05.25.09
Secularism, religion, and ‘God is Back’
Faith in the future
John Gray
Published 21 May 2009
Contrary to what evangelical rationalists preach, it is perfectly possible both to be modern and to believe in God. But there is no reason to assume that the American religious model will prevail
Over and over on this blog, we have essentially stated what John Gray is trying to say. But these conservatives can’t seem to get it straight.
The best way to consider the matter is in terms of the eonic effect and its study of the modern transition: We fail to distinguish the emergence of modernity and its subsequent fate. The two can be different, and if the realization of modernity shows some signs of failure then conservative forces attempt to make a comeback.
I said conservative forces, not necessarily religion.
In general, from the perspective of the eonic effect we can see that the debate over religion and modernity is suffering from a snafu.
First, anyone who says that ‘secularism’ and religion are incompatible has missed the point. The first great moment of the rise of the modern was the Protestant Reformation. Religion is thus a clear associate of modernity. The rapid transformation of the Reformation into the Enlightenment is what creates the tension between secularism and religion. But the Enlightenment is constantly misunderstood. It is the source of most of the debates, now deteriorated, over science and religion. The Enlightenment was a process, not a belief system held by Richard Dawkins. It was not an atheist movement, for crying out loud.
Both the New Atheists and conservatives religionists have tried to polarize the issues here, making discussion difficult. The idea that belief in god is not modern shows the last stages of the decay of terminology. All we can do is throw up our hands. And if this kind of discourse is what we can expect if ‘god is back’, then I hope we can pass beyond religion of that kind.
Again, the eonic effect shows that at a certain point the modern transition will show a tendency to deviate, or suffer regression. Religionists who wish to promote anti-modernism might thus think something is giving them a lift. I should think the effect temporary.
The real issue is to come to an understanding of religion for a secular age, and stop making a fetish out of traditionalist cults.
To say that ‘god is back’ is therefore a superfluous statement, and one more of the ways in which to pick a fight on the issue of religion.