transformationofamreligion

Transformed or Conformed?

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed…

Romans 12:2

Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, has written one of the most scathing critiques of American religion since William James' wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience. The problem is, the book isn't a critique. The Transformation of American Religion is a high-level overview of how Americans – Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants and Jews – practice their faith. In looking behind the stereotypes, Wolfe does more than talk about religion. He explores it through interviews, direct observation and reading the writings of religious scholars and lay people alike. He sheds more light on the nature of religion in this country than all the pundits in both the secular and religious press combined.

Opponents on both sides of the Culture Wars tend to exaggerate both the threat from their opposition and the dire circumstances we face should the other side win. Wolfe is far more sanguine than either side. He says that not only has the Culture War already been fought but that the results are in. The Culture won. American religion has been so thoroughly immersed in our culture that we are indistinguishable in our religious practices from our non-religious neighbors. We wear the same clothes, eat the same food, watch the same TV shows, speak the same language and most of all, we have the same presuppositions.

His introduction, "The Passing of the Old-Time Religion," sets the tone for the whole book where he says:

Always in a state of transition, faith in the United States, especially in the last half century or so, has been further transformed with dazzling speed. Tracing the history of Christian thought from the new Testament to the twentieth century, the theologian H. Richard Niebuhr documented the many ways in which Christ could become a transformer of culture. But in the United States culture has transformed Christ, as well as all other religions found within these shores. In every aspect of the religious life, American faith has met American culture – and American culture has triumphed. (2-3)

He spends the bulk of the book detailing the various ways in which Americans have made God, or at least their religious devotion to Him in their own image. He explores the following areas in chapters with the following titles:

· Worship

· Fellowship

· Doctrine

· Tradition

· Morality

· Sin

· Witness

· Identity

In each of these he traces common elements and threads that mark the major religions practiced in America. He describes how worship has become consumer-friendly and the lack of denominational partisanship characteristic of the not-too-distant past. For example, it was not that long ago that an interfaith or interdenominational marriage would have devastated parents on both sides of the nuptials. Now, such marriages are so common place that they hardly merit discussion. Nor do we see the devastating consequences for families that would have been true half a century ago.

Wolfe also describes the lack of doctrinal content in even the most rigorous of denominations. While scholars may still pursue doctrinal topics, most people in the pews consider such topics irrelevant or unimportant to where they live. He charts the decline of adherence to tradition, the loss of emphasis on morality, the near-total absence of sin from conversation and the nature of witness and religious identity.

He finishes his book with an appeal to the current Culture Warriors. He finds that religious people have largely ignored the degree to which they have incorporated elements of the culture into their religious practice. At the same time he cautions secular people that the threat they imagine from religious people is largely exaggerated. He spends his last chapter calling both sides to the table to discuss issues with a mutual respect and appreciation of how each has affected the other.

by Rick Presley