Is Romeo and Juliet a christian play?

Answer 1

It depends what you mean by "Christian play". The characters in it are all Christians, or to be specific Roman Catholics. Two of them, Friar Lawrence and Friar John, are people whose lives are devoted to religion; Friar Lawrence is a priest and should be called "Father Lawrence". They adhere to the practices of Roman Catholicism -- attend confession and mass and are married and buried in church services presided over by a priest.

If you mean by "Christian play" a play which encourages people to attend your church, the answer, unless you are a Catholic, is no, and is probably no even if you are a Catholic. If Shakespeare ever wrote a play encouraging anyone to be anything other than Church of England he would have been censored and possibly prosecuted. (Indeed it's thought that Shakespeare may have been one of a number of collaborators on an unfinished play based on the life of Thomas More, Catholic martyr and saint. The play was never completed because it was impossible to write it in such a way as not to be critical of the Church of England).

If you mean by "Christian play" a play which encourages Christian values, this is difficult, depending on what you consider to be Christian values and whether you think the play encourages them. The main characters commit suicide, which is explicitly condemned by the Catholic and frowned on by Protestant churches, but does the play endorse suicide? Or is it the characters' sad and tragic error? On the other hand, we certainly are led to sympathise with the lovers and those who would reconcile the households and not with, for example, the belligerent Tybalt who perpetuates the feud. Is the sentiment "make love not war" a Christian one? Some would say so.

The viewpoint has also been expressed that Shakespeare's plays are not moral tracts any more than they are religious tracts. The characters in the plays do what they do, and the director, the actors, and ultimately the audience bring their own moral viewpoint, whether or not deriving from religion, to the play. In Romeo and Juliet the way we play the play or the way we see it does not depend much on religion one way or the other, in stark contrast to a play like The Merchant of Venice, in which the way we see or play the play depends hugely on our perspectives on Christianity and Judaism and how they did, do, and ought to interrelate.

Answer 2

"Romeo and Juliet" is not considered a Christian play, as the story focuses more on themes of love, fate, and feuding families than on religious elements. While there is mention of churches and religious imagery in the play, the main focus is on the tragic romance between the two titular characters.