MovieChat Forums > Carrie (1976) Discussion > Margaret's religion

Margaret's religion

posted 8 years ago by Zman2015
16 replies | jump to latest

I have read that Margaret White is some offshoot of evangelical Christianity, but what perturbes me are the images of Mary and the saints. Outside her kitchen is a depiction of the Assumption of Mary, which is a Catholic belief. In her bedroom at the end, we see a picture of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which, again, is a Catholic devotion. Also, the image of St. Sebastian in the prayer closet would be another "Catholic" thing (for lack of a better word).

I just don't understand. Evangelical Christians would be highly against these sorts of images.

[–] kurtlodernot 8 years ago

Yes, I was raised evangelical Baptist (but am NO MORE), and it was Jesus all the way. No stuff with Mary and the Saints.

[–] Yogami 8 years ago

I think she was simply a lunatic who made up her own religion. The nonsense she spews is neither Catholic or Protestant. It's simply madness.

[–] kurtlodernot 7 years ago

In the book, she disbanded from normal church people and had her own church services at home with Carrie. The movie differs a bit, but it may have been the same case there as well.

[–] pepetoony (1540) 4 years ago

What didn't make any sense to me is that a woman that far-gone into religion would allow her daughter to attend public schools. Religious loons of her magnitude tend to keep their kids sheltered and home schooled.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

There was no such thing as home schooling back then.

[–] Mynvosa (95) 4 years ago

Are you seriously under the impression that there was no such thing as home schooling in 1976?

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 4 years ago

Well to me all religion is nonsense, but while many of the Christians I know have irrational and nonsensical beliefs they tend to keep it to themselves and are not like Margaret White who takes it to the absolute extreme and seems to just make up whatever she wants.

[–] Sidha108 (2370) 4 years ago

I think she is like Mike Pence. Probably raised Catholic but then forms her own religious identity.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2390) 3 years ago

I have to agree. I assumed she was an offshoot religion. She was supposed to represent the 'fringe' who disliked 'intellectualism' who merely wanted to pray away everything vs deal with reason and facts--like her daughter eventually developing and wanting to date. Because she is so wound up in faith, she does not have the capacity to teach carrie.

Since this is 1976--we would not have online classes we would have correspondence courses. What carrie would learn would be very limited. Liberty University where a lot of evangelicals go is only 5 years old.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12407) 4 years ago

I always assumed she was just an extreme Catholic and a malignant nutjob. For some reason, Catholicism seems to attract more fanatics than any other sect of Christianity, based on what I've observed and read from history. It was just one more reason I didn't feel sorry for her when Carrie turned her into a wall ornament later in the movie. Her mother was cruel, unreasonable, and abusive.

[–] Sidha108 (2370) 4 years ago

I agree. I grew up Catholic and it did seem like occasionally there would be crazy religious people who would attend church who would highjack Catholicism and add it to their own religious beliefs. There was a family who went to my church for a few year who were sort of "collectors" of religions; they tried being Amish, Evangelical, New Age, Presbyterian, and Catholic.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12407) 4 years ago

It's one reason my family has stuck with Protestantism for so long; it's simple, straightforward, no silly rituals, no extra saints, no ridiculous ceremonies for each stage of life, and no long, drawn-out process for people to join.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

Speaking as an atheist I know a lot of Christians and not a single one behaves the way Margaret White does, she's clearly a fanatic and I suspect not mentally stable, in today's day and age CPS would have had had Carrie out of the house a long time ago. Sure there are fanatics out there today like the Westboro Baptist Church but they have been universally denounced even by Sean Hannity who is one of the most conservativty conservatives out there.

[–] whynotwriteme (7139) 4 years ago

She was an over-the-top caricature of evangelical Christians intended to cause hatred and fear of that religion. King created her in the same spirit that the Nazis created the character of Jud Suss https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032653/reference

[–] TheArgentinian (6468) 4 years ago

Did you feel personally attacked?

[–] whynotwriteme (7139) 4 years ago

No. I am an agnostic and not at all personally religious. I just hate Leftists' hypocrisy and enjoy pointing it out.