In the history of Western theology and philosophy, humor and religion have had a stormy relationship. Attitudes to humor and joking—and especially to laughter—have ranged from wholesale condemnation, to qualified acceptance and praise of certain forms of humor, to more enthusiastic acceptance.

The Separation of Humor and Religion

The separation of humor and religion cannot be understood without understanding attitudes to laughter in the history of Western philosophy and theology. For centuries, the condemnation of laughter was commonplace. Among the ancient Greeks, for instance, Plato associates indulgence in laughter with the loss of self-control. In his Republic, the guardians who are to govern the ideal society must not be "too fond of laughter" (388e), and no literature portraying the gods or other reputable characters as overcome with laughter...