Ross Douthat: "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-19/ross-douthat-bad-religion-how-we-became-nation-heretics
In the years following World War II, traditional religious institutions flourished: more than half of all Americans attended weekly church services, and 70 percent were formally affiliated. Religion dominated public discourse and helped propel the civil rights movement. But the culture wars of the 1960s triggered a downward spiral for mainstream Christianity that has continued to the present day. In a new book, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argues that this loss of a traditional, Christian center is at the heart of America’s current crisis. He says we’ve become a nation of heretics and explains what that means for our future.
Guests
Ross Douthat
Op-Ed columnist, The New York Times.
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Program Highlights
Polls consistently show that large majorities of Americans classify themselves as religious, but the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990. In a new book, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argues this rejection of traditional religion in favor of so-called pray and grow rich churches and spiritual journey-seeking has dire consequences for American society. Douthat's new book is titled "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics."
More Americans Don't Identify With A Specific Religion
Douthat said that the social scientist Robert Putnam has called this phenomenon of Americans not identifying with a specific religion "the rise of the nones." Some people see this as a real sign of secularization. "This is a sign that more and more people are just post-religious," Douthat said.
Is Politicization Of Religion A Reason For Alienation?
There's a perception now that "...to be a Christian is to be a Republican, right. Or that to be involved in the Episcopal Church means having endless fights over homosexuality and property disputes and so on," Douthat said. The real challenge for religious people is that it's not enough to say, "Let's get religion out of politics," he said. There has always been and always has to be room in American life for healthy expressions of religion and politics "that challenges making sure that religion influences partisanship rather than partisanship influencing religion," Douthat said, which he believes is a "tricky thing to pull off."
A Failure Of Institutional Religion
Institutional churches must "get their houses in order," Douthat said. That being said, it's too simplistic to point the finger at corrupt clergymen, the corrupt hierarch, and so on, he said. Diane pointed out that going to church won't solve the economic and social problems the U.S. is having right now. Douthat countered that going to church "can provide a useful corrective to the idea that the best way to live out your spiritual life is to sort of match your spirituality to your own impulses," he said.
You can read the full transcript here.
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I found this authors opinion stifling. Go back to the origins of western religion and follow it up to this present date, not just from the 1940s. It has always been redefining itself as the individuals of a society grow and change collectively through time, so does the vision of the spiritual self change. I do not think the author understands that knowledge flows back and forth from individuals to institutions over time. The Christianity we have in 2012 is not the Christianity of 412. It has taken sincere and questioning individuals with great faith to penetrate the ramparts of accepted church doctrine and dogma and to bring new and life giving interpretations to the christian belief needed for each time in history. The story of Jesus himself, questioning the authorities of his time is an example. He certainly was considered a heretic of his time by the "authorities". And thank goodness this is happening has we have seen what the authority of the Catholic church has hidden and condoned with the abuse of children.
Perhaps this author ought to take a course in comparative religions to understand that there are universal principles shared in common with all the major religions. This world seems to exist by the approbation of a creative power. Who are we to say there is only one path to the top of the mountain? The strong negative judgement of so many he has expressed is disconcerting and unfortunate. We are fortunate that we may question and grow.
At Least Many In The US Believe That Faith Still Matters. Reading Between The Lines, I Am Wary of Born Again Catholic Christian Converts Who Wax Nostalgic To An Idealized Pre-VatII Static Notion of What Constiutes Church. Good Thing There Is A Wide Vibrancy In The HS To Allow For All Sorts Of Ways to Follow The Way As A RC.
Frankly I do not understand what exactly Mr. Douthat wants Americans to do about the rise of "heretics" within society. I understood that he wants more Americans to go to institutionalized religious ceremonies, but I don't understand if he was promoting this for all religions in America, or just Christianity. Frankly, I don't see how a whole bunch of different religions all going to church, temple, salah, etc. is going to change anything in America except create a more partisan nature. The solution to America's problems today is not to look inward into religion. Deeper commitment to institutionalized religion has rarely, if ever, solved any country's problems. If anything, it has almost always caused mayhem, chaos, and the abuses of human rights in the name of God. What we need now is to look outwards to each other, and learn how to coexist instead of constantly viewing each other with suspicion and doubt just because our beliefs may differ.
Kudos to Mr. Douthat for telling it like it is. Back in the early 90s, I was recovering from separation and impeding divorce, and for a brief period, I came into contact with New Age thought. It didn't take much time to discover that it was just a fraud, and that it is the very subjectivity of our spirituality that is the problem. At the same time, I became aware of EWTN, which really offers a much more intellectual approach to Christianity than many evangelicals and pentacostals, and I grew to respect Catholicism a lot more. But I also began to really study philosophy and theology. Now "heresy" is opposed to "orthodoxy" as many opinions are opposed to the correct opinion. To say that Americans are mostly heretics is as much as saying that they have a lot of differing opinions over religious belief. Is this a really new thing ? Not if one studies history. But Douthat's view is not really all that different from Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind" in that if people hold contradictory views all at the same time, that might not be the formal definition of "heresy" - but rather a lack of faith, of respect for tradition and scripture, a willingness to cut corners morally and intellectually altogether. Are Americans really like this ? In many cases, I think they are - but that does not mean that outright lies and distortions can hold up for a very long period of time. Even the worst intellectual hypocrisy eventually gets revealed for what it is. Diane did her best to play the liberal "devil's advocate" in the show, but she really didn't come that close to addressing the issues. Not a completely satisfactory discussion.
sane wrote:
" Instead of this shallow view of religion I would like to hear someone with philosophical or theological background. He provides very good arguments why one should stay away from institutions and megachurches.
Yes, God talks to institutions only….."
But it is these very institutions where you find philosophy and theology taught and practiced. The very authority of the papacy and the bishops is based on - teaching. What they teach, how they go about teaching, how their teaching and actions support each other. So, no matter how free thinking you are, or would like to be, you cannot separate the two.