Monty Python vs. the Religious Right

In the annals of recent history, 1979 will surely go down as a zeitgeist year in the culture wars, a time when fundamentalist religious factions boldly asserted themselves on the public square in such ways that they could never be deemed apolitical again. It is perhaps inevitable that this juggernaut of religious polemicists should collide headlong with the comedy group most renowned for challenging institutional mindsets and systemic dogma: Britain’s Monty Python ensemble.

The (un)timely release of the comedy troupe’s most provocative film, Life of Brian (1979) produced a story within a story that was subsequently played out against a backdrop of cultural strains already stretched on both sides of the Atlantic. The life of Life of Brian tells us much about a time period when festering epochal tensions were reaching a breaking point and disparate cultural values were battled over in a dramatic tug-of-war on the frontlines of society.