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The data is clear: religious affiliation is plummeting across the breadth of Christian denominations. And yet interest in "spirituality" is on the rise. So what is behind the sea change in American religion? With the same comprehensive research and insider reporting that made Christianity for the Rest of Us an indispensable guide to cultivating thriving churches, Diana Butler Bass offers a fresh interpretation of the "spiritual but not religious" trend.
Bass—who has spent her career teaching the history, culture, and politics of religion, and engaging church communities across the nation—brings forth her deep knowledge of the latest national studies and polls, along with her own groundbreaking analysis, as she seeks to fully comprehend the decline in Christian attendance and affiliation that started decades ago—and has increased exponentially in recent years.
Some contend that we're undergoing yet another evangelical revival; others suggest that Christian belief and practice is eroding entirely as traditional forms of faith are replaced by new ethical, and areligious, choices. But Bass argues compellingly that we are, instead, at a critical stage in a completely new spiritual awakening, a vast interreligious progression toward individual and cultural transformation, and a wholly new kind of postreligious faith.
Offering direction and hope to individuals and churches, Christianity After Religion is Bass's call to approach faith with a newfound freedom that is both life-giving and service driven. And it is a hope-filled plea to see and participate in creating a fresh, vital, contemporary way of faith that stays true to the real message of Jesus.
Christianity is changing in radical ways. In fact, according to adept faith watcher Diana Butler Bass (A People's History of Christianity; Christianity for the Rest of Us), the church as we have known is steadily becoming a thing of the past. Her provocative examination of this evolving situation will be read with interest by readers of books like Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christianity and Harvey Cox's The Future of Faith.
— Jane Love
The Beginning 1
Part I The End of Religion
1 The End of the Beginning 11
2 Questioning the Old Gods 39
3 When Religion Fails 65
Part II A New Vision
4 Believing 103
5 Behaving 137
6 Belonging 169
7 The Great Reversal 199
Part III Awakening
8 Great Awakening 217
9 Performing Awakening 253
Acknowledgments 271
Notes 275
Index 288
Anonymous
Posted April 3, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 14, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The data is clear: religious affiliation is plummeting across the breadth of Christian denominations. And yet interest in "spirituality" is on the rise. So what is behind the sea change in American religion? With the same comprehensive research and insider reporting that made Christianity for the Rest of Us an indispensable guide to cultivating thriving churches, Diana Butler Bass offers a fresh interpretation of the "spiritual but not religious" trend.
Bass—who has spent her career teaching the history, culture, and politics of religion, and engaging church communities across the nation—brings forth her deep ...