Religion and the Life and Work of Charles Schulz

We are at that time of year when the Charlie Brown Christmas Special arrives in the public square and perhaps more pervasively in the psyche of millions of Americans. In this unique and quite secular television program, first aired at 7:30pm on December 9, 1965, viewers hear Linus recite from the Bible - Luke chapter two verses eight through fourteen – the Christmas story. As this story might suggest, it turns out that religion played a significant role in the life and work of Charles Schulz, creator of Linus, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of the Peanuts gang, a comic strip that is fully entrenched in the American narrative. Dr. Stephen J. Lind is here to share the story.