Downton Abbey & the Christian Faith

As a history nerd, I find joy in pointing out historical inaccuracies in TV shows and movies (Vikings did NOT burn their dead in boats on the water). So I was impressed when the last few seasons of PBS’ Downton Abbey offered a reasonably accurate representation of the 1910s and 1920s, with its major events and newfangled inventions. But there is one major aspect of life the show left out: Christianity.
As a recent article in the Telegraph noted, the exclusion was not accidental; the show’s producers purposely left Christianity out “for fear of alienating an increasingly atheistic public.” Alastair Bruce, the historical advisor to the show, said executives were ordered to omit religious themes. “We never see the beginning of a luncheon or a dinner, because no one was ever allowed to see a grace being said, and I would never allow them to sit down without having said grace,” he noted. He couldn’t even have napkins folded in a shape that might resemble a bishop’s mitre. Since when is shape of a napkin so horridly offensive that it must not be shown on television? Poor Bruce said he wanted to do some nice napkin folds but was “always left with my triangle.”
This is wrong on many levels. Downton Abbey strives for historical accuracy; why is the show misrepresenting history by omitting something that was part of the daily lives of the people it claims to portray? The majority of people living in England at the time were Christian, and they would have said grace before meals and regularly attended church. Downton Abbey does show Christmas, but only as a family tradition, not a Christian holiday. God is not mentioned.
Although references to Christianity don’t appear on Downton Abbey, the show briefly addressed Judaism by way of a character who marries a Jewish man, something that the show’s writers treated as a controversial (and courageous) decision. The characters’ relationship and wedding takes up more than one episode in Season Five, and there is much discussion among the other characters about the marriage; in fact, this subplot ably explored the cultural complexities of inter-faith marriage in England at that time, as well as the anti-Semitism rampant among the British upper class. Evidently the show’s executives believe a little Judaism wouldn’t offend atheists, but Christianity does.
Other shows don’t take the same stance as Downton Abbey. The History Channel’s show Vikings certainly doesn’t avoid religion; in fact, the show regularly shows characters killing Christians. The pagan Vikings on the show raid and plunder monasteries and murder innocent Christians in cold blood (although the majority of Vikings were just farmers). So why are some shows afraid of offending atheists while others have no compunction about possibly offending Christians? Why is Vikings showing the slaughtering of Christians but Downton Abbey is afraid of showing folded napkins that resemble clerical attire?
As American viewers prepare to watch the final season of Downton Abbey in January, it’s worth asking why such a popular series can’t find a place for faith. Despite being a show about an extremely out-of-touch British aristocracy in a time of social change (who can forget the immortal question posed by the Dowager Countess of Grantham early in the series: “What is a weekend?”) much of Downton Abbey’s appeal in fact stems from how relatable the characters are made to seem: they suffer losses in love and setbacks in their relationships and experience the joy of new challenges, just like every other human being—even if they do so while being attended by dozens of servants on a huge estate.
By removing Christianity, Downton Abbey has repeatedly missed opportunities to explore the rich complexities and nuances of religion in this historical context and to make its characters even more compellingly real. Worse, the show’s creators have assumed that expressions of Christianity would detract from, rather than enhance, the show’s integrity. That says a great deal more about our own times than it does about the historical era of Downton Abbey’s fictional men and women.

(From "Acculturated" - Julia Dent) 

Post-script - Apparently, this author's perspectives have been proven incorrect; at least in terms of one particular segment of the series. 

Tonight I watched the Downton Abbey production for the first time, and in this segment the chief butler and his wife renew their vows in a nearby chapel. And one portion of the butler's vows has him repeating, 

"In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

No further commentary. I just wanted to call this development to my reader's attention.

(William McDonald, PhD)