God Still Isn't Dead



On the eve of Good Friday, the day upon which, according to Christian teaching, God's son died on a cross, creating a a momentary rift within the Godhead, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect on a Wall Street Journal editorial that is among many responses to the recent American Religious Identification Survey, which suggests that Americans have become less religious. The article, which was sent to me by one of my church members (I'm not a WSJ reader, generally), is written by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (editor and Washington bureau chief, respectively, of the Economist). Both are are bastions of the capitalist foundations of American life.

The two authors reflect on the supposed bad news in this survey -- that we're becoming less religious. These two authors appear to be less concerned by the news than, let's say, Al Mohler, whom Jon Meacham quotes in his own Newsweek response to the news in the ARIS report. Mohler thinks the sky is falling -- especially since Puritan New England is now less religious than the Northwest.

Whereas Mohler seems distressed by America's growing pluralism, one in which Christianity no longer has the upper hand, so to speak, these two authors, see the upside in America's changing religious fortunes. They look at American history with entrepreneurial eyes -- competition has been, they suggest, America's greatest religious asset. They're right, in many respects. They note, rightfully so, that in pre-Revolutionary America, people weren't all that religious, but after America was given its religious freedom, religion rapidly expanded. Now, the old timers -- Congregationalists and Episcopalians struggled in this new context, but Methodists, Baptists, and less traditional groups like my own Disciples movement were freed up to do their thing, and they spread out quickly, leaving the old time churches in the dust. Thomas Jefferson thought that the Unitarians were going to be the wave of the future, but that isn't the way things worked out.

So, while I may not be a free market capitalist (I am a Democrat after all) and am a strong ecumenist, I have to admit competition does have a lot going for it. The most important thing going for it is choice, and the opposite of choice is, well . . . you know. Look at Europe, it has state churches, and they're empty -- because the choices are few. Look at Eastern Europe, as soon as the shackles of state communism were thrown off, religion boomed. People like choices -- religious or otherwise. While all of this can have deleterious effects on religion, I don't know that there is a better option.

So, rather than the sky falling, maybe we should rejoice in the benefits of our religious freedom! Oh, and while the numbers of active church goers is down, God is still alive and kicking! The Easter effect, perhaps?

Comments

Brian Tubbs said…
You write: "...while I may not be a free market capitalist (I am a Democrat after all)..."

The honesty is refreshing, for the modern Democratic Party (and, for that matter, much of the current Republican Party) is incompatible with free market capitalism.

I myself believe in compassionate capitalism, and I think such a thing is possible.
Robert Cornwall said…
Brian,

I probably should clarify the remark about "free markets." I'm all for free markets, as long as they are properly regulated and that there is an appropriate safety net.

As for compassionate capitalism, if it's like compassionate conservatism, I'm not sure what that would look like.

Oh, well! we're all working on our definitions.
Anonymous said…
Let's consider sustainability then.
What could be more democratic than to assume there will be more of us in the future, and to guess what their vote might be on energy and climate issues. to name a couple.

David Mc

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