KENNEDY: We are, according to many observers, at a turning point in religious consciousness. That is, the mythological structure — or the legends that undergirded a literal biblical interpretation of the universe — are sharply challenged by the discoveries of the Space Age.
CAMPBELL: Yes, that is exactly what is happening, with consequences we can all see. One must remember the central truth, for example, about Easter and Passover. We are all called out of the house of bondage, even as the Jews were called out of their bondage in Egypt. We are called out of bondage in the way in which the moon throws off its shadow to emerge anew, in the way that life throws off the shadow of death. Easter and Passover have the same roots; we are called out of bondage to our old tradition. Easter is not Easter and Passover is not Passover unless they release us even from the tradition that gives us these feasts.
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KENNEDY: How would you define mythology here?
CAMPBELL: My favorite definition of mythology: other people's religion. My favorite definition of religion: misunderstanding of mythology. The misunderstanding consists in the reading of the spiritual mythological symbols as though they were primarily references to historical events. Localized provincial readings separate the various religious communities. Remythologization — recapturing the mythological meaning — reveals a common spirituality of mankind. At Easter, to return to our example, we might suggest the renewal of the knowledge of our general spiritual life through casting off, for a moment, our various historical connections.
KENNEDY: Remythologization would rescue the stories of the Bible, then, from historical literalism and a susceptibility to debunking. Can we connect that with the example of the Easter experience? What of the Cross and the Crucifixion?
CAMPBELL: If we think of the Crucifixion only in historical terms we lose the reference of the symbol immediately to ourselves. Jesus left his mortal body on the cross, the sign of the earth, to go to the Father with whom he was one. We, similarly, are to identify with the eternal life that is within us.