Troubling Confessions: “Confessor and Confessant”, “Confession, Selfhood, and the Religious Tradition” and “The Confessional Imagination”

In this last reading, many complex themes were covered about confessions, a few of which I will attempt to discuss. One of the the subjects I was initially interested in was the fiction that is involved with self exposure. On one hand, an autobiography or a confession of identity can be true, but it can also be romanticized. We see this is the example of book 3 of Confessions. On page 50, Jean-Jacques lies about his identity, claiming that he is a royal foreigner to get out of trouble. While this was false, it also was somewhat true. He is indeed a foreigner and royal in the sense that he always felt he was much better than just a servant. There is a grey area between truth and fiction that we must consider.

In this book, we also see how democracy has reshaped the judicial system, but somehow manages to keep many similarities with a totalitarian government. Joseph D. Grano says, “Respect for the individual...yields limits on what will be permitted in the otherwise laudable search for truth”(71-72). With the Miranda rights, we protect every citizen’s right to remain silent in attempt to only receive voluntary confessions. As a democracy, we want to embody the idea that every individual is important, that the government works for the sake of their people. As simple as it sounds, this subject becomes incredibly complicated. What makes a confession voluntary? Does a voluntary confession always imply truth? Many have argued that the police have created a way to work around the Miranda rights in interrogations, which can lead to involuntary or even false confessions. How different then are we from a totalitarian government?

Last but not least, we also explore the influences of the church on our judicial system today. Confession was required in the church in order to be absolved of one’s sins. Ironically, confessions were done verbally so that the person would be more aware of their guilt. However, this would also confirm their selfhood and their role as a person rightfully part of society. In the same way with modern society, we encourage honesty and verbal confessions, which we assume will allow people to change for the better.