(Ir)religiosity

Chapter One:  Things Have Changed, or “Toto, We’re Not in Kansas Anymore”

In part one, Clayton comments a bit more on his introductory claims that the theological enterprise is in a crisis of language and content.  Chapter one tells the familiar but sobering story of the changing face of American religion — read the crumbling of Christendom — in the twentieth century.  Fifty or so years ago was, in Clayton’s words, “the Golden Age for the American Church” where “church social events stood at the center of [one's] social” and religious identity and was tantamount to one’s classification in larger society (12).  In other words, being Christian was the ultimate signifier of ‘being a good American.’

Of course, that began to fracture in the 60s and 70s as American culture began to radically change and disseminate into many different directions. No longer was there a single religious option which comprised one’s whole identity, now there was a smorgasbord of various options. Nevertheless, as Clayton claims, “all these options were options in organized religion” (13).

Today, standing at the cusp of a new century we see this cultural fragmentation and religious dissemination writ large. And the mainline decline that began in the 60s is reaching a disturbing rate for those interested in business as normal in the church.  Clayton cites a recent Pew Poll from just last year to draw attention to the ever-increasing number of the “religiously unaffiliated” and the shift from mainline Protestant dominance in the middle of the last century, to our current situation of widespread religious fragmentation.  Whereas the options 30-40 years ago were will situated within the confines of organized religion, the options today have literally “exploded” in our faces.  The free-market of religious ideas is alive and well.

All this presents an important and pressing problem for the church, a true crisis of identity.  Further, this explosion of religious variety is only the beginning and as far as Clayton is concerned technology will be the decisive factor in the future.  As he states toward the end of the chapter, “what it means to be the church today, and what it will mean over the coming two to three decades, is affected just as strongly by the explosion of new technologies and the radically new forms of social networking that they create” (15).  Indeed, the flattening of reality and the radical democratization of information that comes with technology is a direct challenge not only to the old forms of “doing church” (practitioners)  but the old forms of “doing theology” (academics) as well.  And if those forms are in decline now, the will be completely obsolete in the future.  As the decline of traditional denominations suggests, people simply aren’t interested in participating in forms of church rooted in a world that no longer exists.   As Clayton concludes:

No wonder people feel a little strange participating in a social arrangement called the “local congregation,” a structure designed for the world of the eighteenth century, before there were cars or even light bulbs! (15)

The good news, at least in my mind, is the Christianity — specifically the kingdom of God –  has always been flexible and adaptable to new cultural changes, in fact that may be intrinsic to its character.  The problem is that too often the church is reluctant and hesitant to do so.  Nevertheless, there are new forms taking shape and I believe that if we begin to provide persons with the tools to come up with new, creative ways of doing church and fresh, imaginative theological language that goes places we haven’t been before, then we will find those pockets of reality in which the kingdom is thriving in the future.

Be sure to check out these other theo-bloggers!

Joseph Weethee , Jonathan Bartlett, The Church Geek, Jacob’s Cafe, Reverend Mommy, Steve Knight, Todd Littleton, Christina Accornero, John David Ryan, LeAnn Gunter Johns, Chase Andre, Matt Moorman, Gideon Addington, Ryan Dueck, Rachel Marszalek, Amy Moffitt, Josh Wallace, Jonathan Dodson, Stephen Barkley, Monty Galloway, Colin McEnroe, Tad DeLay, David Mullens, Kimberly Roth, Tripp Hudgins, Tripp Fuller, Greg Horton, Andrew Tatum, Drew Tatusko, Sam Andress, Susan Barnes, Jared Enyart, Jake Bouma, Eliacin Rosario-Cruz, Blake Huggins, Lance Green, Scott Lenger, Dan Rose, Thomas Turner, Les Chatwin, Joseph Carson, Brian Brandsmeier, J. D. Allen, Greg Bolt, Tim Snyder, Matthew L. Kelley, Carl McLendon, Carter McNeese, David R. Gillespie, Arthur Stewart, Tim Thompson, Joe Bumbulis, Bob Cornwall

This Tour is Sponsored by Transforming Theology DOT org!

Philip Clayton and Harvey Cox both have new books out and they are taking them out on tour. One of the blog tour stops will be here, but as you can see below they will be making their rounds over the next month until they wrap things up in Montreal at the American Academy of Religion‘s annual meeting. There they will be joined by an illustrious panel including Eric Gregory, Bruce Sanguin, Serene Jones, Frank Tupper, and Andrew Sung Park to share a ‘Big Idea’ for the future of the Church. These ‘Big Ideas’ will be video tapped and shared, so be on the look out for live footage from the last night of the tour.

Philip’s new book is Transforming Christian Theology for Church & Society and Harvey’s is The Future of Faith. Both are worth checking out at one of the many tour stops. If you can’t wait you can listen to them interview each other.

Joseph Weethee , Jonathan Bartlett, The Church Geek, Jacob’s Cafe, Reverend Mommy, Steve Knight, Todd Littleton, Christina Accornero, John David Ryan, LeAnn Gunter Johns, Chase Andre, Matt Moorman, Gideon Addington, Ryan Dueck, Rachel Marszalek, Amy Moffitt, Josh Wallace, Jonathan Dodson, Stephen Barkley, Monty Galloway, Colin McEnroe, Tad DeLay, David Mullens, Kimberly Roth, Tripp Hudgins, Tripp Fuller, Greg Horton, Andrew Tatum, Drew Tatusko, Sam Andress, Susan Barnes, Jared Enyart, Jake Bouma, Eliacin Rosario-Cruz, Blake Huggins, Lance Green, Scott Lenger, Dan Rose, Thomas Turner, Les Chatwin, Joseph Carson, Brian Brandsmeier, J. D. Allen, Greg Bolt, Tim Snyder, Matthew L. Kelley, Carl McLendon, Carter McNeese, David R. Gillespie, Arthur Stewart, Tim Thompson, Joe Bumbulis, Bob Cornwall

This Tour is Sponsored by Transforming Theology DOT org!

We’ve been discussing the nature of the Christian story in my evangelism class over the last few weeks, mainly whether or not Christianity is a metanarrative.

Of course, historically there is no doubt that Christianity unfortunately deserves to be placed alongside some of the more violent and totalizing metanarratives of modernity.  That is true.  I won’t dispute it.  However, I want to speak, more or less, normatively.

If we are to reify the Christian narrative after modernity, so to speak, how do we classify its narrative?

My conviction is that we have to be honest about the universal claims the Christian story makes on humanity and the course history, but unlike the metanarratives of modernity I think we also have to make room for respectful disbelief.  So the story is, I think, universal but not totalizing, invitational but not impositional.

That being said, I’m not sure I am happy or comfortable with calling the Christian story either a metanarrative or a micronarrative  It is universal but not domineering, it is contextual but not simply ad hoc.  I think it is a different story altogether and I find myself groping for another category.  I know, categories are limiting and so on, but I think it is important to have some sort of reference point, however limiting or provisional.

What do you think? Meta, mirco, or something else?

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?” -Gandhi (Source)

I hope we vote tomorrow with no illusions.  While all signs are pointing to an Obama victory — which is good to a point — I hope that our collective enthusiasm is tempered with the reality that when our new President is inaugurated in two months most things will stay the same.  The United States will more than likely continue behave imperially, preserving its hegemony across the world in “the holy name of liberty and democracy.”

An Obama victory will be good, or, put another way, an Obama victory will be less bad.  Be that as it may, I hope more than anything that concerned citizens, “patriots,” and dissidents will not allow their political activism and their creative imagination to be colonized and limited to the most ineffective political action of them all — casting a vote in our system.