Talk:Mozart and Roman Catholicism

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I judge that a strong effort is being made to use the life of Mozart as a brief for Roman Catholicism, and that this is unencyclopedic and serves our readers poorly. The kind of discussion inserted here does not appear in legitimate biographies of Mozart. Opus33 (talk) 16:27, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

As to the first statement, I do not see how a discussion of the religious beliefs of an individual committed to a particular belief system amounts to a "brief" for that religion, so long as the discussion is presented even-handedly. Moreover, the discussion of Mozart's religious beliefs in particular is hardly unencyclopedic, in light of the fact that the Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia devotes two whole pages to Mozart's religious beliefs. Finally, this sort of discussion does appear in legitimate biographies of Mozart, especially in the most comprehensive ones, such as those by Hermann Abert and Robert Gutman.-Schlier22 (talk) 02:17, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Please suggest some concrete ways in which the article ought to be changed.-129.74.108.157 (talk) 0:01, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello, what is at issue is a long sequence of letters, none given in context, all expressing religious devotion. These create a false impression, I believe; namely that Mozart lived in a mental state of unceasing religious ardor (as did, perhaps, Joan of Arc or Gerard Manley Hopkins). In fact, to the extent that we have any evidence, it appears that what occupied Mozart's mind constantly was music; see the quotation in Mozart's compositional method.

My proposed solution is as follows: it's fine to quote the letters, but quotations should come from published biographies, with the biographer quoted along with the letter, to provide suitable backdrop. Perhaps Abert and Gutman's work, mentioned by Schlier22, would be suitable sources. Opus33 (talk) 21:01, 5 March 2008 (UTC)