(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!

Introduction:  Getting Clear on What You (Really) Believe

Philip Clayton, director of the Transforming Theology Project and professor of theology at Claremont School of Theology, and collaborator Tripp Fuller — of Homebrewed Christianity fame — open their new book Transforming Christian Theology with some pretty bold claims.

Theology is in crisis.  Well, not theology per se, but the ways in which we theologize are inadequate and lacking.  To this end, Clayton observes that “many Christians no longer know how to talk about their faith” (1) because they simple do not not what it is they believe theologically.

Clayton believe this is a paralyzing problem that is rooted in the they ways theology is presenting, taught, and formulated.  Academic theologians seem more interesting in attending conferences, commenting on one another’s papers, and reading their books — in other words, doing an unhealthy amount of navel-gazing — than they are in dialoging with churches and faith collectives, where the theological rubber meets the road of the world.  In Clayton’s accounting, “academic theology by itself [isn't] enough to carry the future of the church” and isn’t going to “help us rethink what ‘church’ means in this radically new world” (3).  Put another way, theology needs to be liberated from being consigned to the ivory towers alone if it stands a chance in democratizing and flattening age of Google and social networking¹  Or, to be even more radical: professional theologians need to stop talking about theology and start doing theology (and listening to those who have been doing theology all along).

Following John Cobb’s thinking in Reclaiming the Church, Clayton maintains that the problem — the reason why we have such a huge gap between the church and the academy at present — is the professionalization of theology, a gesture which has led those in the pews to believe that the responsibility of Christian thought lies with the seminary professors, while those in the ivory towers have allowed theology to evolve into just one more academic discipline among the rest — another science, in other words.  The deeper problem, of course, is that our pastors and minister go to seminary and learn how to do theology from these ‘professionals.’  So we find ourselves in the midst of a self-perpetuating circle.  And the result — or at least one of the results — is the decline of mainline Protestantism.  Clearly, the status quo is not working.

This has to change.  And, as an academic theologian, Clayton believes he and others have a responsibility to change the face of public theological discourse.  This had led to him to change his method of teaching and — this is what surprised me most — led him to the realization that he “can no longer publish books that are written primarily for specialists.”  Indeed, Clayton states that this book marks a new era for him, of writing for a broader audience. And his hope is that other academics will follow suit.

The aim of the bulk of the book, then, is to articulate a way for practitioners to theologize that is not wholly academic and yet not “dogmatic, divisive, or relativistic” (7).  This, Clayton believes, will radically reshape not only theology as a discourse, but the shape of the church itself.

As I mentioned before, that an academic theologian is taking up such a task is exciting and refreshing to me.  This is precisely what we need:  academics rolling up their sleeves and jumping into the trenches with the rest of  us.  Yet, I still find myself questioning (and I hope this will be answered as I move through the book) whether complete resignation from academic discourse will be all that helpful.  Let me be clear:  I am not arguing for the status quo.  We clearly have a problem.  And maybe I am taking Clayton’s statements too far here, but I tend to think that theoretical theology is important and indeed vital for the larger enterprise.  To be sure, I do think there needs to be a more porous relationship between church and academy, between theory and practice.  As one who is intending to be working in both the academy and the church and tends to be more theoretically minded I think we still need great thinkers like Clayton to produce high-octane academic works but with the intention of those works being translated into the vernacular of particular faith collectives and not for the sake of garnering some intellectual brownie points from academic peers.  If that is what Clayton means when he says he will be changing the way he writes, then I am all for it.  I just wonder if we actually need more pop-theology books out there.  I’m not saying that is what Clayton’s future work would amount to, it just seems that he is in a particularly important place with gifts for a certain area that is vital — though in much need of revitalization — for the church.

Thoughts?

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!

1. Clayton actually practices what he preaches in this respect.  He blogs from time to time and not only responds to commenters but reads other bloggers as well.  Imagine that!  An academic actually engaging with the real world! [↩]

Philosophy, as logocentrism, is present in every scientific discipline and the only justification for transforming philosophy into a specialized discipline is the necessity to render explicit and thematic the philosophical subtext in every discourse. The principal function which the teaching of philosophy serves is to enable people to become ‘conscious’, to become aware of what exactly they are saying, what kind of discourse they are engaged in when they do mathematics, physics, political economy, and so on.  There is no system of teaching or transmitting knowledge which can retain its coherence or integrity without, at one moment or another, interrogating itself philosophically that is, without acknowledging its subtextual premises; and this may even include an interrogation of unspoken political interests or traditional values. From such an interrogation each society draws its own conclusions about the worth of philosophy.

–Jacques Derrida, States of Mind, 165.

Substitute (or supplement) “philosophy” and “society” with “theology” and “church” and this is precisely why I believe that academic theology is so important.  Because without it all of the tacit, implicit, and sub-level practical theologies — whether they be good, bad, healthy or destructive — remain unnamed, unchallenged, and are never critically examined.  The church must take seriously the work of academic theological discourse.  Likewise, the academics must — must! — see to it that they are in serious and intentional dialogue with the communities and collectives that take them seriously.  We need more church folk reading serious theology and more theologians talking to people in the pew.  Better yet, we need more of those rare persons who occupy the liminal and transient space between the church and the academy.

This is precisely the aim of Philip Clayton (and Tripp Fuller’s) new book, Transforming Christian Theology. Consider this post a prolegomena to my engagement with that book.  I have had it for a while and been busy with other things and I have only just begun to really get into it but I will say this:  it is refreshing and deeply encouraging to see a prominent academic theologian taking this seriously.

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!

Dr. Philip Clayton thinks we have:

“It’s not that hard. If you go [to scripture] with new eyes, it’s a living and vibrant text about a living and vibrant God. [...] We have fallen into the heresy of orthodoxy.”

His larger point is of course that we have allowed our tacit theological assumptions determine how we approach the text and how we think about God. I don’t think we can ever completely free ourselves from our interpretive biases, try as we might. But we can free ourselves from the old, tired theologies of the past (which were really important and revolutionary in their time) and allow the text to marinate in our culture and our context. Then we can better understand what it might mean to be Christian here and now.

I think he may be on to something.

Thoughts?

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