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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

In the name of God (sculpture)

sculpture

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ3502621 ↗
Source-derived summary

In the name of God is a series of sculptures created by Jens Galschiøt, intended as a commentary on the Christian church’s strict sexual teachings. The copper sculptures depict a pregnant teenager in natural size crucified on a large cross. Specifically, the sculptures are a reaction against teachings of the Christian church regarding contraception and sexual education, and as a general criticism of the leadership of George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI.

Copenhagen

On 1 December 2006, during World AIDS Day, a 5 meter high crucifix in copper with "the pregnant teenager" was set up in front of the Cathedral of Copenhagen. This was the first official display of the sculpture, as a protest of the church's teachings regarding contraception.

Nicaragua

In March 2007, the sculpture In The Name of God was the milestone in a campaign launched by Nicaraguan women groups to fight maternal mortality. 37 pregnant women died during the first three months of 2007 because they were denied abortion, despite delivery in these cases being life-threatening. The dead mothers orphaned 80 children.

The campaign was launched on 17 May with a press conference and a blockade in front of the Supreme Court and at the motorway. The "pregnant teenager" started its tour around the country on 20 May as an eye-catcher of the campaign. In addition, hundreds of small copies of the sculpture were produced to be handed out to parliamentarians, members the judiciary, and other authorities.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “In the name of God (sculpture)” is sculpture. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through name and sculpture, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2006, 2007—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, name and sculpture is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “sculpture” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3502621. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006 and 2007.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “In the name of God (sculpture)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow In the name of God (sculpture) primary sources, In the name of God (sculpture) archive and name research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “In the name of God (sculpture)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.