilt and shame cultures.
