GOD IS DEAD: SECULARIZATION IN THE WEST

Steve Bruce

Chapter 1: The Secularization Paradigm

What is secularization? Basic proposition: “modernization creates problems for religion” (p.

2) Lengthier summary (from Wilson):

pp. 2-3 “Its [secularizations] application covers such things as the sequestration by political powers of the property and facilities of religious agencies; the shift from religious to secular control of various of the erstwhile activities and functions of religion; the decline in the proportion of their time, energy, and resources which men devote to supra-empirical concerns; the decay of religious institutions; the supplanting, in matters of behavior, of religious precepts by demands that accord with strictly technical criteria; and the gradual replacement of a specifically religious consciousness (which might range from dependence on charms, rites, spells or prayers, to a broadly spiritually-inspired ethical concern) by an empirical, rational, instrumental orientation; the abandonment of mythical, poetic, and artistic interpretations of nature and society in favour of matter-of-fact descriptions and, with it, the rigorous separation of evaluative and emotive dispositions from cognitive and positivistic orientations.”

Chapter 1: The Secularization Paradigm

Bruce’s summary: P. 3 “In brief, I see secularization as a social

condition manifest in (a) the declining importance of religion for the operation of non-religious roles and institutions such as those of the state and the economy; (b) a decline in the social standing of religious roles and institutions; and (c) a decline in the extent to which people engage in religious practices, display beliefs of a religious kind, and conduct other aspects of their lives in a manner informed by such beliefs.”

The Secularization Paradigm

The Protestant Reformation

Protestant Ethic (E1)Industrial Capitalism

(E2)Economic Growth

(E3)Social

Differentiation (S1)

Structural Differentiation

(S2)Social and

Cultural Diversity (S3)

Religious Diversity (RO4)

Sects and Churches

Moderate (RO5)Relativism (CS2)

Egalitarianism (S4)

Secular States and Liberal

Democracy (P1)

Compartmentalization and

Privatization (S5)

Monotheism (R1)

Rationality (R2)

Science (R3)

Technology (R4)

Technological Consciousnes

s (CS1)

Individualism (RO1)

Propensity to Schism (RO2)

Schism and Sects (RO3)

Literacy and Voluntary

Association (S6)R=Rationalization; RO=Religious Organization; E=Economy; S=Society; P=Polity; CS=Cognitive Style

The Secularization Paradigm Monotheism – rationalizing tendency of Christianity

created space for secular alternatives (making formal what was pleasing to God detached ethics and morality from beliefs about the supernatural) Rationality – Rationality is primarily a macro and meso level

phenomenon – the extent to which the means-ends rationality is embedded in social organization (rule-governed bureaucracy)

Monotheism potentially leads to Protestant Reformation, which is a major step toward increased secularization Why?

The Protestant Ethic – Led to capitalism (according to Weber); Why?

The Secularization Paradigm Structural Differentiation – the fragmentation of

social life as specialized roles and institutions are created to handle specific features or functions previously embodied in or carried out by one role or institution Examples?

Social Differentiation – Division of people based on social structure – classes and occupations; people were divided based on status or station, but they were immutable so people still spent time around each other; today, the poor never spend time with the rich

The Secularization Paradigm Individualism – Protestant Reformation removes

necessity of a “Church” to go between humans and God Implications for religion?

Societalization – life is increasingly enmeshed and organized, not locally but societally (nation state) How much allegiance do you have to your local

community? Religion draws its strength from the community

(generally), and not from the nation state. So, what does societalization mean for religion?

The Secularization Paradigm Schism and Sects – literate and educated laity leads to

importance of rights of the individual and the growth of egalitarianism and liberal democracy Implications for religion?

People won’t be fond of the “divine right of kings” Social and Cultural Diversity:

Societies in which almost everyone shares a particular religion can give that faith pride of place in its operation

Is that possible in a cultural diverse society? Why/Why not? Does diversity call into question certainty of belief?

Ideas are most convincing when they are universally shared. Then they are not beliefs at all; they are just an accurate account of how things are.

The Secularization Paradigm Compartmentalization and Privatization – removes

the social support that is vital to reinforcing beliefs; encourages a de facto relativism that is fatal to shared beliefs How do you know YOU are right when so many others

claim they are right? You can’t KNOW it; maybe BELIEVE it.

Sects and Churches Moderate – increasing wealth leads to increasing costs from asceticism; morals, values, and recommendations change Pentecostalism and dress/TV/jewelry Sects are self-corrupting – generally become

comfortable denominations

The Secularization Paradigm Economic Growth – increased prosperity

reduces religious fervor Science and Technology – religion and

science can and do co-exist But science has an advantage – it accumulates

knowledge and much of that is agreed upon (disagreement at the front edge; solidarity on the major points)

Religions – disagree on the major points and minor points; no solidarity

Science also reduces dependence on religion

The Secularization Paradigm Technology and Technological

Consciousness – leads people to see cause and effect, which makes us want to understand cause and effect in all aspects of life, undermining religious thinking

Relativism – increasing social and cultural diversity combines with egalitarianism to undermine all claims to authoritative knowledge Whose line to god is right?

Counter Tendencies

Religion faces secularization “except where it finds work to do other than relating individuals to the supernatural”

Two scenarios when religion remains strong and relevant: Cultural defense – when religion plays a role in

defending the culture of a society or otherwise has a significant role (e.g., Poland under Communism)

Cultural transition – when people migrate or when modernization occurs, people need support and comfort, which religion provides My research on Mormons, JWs, and SDAs

What Secularization Doesn’t Assert It is not a universal nor inevitable phenomenon

Appears to be true in Western World, where it was postulated to happen

May not be true for other cultures (e.g., Iran), but that is an empirical question

Claims it is irreversible but no inevitable Secularization doesn’t have to proceed

smoothly or uniformly, just generally over time Endpoint isn’t necessarily atheism but religious

indifference Why?

Chapter 2: The Golden Age of Faith

For secularization to be true, there must be times in humanity’s past when humans were MORE religious than they are today

Some say that is not the case (Stark, Finke, Iannaccone) Historians find:

Even if people were not regularly in church (which many were – about 5/6ths), they were very superstitious and credulous

Society and institutions were not rational Religion dominated society during the medieval period This is not to say society used to be made up of

theologically adroit regular attenders, but that isn’t the claim

Chapter 2: The Golden Age of Faith

If you deny a Golden Age of Faith, you assert: The most powerful national institution (of Britain) had little or no influence on the

people. The sums given by people of every station of life to fund Masses were a reflection

of religious indifference. The huge sums given by rich people to build and to endow churches, chantries

and chapels were not a mark of religious interest. Those institutions and the social practices they sustained had no impact on

cosmology, theology or morality. The people who allowed very large proportions of the national wealth to be given

to religious activities believed them to be pointless. The institution of swearing oaths on the Bible was used to encourage truth-telling

because few people believed anything bad would come from offending God. Most people attended Mass at Easter just because most other people did and

nobody actually believed in it. All rites of passage, all significant dates in the agricultural calendar, and all

important community events were glossed with religious rituals because nobody believed religion mattered.

Finally, we must conclude that the enormous intrusion of organized Christianity into social and cultural life was utterly ineffective in socializing people into the beliefs and values that organized Christianity represented.

Chapter 3: God is Dead: Christianity in Britain

Religion in Great Britain is in serious trouble

1851 1979 1989 19980

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

60

12 10 7.5

weekly attendance %

% of attenders 65+

Religion 1979 1989 1999

General population

15 15 16

Anglican 18 19 25

Baptist 18 19 23

Catholics 13 16 22

Methodist 25 30 38

Pentecostal 10 10 10

United Reformed 26 30 38

Other denominations

19 24 29

What does this tell us?

members as % of population

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 20000

5

10

15

20

25

30

27

22 2119

13

10

%

Sunday school scholars as % of population

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 20000

10

20

30

40

50

6055

49

36

24

94

%

Paid Clergy

1900 20000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

45400

34160

% of weddings in churches

1900 20000

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

67

20

% don't believe in god

1950 19900

5

10

15

20

25

30

2

27

Christianity in Britain

What’s happening in Great Britain? Why?

Chapter 4: The Failure of the New Age

Keep in mind that “New Age” is a new “phase” in the occult/metaphysical religion Has been a constant companion of Christianity e.g., Mormonism and the Magic World View –

peepstones and buried treasures

Chapter 4: The Failure of the New Age

Cultic religion

internal conception

church sect

denomination

cult

respectable

deviant

uniquely legitimate

pluralistically

legitimate

external conception

We’ll discuss this typology in much

greater length later in the course.

New Age Practices in UK, 2000.Beliefs or Practices Have tried or

experiencedImportant in living

life

Alternative medicine 39 14

Aromatherapy 32 7

Reflexology 16 3

Crystals 6 1

Prayer 41 25

Tarot cards/fortune telling

17 2

Astrology 16 2

Meditation 22 2

Faith healing (church) 3 0

Faith healing (not church)

6 0

Contact with supernatural

4 0

Not answered 25 49

New Age Religion

Total practitioners over the last 25 years – 100,000 (out of about 60 million in the UK)

No clear demarcation of members, which makes enumeration difficult Why?

Characteristics of New Age Religion: Goal is freeing the pure self (god) within, not making the self

within pure No authority higher than the self Autonomy leads to eclecticism – shopping Think “holistically” – somewhat anti-scientific Relativism; nothing is wrong and all things can be combined –

everything works at the level of “cosmic consciousness” Happiness here, not in the next life

New Age Religion

Reduction of respect for authority Why?

Generally develops among people who are somewhat educated and know enough about science to think they know what is best for themselves

Why would they let someone else tell them what to do?

People pay for goods and services piecemeal Is this a reflection of modern society?

New Age Religion

Difficult to sustain and promote? Why?

No control mechanisms; no claimed monopoly on salvation knowledge

Autonomy competes with community; no real New Age community

Diffuse ideologies are hard to transmit; Why? Lacks the significance of the church and sect

Why? Any New Age private schools or hospitals?

Charities? Why not?

Chapter 5: Science and Secularization

Is there conflict between science and religion?

Is science the driving force of secularization? Some would argue that science can support

religion But the scientific thought process and

rationalization can undermine religious thinking

Beliefs of “greater” scientists

1914 1933 19980

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

personal disbelief in godpersonal disbelif in immortalitypersonal belief in godpersonal belief in immortality

Attendance by Academic Discipline

mat

hem

atics

phys

ical

scien

ces

life

scie

nces

econ

omics

polit

ical

scien

ce

sociol

ogy

psyc

holo

gy

anth

ropo

logy

0

20

40

60

80

never attend

Affiliation by Academic Discipline

mat

hem

atics

phys

ical

scien

ces

life

scie

nces

econ

omics

polit

ical

scien

ce

sociol

ogy

psyc

holo

gy

anth

ropo

logy

0102030405060

no religion

Chapter 6: The Easternization of the West

West is a net importer of religion? Contact is insufficient for adoption:

Receptivity is the key Results from seeing people raised in your religion leaving

it (remember, the actors of secularization) Contact reduces prejudice and increases acceptance People begin to identify with those they are trying to

convert All of these combine to weaken the monopoly of

religion and increase the appeal alternative religions, including Eastern religions

Why not convert to Islam or Orthodox Judaism?

Western Thought

Humans have characteristics that set them apart from nature and the spiritual

Humans are divided into a body, a spirit and a mind There is a personal god who is over humans Humans must control and manipulate nature to

ensure their survival Rational thought and an analytical approach to

problem solving should be emphasized Science and technology have given us a good life

and provide our main hope for an even better future Action and the competitive spirit should be rewarded

Eastern Thought

Humans and nature are one Spiritual and physical are one Mind and body are one Humans should recognize their basic oneness with nature, the

spiritual and the mental rather than attempt to analyse, label, categorize, manipulate, control or consume the things of the world

Because of their oneness with all existence, humans should feel ‘at home’ in any place and with any person

Science and technology, at best, create an illusion of progress; enlightenment involves achieving a sense of oneness with the universal; it is a state where all dichotomies vanish

Meditation, a special state of quiet contemplation, is essential to achieving enlightenment

Commodification of Eastern Thought

When Eastern thought is adopted, it’s adapted Yoga – exercise or spiritual practice to

increase focus? Must fit into modern Western culture:

Can’t become the goal, just a pasttime Doesn’t replace Western culture

Chapter 7: Regression to the Mean: Vignettes

Church of Scotland gave control of it’s schools to the state in 1872. Did not demand safeguards.

Catholic Church refused to hand over their schools until they were ensured control over staff appointments and school management.

British “house-church” movement began in 1970 in response to a perceived laxity in the mainstream churches and conformity in Evangelical branches.

Church Schools The New Churches

Vignettes Cont’d

The schism of Scottish Presbyterianism in 1843 led to two different competing national organizations.

After that generation of people died, interest in differences declined rapidly.

When Eastern religious themes became more prevalent in the West, we adopted them and secularized them.

Signs and Symbols Commerce and Tradition

Vignettes Cont’d

Catholics used to be notably more observant and distinctive than Protestants.

Recently, Catholics have become more accepting of the norms in society.

The Amish disapprove of interacting or conducting business with anyone outside their religion.

The shunning of members who transgress is at the heart of the Amish’s social reproduction. Why?

A Substantial Minority A Communitarian Sect

Catholicism is similar in the US, except there are periodic “shows of force”: Occasionally

politicians are disallowed communion for their stance on abortion (similar to spousal

violence in evolutionary framework)

Indicators of English Catholic Vitality, 1960s and 1990s.

Indices 1960s 1990s

Mass attendances (000) 2,000 1,100

Child baptisms (000) 134 75

Receptions/conversions (000) 15 6

Confirmations (000) 81 46

Marriages (000) 46 17

Proportion of Catholic marriages that involve two Catholics (%)

50 33

The Religious

The Secu

lar

The SecularThe Secu

lar

The Secular

The Secul

ar

macro

meso

micro

The Moral

Belief systems compete for attention with other belief systems

The Religious Garden Needs to be kept free of weeds, and from people

taking the plants home. Four Problems:

Religious observance decaying Unusual beliefs being abandoned Once-important behavioral marks of membership

being dropped Boundary between the community of the faithful and

the rest of the world being eroded

The Moral

Why is it that the English Catholics turned away from the Catholic faith? Was it because of socialization or their lack of

belief in Hell? We need constant reaffirmation and deep

socialization to sustain our distinctive beliefs. There is more than one way to God is not a

good control mechanism. Why? Western rights impose on a communities rights.

Men and women have equal rights Blasphemous vs free speech

Regression to the Mean

Basically means that outliers tend to move toward the mean over time Those who score really high and really low

on the first test, tend to score closer to the mean on the second

Religiously, it looks like this:

Mainline Protestantism

Pentecostals &

Charismatics

Break away to oppose lax

standards, etc.

Regress to the mean by

becoming more like mainline

Those who initially broke away were poor. They banned expensive jewelry, nice clothing, and TVs. As they

became more affluent, those bans disappeared. They are back to the mainline.

Chapter 8: Subsistence Religion Basically taking issue with Stark, Iannaccone, and Finke:

They claim state churches are bad and the free market is good

They claim the competition of the free market leads to greater religiosity

This means all that matters is the “supply” of religion; consumers are irrelevant

Bruce argues that this one-sided approach is also short-sighted: The religious aren’t passive consumers Examples are The Men, who basically created their own

religion when the state church failed them You have to look at each case individually to determine the

influential factors (autonomy of people and belief system involved)

Chapter 8 Graphically

Supply(religions)

determine

Demand(membe

rs)

Stark Model

Bruce’s Model

Supply(religio

ns)

Demand(member

s)

Two-way

influence

Chapter 9: The Charismatic Movement and Secularization

Media and Religion Everything is sensationalist:

Article was originally titled “Mass Baptisms in the Bay”

Changed it after someone commented on the “mass baptisms” portion

How many baptisms is “mass” baptisms? After 1 year of trying to drum up enthusiasm

and reconvert the Tampa Bay area, they baptized… 50 people.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article811120.ece

Revival and Renewal

Claim of Religious Economies Model is that revivals and renewals lead to a cyclical pattern of religiosity: Religions get lazy People stop going Then revivals occur And people return

Bruce agrees revivals occur But their influence is over-stated

Revivals

Secularization isn’t linear – it’s cyclical

But the key point: after every cycle of renewal, the new level of religiosity is lower than the old one

RevivalRevival RevivalRevival

RevivalRevivalReviva

l Revival Reviva

lReviva

lRevival

The Circulation of the Saints

Bibby and Brinkerhoff looked at religions growing in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s They were conservative religions But where were the new members coming from? Two sources:

Kids and relatives of current members People moving from one church to another

Lesson: Revivals and growing religions don’t convert the

secular The re-attract some of the disenchanted religious

Denominationalism

Sects start off making bold claims No drinking No partying No dancing

But once they become more affluent and with the passage of time Moderate drinking Parties are fun Let’s dance at church

They regress to the mean

Conservative Religions

Conservative religions are becoming dominant Not because they are growing rapidly But because they are declining less rapidly

than the liberal religions

Chapter 10: Discovering Religion: Mistakes of Method

How do you measure “religiosity” outside churches and chapels? What is he referring to?

Spirituality? Arguing that people in Western, developed

countries not only don’t go or affiliate, but are increasingly secular As opposed to “believing without belonging”

(Davie) Other scholars say that people are religious,

despite their lack of attendance and belief

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Good example of this, a paper I reviewed for a scholarly journal. First draft of paper they called the religiosity of students on

campuses “vibrant” a number of times. However, they didn’t say how often students attended, exactly,

only that it was less than their parents (which means less than 25% attend on any given Sunday) and they are less likely to believe in god than the general public.

Additionally, 3/5ths of college students don’t think religion is very important.

In my review, I called them on this: More than 75% of students not attending services weekly is NOT

VIBRANT! (unless you have a very low criteria!!!) 60% of students saying religion is not important is NOT VIBRANT!

The authors took the word out of their paper…

1) How he phrases the question.

2) How he aggregates the data to assume there

is a lot of concern (glass half full or half

empty)

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

purpose in life0

10

20

30

40

50

60

somewhatquite a bita great deal

Bibby argues the responses indicate a very serious concern among Canadians about their

purpose in life.

What’s wrong with his interpretation?

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Stage 1 %

Conventionally religious

29

Vaguely theistic

16

Agnostic 6

Wavering 14

Superstitious 1

atheistic 34

Stage 1 %

Belief 45

Open-mindedness 21

atheistic 34

Stage 1 %

Religious Sensitivity 66

atheistic 34

Another example.

How should this be counted?

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

If an atheist asks, “What is the meaning of life?” does that mean she is interested in religion? Many scholars suggest that is so,

completely ignoring philosophical perspectives like Secular Humanism

Are “religious nones” the same as “atheists”? The point: Someone who has rejected

religion does not fall into the same category as some who is indifferent to religion or someone who is just bothered by organized religion but still believes

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Many surveys also suffer from question loading and therefore response bias: The default

category is “religious.”

If you don’t fit, then what are you?

categories0

20

40

60

80

100

120don't know

convinced atheist

not re-ligious

not spiritual

agnostic

religious

spiritual

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Another aspect of bias: If the person asking the question is religious, he/she might assume motivations that don’t exist.

Examples: Are atheists secretly mad at god?

Implying they believe but are too proud to admit it? Do people who leave religions leave because they have

sinned? Implying they want to be religious but don’t feel they can cut it?

I have a friend who left Mormonism. His family claimed he committed adultery and that was why he left, even though he told them it was because he doesn’t believe the religion. Why might the still believing Mormons do this?

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Bruce gives an example of loaded questions:

tota

l

regu

lar c

hurc

hgoe

rs

occa

sion

al chu

rchg

oers

non-

chur

chgo

ers

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

unknown hymnsservices hard to followphysically coldput off as a childunfriendlyold-fashionedboringnot interestedtoo busy

What’s the problem?

Religious/Spiritual/Secular

Or you can simply redefine what it means to be religious: People who think about metaphysical

issues Or define religion by its function (like the

authors of the textbook do) What does this accomplish?

Chapter 11: Religion in the US The US isn’t as secular as the UK, but it’s not

that different: Christianity is losing power, prestige, and

popularity Christianity is putting greater emphasis on

individual choice, this-worldly salvation, therapuetic approach to religion

No significant reversal of religion becoming marginal (despite the Religious Right)

Despite being different from the UK, the differences can be explained by secularization theory

Religion in the US

Much greater bias toward being religious This leads to attendance over-reporting by

anywhere from 50% to 70% Hadaway studies in Ohio and Alabama (checked

with church leaders and counted cars) Think about “vibrant” reference in paper:

How “vibrant” is religious life in the US if somewhere between 15% and 25% of the population is in church on a given Sunday?

That means 75% to 85% are not. What are your criteria for “vibrant”?

Religion in the US

The nature of religions are changing (we’ll see this in videos – Aliens in America, Joel Osteen): Less focus on hellfire and damnation More focus on managing money and being

happy Religions have remained strong by

becoming less “religious”? The focus has shifted to “this-worldly”

salvation as opposed to “next-worldly” Personal relationship with Jesus rather than

penitent sinners; “Jesus is my co-pilot”; Buddy Jesus; Jesus action figure

Religion in the US

Why might religion change? Save most of the specific content from clashing with

secular knowledge Remove the necessity for arguing with other

religions Both of these reasons qualify as: meeting

consumer demand Evidence indicates less agreement with

doctrinal positions among adherents Many don’t even know their denominational

affiliation or religious family (Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Methodist, etc.)

Religion in the US

What about the New Christian Right (NCR)? Have not reduced the number of abortions (economic

equality and sex education do that) Have not reduced number of women working outside the

home (gone up over the last 40 years, including among conservative Christians)

Have not restored male hegemony (hasn’t increased or decreased much since about 1980)

Have not made divorce more difficult (leveled in 2006 at just under 50% of first marriages by 25th anniversary)

Have not put religious ceremonies back in state schools (though they do occasionally occur)

Have not put “creationism” into schools (just lost Dover case)

abortions per 1,000 women 15-44

Russia

China US

Aust

ralia

Swed

en

New Z

eala

nd

Denm

ark

UK

Canad

a

Japa

n

Fran

ce

Finl

and

Germ

any

Nethe

rland

s

Spai

n0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Source: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html

Religion in the US

New Christian Right has turned to using secular language to make their arguments Why vote against gay marriage?

Not because god says but because “It will hurt the family” Why ban abortion?

Not because god says but because “It’s killing kids” Why should women stay home?

Not because god says but because “Kids need their mothers”

Why teach creationism? Not because it is religion but because it is “creation

science” Why do they have to use secular language?

Religion in the US

So why is the US so “religious” relative to other developed countries? The reasons mentioned (changing nature of religion) Migration – remember, migrants bring their religion

with them; lots of recent migrants National diversity but local monopolies: people don’t

have a whole lot of choice Atheists are harassed in some locations:

http://nalrant.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/harassment-of-atheist-students-at-school/

Local monopolies also allow people to wall themselves off: Christians have Yellow Pages and advertise as “Christian… etc.”

(chiropracter, carpet cleaner, etc.) Diversity allows people to avoid diversity

Chapter 12: Postmodernism and Religious Revival

Postmodernism – What is it? A refusal to regard positivistic, rationalistic, instrumental

criteria as the sole or exclusive standard of worthwhile knowledge

A willingness to combine symbols from disparate codes or frameworks of meaning, even at the cost of disjunctions and eclecticism

A celebration of spontaneity, fragmentation, superficiality, irony and playfulness

A willingness to abandon the search for over-arching or triumphalist myths, narratives or frameworks of knowledge

Basically arguing that science and reason can’t give “truth”

Postmodernism

What’s the problem with postmodernism? Internally contradictory: if there is no truth, how can

postmodernism assert that there is no truth? Isn’t that a “truth”?

Doesn’t map onto reality: postmodernists are postmodernists until they hit the corner of a table or kick a chair The reality is that there are things that are “real” and at least

some aspects of “reality” are shared (e.g., pain, physical objects, etc.)

If someone denies it, tell them to believe you aren’t throwing a brick at them while you do it.

Postmodernists would also suggest that all opinions are valid Is that true?

Postmodernism and Religion

What’s the connection? If science and reason aren’t the sole arbiters of

truth, then maybe religion can also be a source of truth

What do you think? Can religion be an arbiter of truth? Is there a difference between “truth” and “The Truth”?

So, what is the future of religion in the Western World?

Is God sick, dying, dead, or just preparing for a revival?