Summary Of Christianity After Religion
Author of “Christianity After Religion,” Diana Butler Bass chronicles through her text what she believes is a “spiritual awakening” (5) in the United States, stemming from the effects of neoliberal consumerism that has sparked an obsession with choice and autonomy in all aspects of life and a melody of historical factors. The implications for Christianity, other organized religions, and spirituality movements are numerous, and—recognizing the magnitude of this effect—Bass prescribes certain remedies to traditional Christianity and notes the already present trends of change that are occurring in Christianity as it strives to respond to these shifts.
Bass summarizes the core of her argument in the first couple of pages, stating notably, “…the …show more content…
Focusing in on the Fourth Great Awakening, Bass notes that this movement was not an attempt to “..escape the world…,” but rather a way to “…[move] into the heart of the world, [face] the challenges head-on to take what is old –failed institutions, scarred landscapes, wearied religions, a wounded planet – and make them workable and humane…” (239). In a sense, this notion begins to mirror the ideas that have pervaded themselves over the course of “Spiritual but Not Religious,” such as the idea of “Sheliaism” and “seeking” which suggest that people not conform simply to what is given to them but to harness their ability to choose so that they can create institutions in the image of what they actually want. Bass continues in pointing out the failures of the Church by hypothesizing that, “the root of many people’s anxiety about church [is] that religion is the purveyor of a sort of salvation that does not address their lived struggles” (182). Thus, the overall “why” behind the changing of Christianity is thus the idea that the past institutions did not satisfy people’s needs and that in a neoliberal world, people have the right to customize and create a religion or spirituality that gives them the “fruits,” as James would put, without any regard of “roots” that cultivated and bred this
Bass summarizes the core of her argument in the first couple of pages, stating notably, “…the …show more content…
Focusing in on the Fourth Great Awakening, Bass notes that this movement was not an attempt to “..escape the world…,” but rather a way to “…[move] into the heart of the world, [face] the challenges head-on to take what is old –failed institutions, scarred landscapes, wearied religions, a wounded planet – and make them workable and humane…” (239). In a sense, this notion begins to mirror the ideas that have pervaded themselves over the course of “Spiritual but Not Religious,” such as the idea of “Sheliaism” and “seeking” which suggest that people not conform simply to what is given to them but to harness their ability to choose so that they can create institutions in the image of what they actually want. Bass continues in pointing out the failures of the Church by hypothesizing that, “the root of many people’s anxiety about church [is] that religion is the purveyor of a sort of salvation that does not address their lived struggles” (182). Thus, the overall “why” behind the changing of Christianity is thus the idea that the past institutions did not satisfy people’s needs and that in a neoliberal world, people have the right to customize and create a religion or spirituality that gives them the “fruits,” as James would put, without any regard of “roots” that cultivated and bred this