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Buy the Book
Down and Up From Secularism
Ross Douthat’s case for traditional Christian faith, in an age of spiritual limits.
Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics
By Ross Douthat
(Free Press, 352 pages, $26)
MEET THE TWO FACES of American religion. One belongs to Dr. Leroy Thompson, a black preacher who teaches that God not only has treasure stored for the believer in heaven but will also deliver riches in this life. A friend covered one of Thompson’s conferences for a magazine, and his sermons can easily be found on YouTube. Thompson is a cross between Jimmy Swaggart and Scrooge McDuck. After a smattering of Scripture, he leads his flock into a chant: “Money cometh to me now!” But for most of the congregation, it would be more accurate to say money goes. They lay their dollars on the altar. Thompson proceeds to dance in their money, a sight that in a different era would have been more common in a strip club on Saturday night than in a church on Sunday morning.
The second face belongs to Elizabeth Gilbert, whose spiritual journey became the popular book and film Eat, Pray, Love. After a night of despair, she locked herself in the bathroom of her Hudson Valley home and offered the Almighty—or Whoever, really—this unorthodox prayer: “I don’t want to be married anymore…. I don’t want to be married anymore. I don’t want to live in this big house. I don’t want to have a baby.”
Eventually, she received a response, but not of the burning bush variety. “[I]t was not an Old Testament Hollywood Charlton Heston voice,” she later wrote, “nor was it a voice telling me I must build a baseball field in my backyard. It was merely my own voice, speaking from within my own self.” Yet it was her voice as she had never heard it before, “perfectly wise, calm, and compassionate.” Gilbert received two miracles: Her husband granted her a divorce, and a publisher gave her the advance that allowed to her travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia.
One face is at least nominally orthodox, invoking Scripture and tradition while seeking a real, supernatural, and personal God. The other is secular, skeptical of absolute moral claims like the “one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christ is the only path to God.” Both are ultimately rooted in the self. God, whether He exists in a conventional sense or not, is reduced to what Harry Emerson Fosdick described as a “cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things.”
ROSS DOUTHAT CONFRONTS both extremes in Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. Douthat is a columnist for the New York Times, where he faces the unenviable task of trying to persuade a mostly liberal, secular audience of the reasonableness of being conservative, pro-life, and Christian. In this capacity, he does yeoman’s work and deserves combat pay for navigating the comments sections on his own blog posts.
Douthat paints a familiar picture of old-time religion in decline. The mainline Protestant churches stopped growing in the 1960s and have hemorrhaged members ever since. Douthat observes, “Of the eleven Protestant churches that claimed more than a million members in the early 1970s, eight had fewer members in 1973 than in 1965.”
The plunge in church attendance coincided with a steep drop in cultural influence. Church school enrollment fell dramatically. Donations dried up and churches ran large budget deficits. Foreign missionary work all but vanished. “By the early 1990s,” Douthat writes, “60 percent of Methodist parishioners were over fifty, and there were more Muslims in America than Episcopalians.”
Latino immigration helped the American Catholic Church’s numbers remain steady as the mainline Protestants atrophied, but the Roman church wasn’t immune to these trends. Weekly attendance at mass dropped from 70 percent to 50 percent in just 10 years. The gap between Catholic and Protestant church attendance disappeared—and, writes Douthat, “not because Protestants suddenly became more diligent in their churchgoing.”
In 1950, there was one priest for every 600 American Catholics. By 1980, there was only one for every thousand. Seminary enrollment had fallen by Two-thirds. The rate at which women entered into religious communities dropped by 88 percent just between 1965 and 1971. The ratio of nuns to American Catholics was halved between 1965 and 1985. Douthat concludes: “The thick culture that had defi ned and sustained the pre-Vatican II Church—the round of confessions and novenas, pilgrimages and Stations of the Cross—dissipated like a cloud of incense in a sudden breeze.”
Some of this had to do with the crisis of liberal Christianity. The established churches had largely tried to accommodate changes in the broader culture, often diluting the Gospel in the process. The moral high-water mark came with the civilrights movement of the 1960s. But as social pressure to attend church declined, more secular people decided to stop snoozing away their Sundays in Episcopalian pews. More orthodox Christians left the Catholics and mainliners in search of stronger stuff.
Conservative churches grew and flourished as liberal ones withered. Douthat is nevertheless skeptical of popular claims that this means American Christianity is just fine. For one thing, the new evangelical churches never replicated the cultural and social influence obtained by the mainline Protestants or the Catholic Church of the 1950s. They were, for better or worse, a strong subculture.
Second, Douthat notes, previous religious awakenings in the 18th and 19th centuries had strengthened institutional Christianity across the board. The First Great Awakening was a time of explosive growth for the Methodist Church. Even when the most prominent spiritual leaders of the era espoused unusual theological doctrines, the orthodox and the established tended to benefi t from the revival as well.
MOST IMPORTANTLY for the purposes of Bad Religion, these new churches were unreliable in their orthodoxy. Yes, their members were politically conservative, serious about the supernatural aspects of their faith, and strict in their sexual morality. But their fundamentalist theology frequently carried many 19th-century innovations. Douthat calls it the “Evangelicalism of the Left Behind novels and Joel Osteen… rather than of Billy Graham or C.S. Lewis.” Many denominations Dean Kelley classified as “conservative churches”—Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons—were arguably outside of orthodox Christianity.
At the same time, the rise in secularism did not entirely dampen religious enthusiasm even among those who understood themselves to be irreligious. Many of these new seculars were deeply superstitious, confi rming G.K. Chesterton’s observation that when people cease believing in God “they don’t believe in nothing—they believe in everything.” Douthat argues that the 1960s and ’70s were a period when “the heretics carried the day completely.”
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (38) | Leave a comment
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c. j. acworth| 9.26.12 @ 8:31AM
I was always taught that there is a God-shaped hole in everyone. If you don't fill it with God, you'll find something else, usually harmful or self-destructive. The sell-out of the mainline denominations to the values of the world have brought not just a drop in their membership, but cultural harm in the form of cynicism about Christianity in general. After all, why go to church to hear the same values preached you get on the street, from movies, or tv? Jesus called us to be in the world but not of the world. He also said that for those who lead His little ones astray, it would be better if they had a millstone tied around their neck and were thrown into the sea. A lot of clergy are going to have a lot to answer for one day.
cowgirl| 9.26.12 @ 11:47AM
Amen Brother C.J. Amen.
Boar Hunter| 9.26.12 @ 2:25PM
If you want your views on this reinforced with factual information watch a movie called "the Daniel Project."
Alan Obama Fan Brooks | 9.26.12 @ 5:00PM
As for me, I'm going to study the Koran and become a Sufi.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
You guys might want to take a class in Arabic yourselves.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 8:48AM
The mainline's problems tends to be their refusal to focus the reason for the Gospel - God's Glory and man's sin, and how one cannot hold to the other.
And you used one of my favorite terms for this generation's Olsteen-led heresies - moral therapeutic deism - the idea that God wants me to be happy and healthy and wealthy and comfortable, with my "best life now."
Derek Leaberry| 9.26.12 @ 9:11AM
It took me forty years to realize it, but the truth is in the Latin Mass church that the Roman Catholic modernists tried to destroy with the limp Novus Ordo Mass.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 9:21AM
So....the Latin Mass is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and there is no other way to the Father except through the Latin Mass?
Appleby| 9.26.12 @ 9:42AM
No, but getting rid of the Latin Mass and replacing it with Clown Mass, or Rock 'n' Roll Mass, or what is called in our Catholic church the "Brat Service" in which screaming, out of control toddlers vie with the priest for air time, didn't do the Church a bit of good. We have a Latin Mass in our neighbourhood and it's filled to capacity every week. By the way, the "sexual abuse" in the Catholic Church was almost totally perpetrated by the homosexuals who were welcomed in as they are in the Armed Services nowadays, who were wrongly referred to as "pedophiles" when they were in fact mainly interested in teenaged boys. A careful study without a preconceived bias would show that once they started booting the homosexuals out and not taking any more in, the problem disappeared.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 10:24AM
I partially agree, even from a Protestant perspective. Many church services have become far too disorderly. Though scripture never lays out a church service order, nor language requirement, there is something to be said for an orderly service.
Derek Leaberry| 9.26.12 @ 11:04AM
At St. Athanasius in Vienna, VA, many families drive an hour and more for the weekly Mass. Most couples have at least four children, two have eight children, one had ten. My wife and I have six which is near the Parish median.
CJW| 9.26.12 @ 5:16PM
The sexual abuse could and should have been stopped early if it would have been treated as a crime with swift punishment. Instead it was treated as something a problem with for thereapy for the abusers.
David T| 9.26.12 @ 9:48AM
Ryan--You are going beyond what Derek actually said. The Way, the Truth, and the Life are in Jesus Christ, of course, but the FULLNESS of the truth here on earth rests in the Catholic Church, which Christ founded on the Rock of St. Peter. The Latin Mass represents the universality and continuity of Christ's Church. As Cardinal Newman said, "Destroy the [Latin] Mass, and you destroy the Church."
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 10:22AM
I debate your "fullness of truth" answer there. Christ alone represents and IS the fullness of Truth (hence the term "I AM"), and He established His Church and upholds it, no matter what tradition is in place.
THKrupp| 9.26.12 @ 11:13AM
Im sorry but the Lutheran Book of Concord has much to say about the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Church. I must disagree with you on that part.
Derek Leaberry| 9.26.12 @ 11:01AM
For me it is, Ryan. I see the country beyond redemption as it is now constructed.
THKrupp| 9.26.12 @ 11:15AM
The Lord did not come to save or to bless countries. He came to save individuals.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 11:23AM
I would say He came to redeem all of creation - from the individual on up - to nations, states, and the whole world. It's how the story ends (begins?) at the end of Revelation.
THKrupp| 9.26.12 @ 11:31AM
I was taught not to hold much truck with Revelations. It was rarely ever talked about in my Church. It was even told that it shouldnt be in the Bible. God doesnt have much to say about government and or Nations in the NT.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 12:45PM
No, but the point at the end of the book - despite all the different ways to interpret it - is that, in the end, God wins.
Quartermaster| 9.26.12 @ 1:15PM
There was at one time some argument about including Revelation (it is not "Revelations") in the canon. The argument ended about AD 383.
THKrupp| 9.26.12 @ 2:05PM
This is what Luther had to say about it in 1522. Translated into English of course.
"About this book of the Revelation of John, I leave everyone free to hold his own opinions. I would not have anyone bound to my opinion or judgment. I say what I feel. I miss more than one thing in this book, and it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic." There is much more but you can look it up for yourself.
FBX1999| 9.26.12 @ 6:57PM
Actually, it was 397 at the Council of Hippo. St. Augustine was a strong supporter of the inspiration of Revelations.
Appleby| 9.26.12 @ 1:38PM
The Book of Revelation. Singular.
THKrupp| 9.26.12 @ 2:03PM
Sorry you are right. its Revelation of St John.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 11:21AM
So...do you worship God, or do you worship the Church?
FBX1999| 9.26.12 @ 9:59AM
There is a renewal in the Catholic Church that has been gathering steam for more than ten years. My priest was ordained 12 years ago, and he is in the vanguard of the new breed - orthodox to the Holy Father and Magisterium. His Novus Ordo Masses are sung - not spoken - reverently, and he celebrates the Extraordinary Form twice monthly. He is slowly changing how things are done in our parish church - with the schola chanting in Latin and replacing the hymns.
In the Church at large in the US - Eternal Word Television Network is expanding its audience, and the list of Catholic radio stations grows weekly. Great speakers and authors like Mark Shea, Jimmy Aiken and Scott Hahn proclaim the Faith boldly. The Priestly Society of Saint Peter (FSSP) trains priests correctly and the Institute of Christ the King restores churches to their beautiful splendor.
Find a Latin Mass church near you and see for yourself!
Appleby| 9.26.12 @ 1:42PM
Also noted on EWTN is that the conservative convents and monastaries which require the habit be worn at all times are bulging at the seams with new postulants, while the Liberation Theology Hippy versions are fading rapidly away. AND...the Teaching Nuns are returning! I saw a Mother Superior on EWTN the other night who said that they'd won a lawsuit with the Illinois Schools that requires them to take qualified student teachers from the convents -- and the parents are standing up and cheering.
Joellen| 9.26.12 @ 4:53PM
Add to your list of great speakers, Michael Voris of ChurchMilitant.tv; Matthew Kelly; Father Don Callaway; all profess the true doctrine of the Catholic Faith. BTW, I dont agree with your pick of Mark Shea, he seems to me to be very social justice liberal.
FBX1999| 9.26.12 @ 6:52PM
I will be hearing him speak tonight at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Bremerton. He is speaking on the family and the issues facing the Church. I'll post on this comment tomorrow how he speaks on the social issues.
FBX1999| 9.27.12 @ 3:04PM
Mark Shea spoke clearly and unequivocally against the liberal mindset. No one hearing him would have taken him for a lefty.
Dave Williams| 9.26.12 @ 12:57PM
No, the longing for god does NOT remain as strong as ever! I just want to live a quiet life, enjoy the writings of classic authors, appreciate nature, do what good I can, and eventually return to the oblivion from which I sprang. Why isn't that enough for all you true believers? But no, you have to get your knickers in a twist about some Bronze Age folktales that promise you eternal life -- a promise that is UTTERLY fraudulent (Don't believe me? Go ahead, prove me wrong) -- and about making sure everyone conforms to your worldview. I am an atheist for the same reason I'm a small-government conservative, and I wish more people on this site felt the same way.
Quartermaster| 9.26.12 @ 1:13PM
I'm a small government conservative because of God had to say in His word. While the founders were mostly Deists, they were firmly grounded in a Christian Philosophy of Government. It is instructive when you look at where the regressives are coming from. Operationally they are atheistic and the most egregious offenders against human rights were the most atheistic.
As for "proving" you wrong, there is no need. For people such as yourself there is never enough evidence and any attempts are just a waste of breath, ink, or pixels. Even God will allow you to believe anything you want. Just understand that the consequences of your stubborness is way past ghastly.
Ryan| 9.26.12 @ 2:18PM
From a Calvinist (and we believe, Biblical) perspective, the "longing" is actually man's natural state - that we, in and of ourselves, will not and cannot reach for God without Him reaching for us first.
FBX1999| 9.26.12 @ 6:54PM
We Catholics call God's reaching for us "grace."
Ryan| 9.27.12 @ 8:38AM
As do Protestants. "Unmerited favor."
Boar Hunter| 9.26.12 @ 3:01PM
Dave,
It is certainly enough for me.
The Bible tells me that it is up to each man to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. I have enough to worry about with my own issues to care one little bit about what you decide.
I find it humorous that it is always atheists like you who have their panties in a knot over seeing a manger scene or cross at christmas time, as if that were somehow infringing on your beliefs. If you don't believe in God what does it matter? Do you complain when you see displays of Fairies? How about the movie trailers about Hobbits? You are free to believe or not as you choose. Funny that you only choose to be angry about a God you don't believe in.
And by the way, Christians don't force anyone to believe or persecute anyone over their failure to worship their religion, that would be muslims.
Clara| 9.26.12 @ 3:23PM
I understand your viewpoint, but it goes both ways. I have been told by a social worker that I was a child abuser because I am going to teach my children respect for life and that abortion is wrong. I take such a threat seriously, because social workers do have authority to take children away. It has caused me much fear and illness. A mother's greatest fear is to lose her children. People like her should not have authority, and there are many people with similar beliefs in positions of authority.
CJW| 9.26.12 @ 5:20PM
Dave,
You sound like a reasonable person. As an atheist how do you explain the creation or begining of life? I do not mean evolution because evolution assumes something that will evolve. How did life start?