Warning: SPOILERS through Batman #53
The ending of Batman #53 left many fans wondering if DC Comics had confirmed that Bruce Wayne is an atheist, having strayed from the faith he was raised in. Now, Batman writer Tom King is weighing in on the matter.
The most recent issue of the bi-monthly Batman comic book saw Bruce Wayne have an emotional breakdown while in the middle of serving jury duty. This was prompted by Batman's attempts to convince the rest of the jury of Mr. Freeze's innocence - by comparing one of his fellow juror's belief in God to the public's faith in Batman. A faith he once shared.
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Over the past three issues, the case against Mr. Freeze revealed that all of the evidence to convict him was based upon Batman finding things that the police had missed. Bruce Wayne addressed his fellow jurors by claiming that, due to everything Batman had done to save the city, people had come to consider him as God-like and incapable of making mistakes.
Bruce then refers to The Book of Job - a section of the Old Testament which explores the question of 'why bad things happen to good people' - and winds up speaking in vague terms about the death of his parents, and his own recent suffering following Catwoman leaving him at the altar. This, coupled with an introduction where Bruce Wayne says that he "used to believe in God," led many to believe that the comic officially confirmed Batman to be an atheist (at least in King's version of the story).
Tom King has since refuted these claims, in a Tweet which can be viewed below. King claims that it was not necessarily his intention in writing this story to depict Batman is an atheist - but admitted the work is open to interpretation. He then encouraged people to read the comic for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
The question of Bruce Wayne's religious upbringing and leanings (if any) has been a subject of some debate. The official word these days is that Thomas Wayne was a Christian of unspecified denomination while Martha Wayne, as a member of the Gotham Kanes, was Jewish. The question of what, if anything, Bruce Wayne observes has been left largely open. Although writers such as Grant Morrison, Joe Kelly and Judd Winick have written him as an atheist in the past.
The Dark Knight Returns creator Frank Miller has said he is certain Bruce Wayne is Catholic, whereas writer Elliot Maggin believed that, as a member of an old-money New England family, The Waynes were probably Episcopalian. The legendary Dennis O'Neil hinted at Batman having become a Buddhist during his time studying martial arts. Additionally, various artists have depicted the graves of Bruce Wayne's parents as being marked with a cross bottony - a design usually associated with the Episcopalian church. In short, Batman's faith has been entirely up to the prerogative of whatever creators were handling him at the time.
Ultimately, the question of whether or not Batman "Believes" is unimportant, so long as he continues to do good. Whatever his spiritual beliefs, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to the service of others, and would be considered to be a moral man by the standards of most religions, regardless of how he says his prayers - if he says them at all.
In this Batman could be considered to be the most dangerous form of do-gooder, as described in C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters - one who "no longer desiring, but still intending, to do (God's) will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of (God) seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."
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Source: Tom King
