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AR 26:41 - "A shift to the centre of gravity of Christianity"
In this issue:
ATHEISM - denying agnostics a choice
+ how science shattered a Harvard prof's atheism
POLITICS - why "even when repelling out-groups is politically popular, Christianity is no longer privileged" in Australia
+ the 'relaxed rules' behind the global influence of America's "much-vaunted separation of church and state"
WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT - "the prosperity gospel and how it impacts current conversations on the commercialisation of religion"
Apologia Report 26:41 (1,546)
October 27, 2021
ATHEISM
"Forms of belief-less religion: why non-doxasticism makes fictionalism redundant for the pro-religious agnostic" by Carl-Johan Palmqvist (Religious Studies, 57:1 - 2021, pp49-65) -- the abstract reads: "Which form of belief-less religion should the agnostic prefer: non-doxasticism [the thesis that, contrary to appearances, delusions are not beliefs at all, and] which substitutes belief with some weaker cognitive attitude, or fictionalism [the thesis that, statements that appear to be descriptions of the world should not be construed as such, but should instead be understood as cases of 'make believe', of pretending to treat something as literally true] which standardly treats religious life as a game of make-believe? I argue for non-doxasticism due to its ability to handle the problems associated with fictionalism. However, in an argument for exclusive availability I go further, denying even that the agnostic has a choice: if she has a religious pro-attitude only non-doxasticism is rationally available to her. I also address and reject a recent argument by Finlay Malcolm to the effect that non-doxasticism cannot be properly distinguished from fictionalism." <www.bit.ly/3uTT3EI> (partial paywall)
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Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith, by Michael Guillen [1] -- the promo explains that this "former physics instructor at Harvard, used to be an Atheist - until science changed his mind. ... Guillen recounts the fascinating story of his journey from Atheism to Christianity, citing the latest discoveries in neuroscience, physics, astronomy, and mathematics...."
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POLITICS
"Right-wing nationalism, populism, and religion" is the theme of the most recent issue of Religion, State and Society (49:3 - 2021). Included is "No longer a 'Christian nation': Why Australia's Christian Right loses policy battles even when it wins elections" by David T. Smith (pp231-247). The abstract describes "the declining policy influence of the Christian Right in Australia, especially compared to its more powerful American counterpart. Despite seven years of conservative federal government in Australia featuring prominent Christian conservatives, including two prime ministers, the Christian Right has had continuous defeats on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. This contribution argues that the Christian Right in Australia is weakened by the lack of a popular sense of Australia as a 'Christian nation', even if it still has a majority of Christian identifiers. Unlike the United States, where a Christian nation discourse is an important political resource for the Christian Right, in Australia the relative lack of such a discourse weakens the link between the Christian Right's policy agenda and broader exclusionary nationalism. Even when repelling out-groups is politically popular, Christianity is no longer privileged as the national in-group. This contribution empirically examines the use of the term 'Christian nation' in recent public discourse in Australia to show why it lacks political power." <www.bit.ly/2YoBEbG> (partial paywall)
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Also in this issue of Religion, State and Society, Axel R. Schäfer reviews (pp281-283) the book Finding Faith in Foreign Policy: Religion and American diplomacy in a postsecular world, by Gregorio Bettiza [2]. It begins: "In recent decades, research into the growing entanglement of faith groups and US foreign policy has added significantly to our understanding that the country's much-vaunted separation of church and state is not tantamount to the separation of religion and politics. Gregorio Bettiza makes an illuminating contribution to this field with a book that probes the ever-closer cooperation between religious agencies and foreign policy from the end of the Cold War to the second Obama administration. Based on in-depth interviews with key policy figures, as well as a wide range of policy documents, he diagnoses the emergence of a 'religious foreign policy regime' in the US and the 'religionization' of global politics in the aftermath of the Cold War. This led to the transfer of significant public resources to religious leaders, institutions, and communities around the world.
"Bettiza attributes this 'desecularization process' to the confluence of three key factors. The first is the global resurgence and politicization of religion.... The second factor is the activities of a wide range of 'desecularizing actors'.... Third, specific 'critical junctures,' ... elevate the issue of religion to the forefront of debates.
"The author explores in detail four instances of the confluence of religion and foreign policy that, in his view, form the 'historically novel phenomenon' of the religious regime complex. He terms them 'International Religious Freedom,' 'Faith-Based Foreign Aid,' 'Muslim and Islamic Interventions,' and 'Religious Engagement.' ...
"Though the various 'regimes' rely on different institutional and organisational arrangements, they are held together by four key characteristics. First, their bureaucratic architecture is marked by *institutional* continuity. ... Second, they share an *epistemic* effort to 'elevate' religion as an interpretive filter and 'categorize' conflicts using a religious taxonomy in order to overcome the marginalisation of religion in foreign policy. Third, they are bound together by an *ideological* notion of religion as a positive good that offers unique humanitarian and developmental resources. And finally, they are characterized by a *state-normative* trajectory that relaxes rules mandating the separation of church and state." <www.bit.ly/3BpYttN> (partial paywall)
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WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT
"From the Margins to the Centre: Commercialisation of Religion - Threat or an Opportunity in Pentecostalism?" by Daniel Nicolaas Andrew -- the abstract explains that this study is based on the work of Allan H. Anderson, who "has done extensive research about Pentecostalism as a global phenomenon [which includes] a critical understanding of the prosperity gospel and how it impacts current conversations on the commercialisation of religion in Pentecostalism. The World Council of Churches (WCC) regards the emergence of strong Pentecostal and charismatic movements from different localities as one of the most noteworthy characteristics of world Christianity today - calling it a shift to the centre of gravity of Christianity. Due to the influence of the commercialising of religion on Pentecostalism, this centre is threatened but it can also be an opportunity for mission and transformation. The study illustrates how the commercialising of religion has become a part of Christianity, how it has been clothed and shipped by missionaries from the European and North American context into the Two-Thirds world. The vision of the early church is to be holy, while the vision of the early Pentecostal movement is to restore New Testament Christianity that can assist Pentecostals today to have a balanced view of the commercialisation of religion that embraces both individual and social holiness that is faithful witnesses of the mission Dei and bring transformation in society." Missionalia (South Africa), 49 - 2021 <www.bit.ly/2Z6Tgsg> (use "download" link)
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith, by Michael Guillen (Tyndale, 2021, paperback, 228 pages) <www.bit.ly/3BrTTLl>
2 - Finding Faith in Foreign Policy: Religion and American diplomacy in a postsecular world, by Gregorio Bettiza (Oxford Univ Prs, 2019, hardcover, 318 pages), ISBN 9780190949464
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