The Religious Meaning of the Chilean Miners Saga

Religious pageant, morality play, parable, or miracle? When we talk about the Chilean miners, we can't help but invoke Christian symbols.

Christian symbolism has pervaded nearly every aspect of the staging, execution, and global reception of the rescue of the Chilean miners.

Whether interpreted as a religious pageant, a morality play, a parable, or a miracle play, the sequence of events begs for metaphorical interpretation. What message is contained in the sequence of events and the identifiable Christian themes of resurrection, redemption, and rebirth?

The very fact that the sequence of events and the cast of characters have been woven into broader Christian narratives and tropes is important to acknowledge in a global culture that is often perceived to be secular and in which Christianity is a rapidly disappearing point of reference. Whether people go to church or not, the Christian imaginary continues to give shape to our fears and desires.

The invocation of Christian beliefs, perspectives, and values was overt throughout the 24-hour television coverage of the rescue. Individuals spoke the names of God, Jesus, Mary, and the saints; people fell to their knees and prayed; many spoke of the miracle or miracles; and Christian icons were spread throughout the site.

Beyond these prominent religious displays, a range of Christian symbolism was unmistakable. When viewed through a certain lens, the miners’ story can easily be seen as a Christian allegory:

A group of lost souls is wandering hopeless in the Hellish underworld. Through the sacrifice and piety of all there emerges the miracle of salvation, a chance for redemption and resurrection. Then comes the miracle itself: a chance at rebirth from “the womb of mother earth.” The vehicle of rebirth’s very form – a cross between phallic pod and mechanical womb – suggests both the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth. Even the number of miners rescued – 33 – gives numerologists the obvious gift of Jesus’ age at the time of his death and resurrection.

But if this is a Christian miracle play, what is the moral of the story? Who will be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

One possibility relates to an establishment “Constantinian” church which is harmonious with the state and the ruling classes. In this version – close to what Marx had in mind as he spoke of religion as the opium of the people – distinctions of class, status, and power are laundered as grinning presidents and other politicians make common cause with the mine companies and media conglomerates to invoke a shared brotherhood in Christ and paper over oppression and inequality.

An alternative outcome echoes the early Christian discipleship of a radical Jesus of the poor, the reviled, and the outcast. In this version, dominant structures of socio-economic and political inequality are interrogated in Christ’s name and local networks of communication are trusted more than the media. This is a Christianity that will work for the transformation of working conditions, political representation, and cultural expression. Jesus’ passion is the suffering of the world, his crucifixion is an act of deep solidarity, and his resurrection a symbol of hope in the power of faith and the will of transformation.

As global consumers of the Chilean miners miracle play, we and others are likely to remain passive and remote spectators. But what might we take from the pageant that has unfolded before us over the past week? The two Christian narratives – the establishment version and that of the radical Jesus – prompt us toward distinct and opposing courses of action. The establishment version, which has dominated media coverage, finds us celebrating the private heavens of the lucky 33 as they ascend to celebrity and make their individual fortunes; the radical version compels us awkwardly back down the mineshaft into the living hell of the mines themselves and to wonder how many more men will be lost, and who will be paying any attention.