Public Square
Items on religion in public life and social discourse
The Philosopher and the Ayatollah
Thu 16 Jun 2005 by Peter Edman
Amazing and surprisingly nuanced article in the Boston Globe (hat-tip—ALD) on Michel Foucault’s initial infatuation with the Islamist revolution in Iran of Ayatollah Khomeini.
The article, by Wesley Yang, is titled “The philosopher and the ayatollah: In 1978, Michel Foucault went to Iran as a novice journalist to report on the unfolding revolution. His dispatches — now fully available in translation — shed some light on the illusions of intellectuals in our own time.”
The article is inspired by the publication of Kevin Anderson and Janet Afary’s Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism
Yang offers an interesting balance of appreciation for Foucault’s courageous insights and his ideologically driven blindness, and definitely helps us appreciate the way worldviews or ideologies shape actions. Two quotes from the article follow:
A collection on spirituality vs. religion vs. atheism
Mon 13 Jun 2005 by Peter Edman
I’ve noticed a small wave of articles on faith, religion, and spirituality—which are not synonymous. Several appear to be driven by a recent AP survey on religion.
Items:
Dave Shiflett has an article from 7 June 2005 on National Review Online, “God-Lite Doesn’t Cut It: Americans like a stouter brand.” He discusses findings from his new book, Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity.- Ironically, the same day US News & World Report, 7 June 2005, posts an article on a trend that could be seen as confirming or countering Shiflett’s thesis: “Religion in America: Pumping life into mainline Protestantism” (Hat Tip: Relapsed Catholic -> Church Marketing Sucks -> CT Weblog) discusses how moderate-to-liberal congregations in otherwise-declining denominations are thriving by getting serious about their faith and their tradition.
- And just the day before, Giles Fraser posted a pleasantly insightful editorial in London’s Guardian on a new UK “reality” show focused on the spiritual smorgasbord: “God’s been mugged: Spirituality, the latest subject of reality TV, is religion minus the difficult bits for feckless consumers”
- On the other hand, we have UPI reporter Uwe Siemon-Netto and a March 2005 wire story, “Science, ‘frauds’ trigger a decline in atheism” discussing former atheist Anthony Flew’s defection to theism.
- In line with this last, in light of the TV show mentioned in Dr. Fraser’s commentary, it’s almost refreshing to see Salman Rushdie’s wisful desire to “Just give me that old-time atheism!” (The Toronto Star, May 23 2005).
Refreshing Candor
Mon 06 Jun 2005 by Peter Edman
Perhaps we are getting to the point where we can actually get back to arguing again. A couple of recent articles indicate a larger trend I think I’m seeing: people are increasingly willing again to go against political and secularist correctness in public. It indicates that the tide may be turning against those who would exclude opposing opinions from the public square by fiat.
First is Terry Teachout’s insightful piece on art and persuasion from In Character, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, “When Drama Becomes Propaganda: Why is so much political art so awful?” (6 June 2005).
It isn’t just that they feel no responsibility to make arguments that might prove persuasive to those who disagree with them, or at least haven’t yet made up their minds. They no longer acknowledge any responsibility to their audiences. They appear to believe instead that so long as an artist thinks all the right things, he need not go to the trouble to be amusing, subtle or even interesting. All he need do is make his characters say the right things, and he’s entitled to the approval of his enlightened brethren. No one else matters.
Guinness Review in Wilson Quarterly
Mon 06 Jun 2005 by TTF Staff
Trinity Forum founder and Moderator Os Guinness has published a review of a new book on religion and politics worldwide in the Spring 2005 issue of The Wilson Quarterly.
Discussing Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart. Dr. Guinness welcomes their contribution to the research and understanding of religion in public life but suggests that their approach contains a fundamental weakness. Two clips follow.
Interview with David Cook
Thu 02 Jun 2005 by TTF Staff
The Christian Post has an interview with Senior Fellow E. David Cook.
The interview, posted on May 9, 2005, covers Dr. Cook’s work in ethics and bioethics, his forthcoming book, his role at Wheaton, and includes his advice to U.S. and British leaders, including this response to a question on his advice for Tony Blair:
European, Not Christian
Wed 01 Jun 2005 by Peter Edman
Jay Tolson at U.S. News & World Report has written an article on the spiritual climate of Europe.
“European, Not Christian: An aggressive secularism sweeps the Continent” (30 May 2005). It looks generally well balanced, including discussion of causes and consequences and alternative spiritualities that are arising in the wake of the decline of organized religion. Jumping off from the Buttiglione debacle and a similar case experienced in Britain by Ruth Kelly, the article’s thesis is expressed here:
While Kelly survived the mini-tempest, her experience captures what many say is the prevailing attitude of European elites toward religion, particularly traditional religion and particularly in the public sphere. From the ban on the wearing of visible religious symbols in French public schools to the refusal of the EU to include specific mention of Christianity’s influence on Europe’s distinctive civilization in its first constitution, a mountain of anecdotal evidence suggests that an aggressive form of secularism--what the British religion writer Karen Armstrong calls “secular fundamentalism” --is afoot in Europe.
“Secular fundamentalism”? I’m a harsh critic of the misuse and recent overuse of the term “fundamentalist,” but Armstrong’s term seems fitting. Perhaps the rejection of the EU constitution by France and the Netherlands will be an opportunity to revisit the issue of the historic contributions of the Christian faith to Europe and moderate some unfortunate excesses.
Cromartie Edits New Book on Religion and Politics in America
Tue 31 May 2005 by TTF Staff
Senior Fellow Michael Cromartie has edited a new book of essays on religion and politics in the U.S., with particular focus on the role of journalists.
The book is titled, appropriately enough, Religion and Politics in America: A Conversation.
The current national discourse has brought faith and its relationship to public policy to the forefront of our daily news. Since 1999, the Ethics and Public Center, through the generosity of the Pew Charitable Trusts, has hosted six conferences for national journalists to help raise the level of their reporting by increasing their understanding of religion, religious communities, and the religious convictions that inform the political activity of devout believers. This book contains the presentations and conversations that grew out of those conferences.
Cromartie’s introduction is available here. We hope this contributes to better understanding of this critical issue.
I Beg to Disagree
Tue 22 Mar 2005 by Peter Edman
The eminently sensible columnist and economist Thomas Sowell raises a helpful point in a recent column.
Too many people today act as if no one can honestly disagree with them. If you have a difference of opinion with them, you are considered to be not merely in error but in sin. You are a racist, a homophobe or whatever the villain of the day happens to be.
Disagreements are inevitable whenever there are human beings but we seem to be in an era when the art of disagreeing is vanishing. That is a huge loss because out of disagreements have often come deeper understandings than either side had before confronting each other's arguments.
Oddly, I see this syndrome crop up with people who tend to downplay the reality of ultimate differences between religions (to take an example not at random).
A World Safe for Diversity
Mon 23 Oct 2000 by Os Guinness
Religious Liberty and the Rebuilding of the Public Philosophy
In this lecture from 2000, Os Guinness makes a case for the public role of faith as necessary for preserving diversity against tyranny and argues for ways to live together with our deepest differences.
