12AR17-10

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Apologia Report 17:10 (1,102)

March 21, 2012

Subject: "The incoherence of multiculturalist orthodoxy"

In this issue:

ATHEISM - studies indicate that children are naturally inclined toward religious belief

CULTURE - zooming in on "the incoherence of multiculturalist orthodoxy"

EVANGELICALISM - what years of studying prayer in the Vineyard movement revealed to a secular psychological anthropologist

MORMONISM - "retention rates of young people (young men especially) raised Mormon have dropped substantially in the last decade"

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ATHEISM

Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Belief, by Justin Barrett [1] -- Publishers Weekly (Feb '12, #2, n.p.) finds this "a masterful discussion of whether children are born with a natural ability to exercise faith in God." Barrett, who is a Professor of Psychology at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, "systematizes the phenomena accompanying the belief process, offering a fine overview of recent research and scholarly discussions on the subject of children and belief. His studies transcend national and religious boundaries, bringing together the commonalities among Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other believing communities in ways that support the idea that religious belief, while sometimes considered childish by some post-Freudian rationalists, is, in fact, 'a fundamental and healthy part of human existence, springing from cognitive systems that if removed would remove our humanity.' Barrett's analysis represents a major addition to the literature discussing the natural bent toward belief, and should be widely read."

Kirkus (Feb '12, #2, n.p.) adds: "In the first part of the book, the author looks at cross-cultural studies of children conducted by experts in the 'cognitive science of religion.' ... Barrett makes it clear that children are not gullible and ready to believe anything put forth by their parents - they subscribe to what he calls a 'natural religion.' In the second part of the book, the author indicts atheism by arguing that if one accepts natural selection then one cannot reject the natural religion of childhood...."

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CULTURE

Why the West Is Best: A Muslim Apostate's Defense of Liberal Democracy, by Ibn Warraq [2] -- reviewer Bruce S. Thornton appreciates anything that "reveals the incoherence of multiculturalist orthodoxy." This book is an example.

"Ibn Warraq is the pen name of a Muslim apostate who left his native Pakistan and now lives in the United States. ... Over the years he has published frequently on the unique goods of Western civilization, particularly 'liberty and individual dignity, 'contrasting these with the intolerance and close-mindedness of traditional Islamic culture. Why the West is Best continues the argument, laying out the defining ideals and virtues that have propelled Western civilization to global dominance.

"Warraq's prologue summarizes, in his view, the values that make the West superior: 'rationalism, self-criticism, the disinterested search for truth, the separation of church and state, the rule of law, equality before the law, freedom of conscience and expression, human rights, [and] liberal democracy.' These principles, Warraq continues, are not restricted to Westerners but have universal application. They are 'the best and perhaps the only means for all people, no matter what race or creed, to live in freedom and reach their full potential.'

"The bulk of Why the West Is Best further defines these core principles, frequently in contrast with Islamic cultures. ...

"Warraq recognizes that Western civilization is threatened not just by external rivals, but also by self-loathing Western ideologies such as multiculturalism and the 'promiscuous pluralism that ends in moral relativism.' These ideas go beyond self-reflection to justify 'special accommodations' for minorities (like Muslim immigrants) that contradict values such as personal freedom and equality before the law. Warraq advises us to stop appeasing our enemies, do a better job of translating into Arabic and other Muslim tongues Western books that define our core values, and return to teaching our children an accurate history of the West.

"We should not be surprised that it takes an immigrant from a country sorely lacking in the social, intellectual, and political goods Warraq discusses to document the glories of the West. Why the West Is Best is a timely, passionate reminder of how fortunate we are, and how fragile is our good fortune." City Journal (New York), Feb 4 '12, <www.bit.ly/AiNk0R>

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EVANGELICALISM

When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God, by T. M. Luhrmann [3] -- Library Journal (Oct '11, #1, p58) explains: "Stanford psychological anthropologist Luhrmann truly throws herself into her studies. To understand the depth of evangelical belief and its consequences for believers, she not only conducted experiments to determine how extended prayer affects the mind but also joined an evangelical congregation. The result is reportedly a fair and balanced study on why people believe and what religion can do."

Kirkus (Feb '12, #2, n.p.) digs deeper: "A simultaneously scholarly and deeply personal analysis of evangelical communities in America. Luhrmann ... entered the Vineyard Christian Fellowship openly - declaring herself an anthropologist who wanted to understand the evangelical way and mind - and she was both welcome and eventually somewhat transformed. Near the end Lurhmann writes that although she's not sure she'd call herself a Christian, she has 'come to know God.' She begins by describing the current evangelical movement - how widespread it is, how God has become an intimate friend rather than a harsh judge and how evangelicals largely avoid theodicy. She sketches the history of the Vineyard and attributes to the 1960s counterculture some of the spiritual energy that animates the evangelical movement. As the title suggests, the author devotes much of her discussion to the conversation between believers and their God, a conversation facilitated by specific techniques of prayer. ... Lurhmann underwent extensive prayer training, and her research is substantial - years of commitment, countless interviews, extensive endnotes and a vast bibliography. She accords deep respect for those whose religious experiences are scientifically unverifiable, and she concludes that evangelicals have, to a great extent, reprogrammed their brains and that they and skeptics live in alternate universes. ... An erudite discussion both profoundly sympathetic and richly analytical."

Publishers Weekly (Feb '12, #2, n.p.) adds only that "the largely narrative mode gives way in the middle to an extended description of methods and data from her psychological research."

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MORMONISM

"Mormon Numbers Not Adding Up: Mormonism is no longer one of America's fastest-growing faiths. What happened?" by Joanna Brooks -- summarized: "new data suggests that Mormonism may no longer be (as it is often described) among the fastest-growing faiths in the United States. Instead, American Mormons appear to be settling into the twenty-first century as a maturing minority having an increasingly hard time holding onto younger members."

Brooks, who is herself a Mormon and who runs the "Ask Mormon Girl" blog <www.askmormongirl.com>, bases her conclusions on evidence from "the landmark Trinity College American Religious Identification Survey" (ARIS) [www.bit.ly/GBMtmf]. This massive, 20-year project that has produced the largest and most accurate database of self-reported religious identification ever compiled, with 100,000 randomly sampled participants. According to Rick Phillips and Ryan Cragun, the authors of a study of Mormons based on ARIS data, self-identified adult Mormons make up not 2% but rather 1.4% of the adult US population - that's about 4.4 million LDS adults.

Phillips and Cragun also place LDS growth rates not at 30% but at 16% - a rate on par with general US population growth. ... "Cragun and Phillips show that retention rates of young people (young men especially) raised Mormon have dropped substantially in the last decade: from 92.6% in the 1970s - 2000s to 64.4% from 2000 - 2010. Rising rates of disaffiliation go a long way towards explaining the gap between LDS Church records and the ARIS population estimates." Religion Dispatches, Feb 2 '12, <www.bit.ly/vYV7x8> For an authoritative insider's look at the larger issue of Mormon

membership retention, see: < http://bit.ly/GBQRmG>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Belief, by Justin Barrett (Free Prs, 2012, hardcover, 320 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/7x5pgvu>

2 - Why the West Is Best: A Muslim Apostate's Defense of Liberal Democracy, by Ibn Warraq (Encounter, 2011, hardcover, 286 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/76f47jo>

3 - When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God, by T. M. Luhrmann (Knopf, 2012, hardcover, 464 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/73p84kf>

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