188 Copyright © 2017, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 9 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.ch009 ABSTRACT The relationship between art and religion, evident throughout the entire history of art, can be deci- phered at two levels – that of the essence of art, and that of the actual theme the artist approaches. The mystical view on the essence of art, encountered from Orphic and Pythagorean thinkers to Heidegger and Gadamer, believes that art is a divine gift and the artist – a messenger of heavenly thoughts. But the issue of religious themes’ presence in art arises especially since modern times, after the eighteenth century, when religion starts to be constantly and vehemently attacked (from the Enlightenment and the French or the Bolshevik Revolution to the “political correctness” nowadays). Art is no longer just the material transposition of a religious content; instead, religion itself becomes a theme in art, which allows artists to relate to it in diferent ways – from veneration to disapproval and blasphemy. However, there have always been artists to see art in its genuine meaning, in close connection with the religious sentiment. An case in point is the work of Bill Viola. In Romanian art, a good example is the art group Prolog, but also individual artists like Onisim Colta or Marin Gherasim, who understand art in its true spiritual sense of openness to the absolute. INTRODUCTION A quick look at the history or art shows that over time the relationship between art and religion has been more than obvious and it can be traced at several levels. First of all, one can talk about an intrinsic religiosity of art, an essential religiosity of the artistic act. Secondly, the relationship between art and religion is revealed at the level of the artistic theme, and thirdly – that of the role or function acquired by a work of art. The three levels are not mutually exclusive, rather they complement one another. The first one is also the widest, covering virtually all art forms. The second restricts the discussion only to works which, in one way or another, deal with themes of religious inspiration, and the third level refers Religious Themes in Contemporary Art Codrina Laura Ionita University of Arts “G. Enescu” Iasi, Romania