The church in the background, identified as the Sint-Anna Church at Dilbeek in modern Belgium, has sparked much commentary. One view holds that the church is evidence of the painting's moralistic intent—that while the first two blind men stumble and are beyond redemption, the other four are behind the church and thus may be saved. Another interpretation has it that the church, with a withered tree placed before it, is an anti-Catholic symbol, and that those who follow it will fall following a blind leader as do the men in the ditch. Others deny any symbolism in the church, noting that churches frequently appear in Bruegel's village scenes as they were a common part of the village landscape. Medical researcher Zeynel A. Karcioglu suggests the church represents indifference to the plight of the handicapped.
