Unfounded criticism of Christianity and Catholicism in Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons (2001) and The Da Vinci Code (2003)

Abstract

Dan Brown is one of the world’s best-selling authors whose controversial novel, The Da Vinci Code was ranked the world’s third best-selling book due to its radical claims of Jesus Christ’s marriage to Mary Magdalene. The first book of the Robert Langdon series, Angels and Demons can also be seen as a criticism of Christianity. However, the way Brown criticizes Christianity is problematic as most of his criticisms of Christianity are tenuous than they appear to be. This paper intends to explore the tenuousness of Brown’s criticism of Christianity evident in The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. The criticism of Christianity in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code are not sufficiently researched. The present study intends to fill this gap by proving that Brown’s criticisms of Christian doctrine, Opus Dei and religious traditions are groundless and inaccurate. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnostic Scrolls, the oldest Christian written documents and the King James’ Bible are used to analyze Brown’s works. They prove that they do not contain any information regarding a union between Jesus and Mary and also prove that Brown’s criticism of Christianity, the church, Opus Dei and fundamental Christian concepts are groundless.