What Can a Theology-Without-Walls Contribute to a Secular Age?

By Julius-Kei Kato, PhD 

These are some random thoughts I have on this topic which I will present at this year’s AAR session of the movement Theology Without Walls (November 24, 2024, San Diego, CA)

[00] Introduction: From a ‘Religion of God’ to a ‘Religion of Life’

The urgency of theology being in dialogue with secularity is obvious: Many of us are located right smack in the middle of very secularized people and contexts. Hence, I’m asking: What can ‘Theology Without Walls’ (henceforward, TWW) contribute to this conversation? 

Above everything else though, let me point out that there is this contemporary phenomenon in which the kind of “religion” (Note that I take “religion” here to mean “a passionate devotion to something”) … so, the kind of ‘religion’ unconsciously professed by a great many people in secular contexts, it seems, has undergone a seismic shift in the recent past. It has effectively shifted from a religion centered on ‘God’ (theos), to a religion centered on “life” (I mean the Greek: zoé), not just “life in general,” but rather: life in the here and now. Hence, the operative religion of many people we know (perhaps even the religion we ourselves follow without being fully aware of it) can be called a “religion of life.” And this is often true even if people can still identify with a traditional kind of religious faith.

To elaborate, the prevalent situation in which many of us are located, particularly in the West (and in Westernized contexts around the world), is one in which the primary “devotion” (to use a traditional, religious-sounding term) or—to use a more neutral term—the primary “concern” of many … perhaps most(?) people is no longer directed to a theistic notion of God (still the operative notion of God in many churches). No, the utmost concern, (I like to use) “devotion” of many people has shifted instead to ‘life itself in the here and now’. Back to my basic question: Can TWW explore and suggest alternative meaning systems/new paths of religion or spirituality that are more relevant in our contexts today as conventional ideas of God and religion, hitherto prevalent in the West, are increasingly fading away? That would be an elaborate version of my burning question.

This presentation is something like my two-cents worth on this topic.

[01] What is Theology “Without Walls”? (How I understand it)

I guess it’s good to start with TWW’s opposite—Theology WITH walls (TWiW) aka, traditional theology. Theology WITH Walls, we can say, is a particular religious community’s “inner discourse” regarding—what the community considers—ultimate matters. In the Western religious tradition, “the Ultimate” has commonly taken the form of theos or “God.” Since it is “insider talk,” the community itself, namely, its own authority structure, is the ultimate arbiter of the discourse. Outsiders should not interfere. We can say that this way of doing theology has serious limitations because it is a product of in-breeding, in a certain sense. It can listen and try to learn from others. And sometimes, it does. But the fundamental stance it takes (especially for well-established religious communities) is that our community’s “discourse about God” is the “the best” … at least for us.

TWW is (or at least aims to be) the antithesis of that. It proposes that theology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT remain an “insider discourse.” It proposes to break down the walls of the enterprise of theology. Theology, it proposes, in the sense of “Discourse regarding Ultimacy” is common to humanity because seeking ultimacy or transcendence is a deeply hardwired human pursuit.

In this endeavor, theology without walls can consider secularism as an ally. How so? (The following is from philosopher John Caputo’s explanation) “Secular” refers to a public order where ideally there is no one who has hegemony or control over others. Hence, it includes the separation of church and state so that each would not interfere with the affairs of the other. Instead, there is the existence and acceptance of a plurality of opinions (including religious ones). The secular order is envisioned then to be an open-ended, polymorphic, polyvocal order which includes diverse voices saying all sorts of things. In principle, anyone in a secular society has the right to ask any question. (This is from an online talk of Caputo at The Wheatly Institution)

In such a context, if there be any “discourse about ultimacy/transcendence” (aka, theology), it necessarily has to be “without walls,” that is, an “open-ended, polymorphic, polyvocal order of diverse sorts of people saying all sorts of things. In a secular context, one cannot take refuge in “insider’s discourses” about ultimacy or about God.

[2] The Sixth Paradigm [R. Holloway--Different Paradigm Shifts in Christianity] - Part 2

 Source (in the public domain): http://radicalfaith.org/holloway/sixth%20paradigm.htm

From a talk Holloway gave in May 2003

Accessed: 2020-09-03

Go to Part 1 

The Sixth Paradigm  [Different Paradigm Shifts in Christianity] - continued

Richard Holloway (former Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh)

 

PARADIGM #4: The Protestant Reformation Paradigm

Kung's fourth paradigm (P#4) is one we're more immediately familiar with - that of the 16^th century Protestant Reformation. It happened to coincide with the discovery of the Bible by ordinary people. Once the new printing presses had swung into action, many thousands of copies of the Bible became available to the person on the street. It was very soon translated from Latin into the vernaculars.

Just as the Roman institution had provided Christians with a feeling of absolute assurance, so also some people found a similar assurance in the words of Scripture. The absolute institution was replaced by texts which were perceived as the absolute truth straight from the mouth of God. The fourth paradigm promoted the same need for authority as did the third paradigm and pandered to the same fear of freedom.

More profound than such similarities is the way adherence to scriptural inerrancy prevents attempts to do theology differently. In order to preserve its internal consistencies, this paradigm must perforce retain an absolute commitment to a pre-scientific paradigm of how this world works.

In this paradigm the sun must be able to stand still, people must be able to walk on water, and the dead must be able to rise again. In contrast, institutions like the Roman Church can change and yet pretend they haven't. But how can anyone move off a doctrine of scriptural inerrancy without admitting it?

From study of the Bible as God's Word to humankind came the great theory that Luther evolved in contradistinction to the fundamentalism if the institution. It's nearly impossible for many Christians today to read Paul's letters to the early Church except through Lutheran eyes, so compelling was Luther's interpretation of the infallible authority of the Bible.

Luther taught that God saves us not through any of our own works or good deeds, be they pilgrimages, or masses or earnest prayer, but only through God's grace by the sacrifice of the Father's son. That really was a paradigm revolution for those times. It blew away the monolithic medieval Christianity of Roman Catholicism.

The Reformation church is today perhaps the most dated in feeling of all the churches.

I don't know if you ever go into a United Reformed Church building or a Presbyterian church. A few have developed new liturgical forms and norms, but on the whole the classic churches of the Reformation are, as we say in Scotland, very dour. They're heavy. You get long sermons. They may be very thoughtful sermons but they're long. It's all minister-dominated. There's no colour or brightness. It's very heavy, it's serious, it's intense.

That is also it's enduring value. It produces very serious people. Presbyterian Scotland was a very serious country which, by dint of focused effort over many years, produced a strongly democratic consciousness.

It also gave birth to the Protestant work-ethic. This was fundamental to Scotland's experience and self understanding. From this paradigm sprang also a well-educated public. John Knox, the Scottish Protestant reformer, wanted a school in every parish and largely succeeded in his ambition.

Despite this enduring value, the Reformation remnant of the fourth paradigm remains depressing and sexless. If you want to have a good time, don't go to one of these places on a Sunday morning. For unless you're solidly masochistic you'll come out feeling pretty rotten about yourself.

I often think that if you want a great exemplar of the virtues and maybe of the downside of the Reformation paradigm, look at Gordon Brown, the United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to the Minister of Finance in other systems). He is a deeply serious man. There doesn't seem to be any frivolity in him. He's deeply committed to his project - but he's not exactly a laugh a minute (although I'm told that with some decent malt whiskey beside him he can be quite good company). But there's no sense of frivolity of skittishness about him. In many ways he's a brilliant exemplar of the best of the fourth paradigm.

***

PARADIGM #5: The Modern Era Paradigm

The fifth paradigm (P#5) is the modern paradigm, that of the 17^th - 19^thcenturies. It is still powerfully with us, busily influencing and interpreting how we perceive the world and our lives. Nevertheless, we're increasingly able to regard it to some degree dispassionately as we sail into new and unfamiliar seas.

[5] A Summary of the History of Christianity: A "Paradigm Shift" Approach (Part 5)

 

A Summary of the History of Christianity (by Hans Küng)

(with annotations and revisions done by Julius-Kei Kato)

Go to Part 4

Part 5 - Paradigm #5 : The Modern Era Paradigm - Challenges to Christianity 

We will refer to sub-divisions of this article by the section numbers within square brackets (e.g. [1]).

Resources:

Original Link to this Summary (in the public domain / accessed 2020-09-20): https://www.global-ethic-now.de/gen-eng/0b_weltethos-und-religionen/0b-01-02-christentum/0b-01-0201-jesus.php

Paradigm Shifts in Christianity (a one-page visual diagram) https://www.global-ethic-now.de/gen-eng/0b_weltethos-und-religionen/0b-pdf/paradigm-shifts-christianity.pdf

 

[17] Revolutions of the Modern Age

René Descartes (1596–1650)

Was the father of modern rationalist philosophy and marked a “Copernican Revolution” in the way of thinking: the whole of reality is constituted by the human subject (“I think therefore I am” Latin, Cogito ergo sum)

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)

Was the protagonist of the new empirical-mathematical natural science which was the basis for the technological and industrial revolution that reached its first climax in the 19^th century

Cardinal Richelieu [Armand Jean du Plessis] (1585–1642)

Was the mastermind and practitioner of a new understanding of the State and of politics: what counts is not the confessional or religious-moral point of view but rather practical politics in pursuit of national interests. The state is the natural product of a contract between the people and their rulers and is thus autonomous in relation to the Church.

The French Revolution

In the wake of runaway inflation and mass misery, the Estates-General convened in May 1789. In
June, the Third Estate, representing 98% of the population over against clergy and nobility, proclaimed itself to be the “National Assembly” and challenged the power of the king. On July 14, 1789, the people of Paris took up arms (“Storm the Bastille”). On Aug. 4, the National Assembly abolished feudalism, putting an end to the “Ancien Régime”, and on Aug. 26, it proclaimed the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

The basic principle of the Declaration was that all “men are born and remain free and equal in rights” (Article 1), which were specified as the rights of liberty, private property, the inviolability of the person, and resistance to oppression (Article 2). All citizens were equal before the law and were to have the right to participate in legislation directly or indirectly (Article 6); no one was to be arrested without a judicial order (Article 7). Freedom of religion (Article 10) and freedom of speech (Article 11) were safeguarded within the bounds of public “order” and “law.” The document reflects the interests of the elites who wrote it: property was given the status of an inviolable right, which could be taken by the state only if an indemnity were given (Article 17); offices and position were opened to all citizens (Article 6).

 

[18] Challenges to the Christian Churches in the Future

1. Dialogue with other confessions and, in time, with other religions.

2. Demands of the Enlightenment: freedom of religion and of conscience, freedom of assembly, of speech and of the press.

3. Leading values: “rationality”, “progress”, “nation”.

4. Relativization of Christianity in European guise: instead of a Europe-centered Christian perspective on the world, a multi-centred worldview embracing diverse regions and religions.

 

--END OF SERIES 5/5--

The Secularized West – Source of Immorality and Godlessness or (Flawed) Embodiment of “the Kingdom of God”?

This is a long essay that deals with the general theme of secularization in the West and how to understand that. It is part of a major research project of mine that seeks to plot what kind of spirituality-religiosity might be relevant to people in the 21^st century

The Secularized West – How Do We Evaluate It?

It is plain to see that, in many areas (perhaps even in most areas), the so-called “western world” (or simply “the West”) is by and large “secularized.” The word “secular” comes from the Late Latin word saeculāris (meaning “temporal”) which, in turn, comes from the Latin word saeculum (“an age”). Defined more precisely, "secular" refers to a public order where there is no one particular kind of religious hegemony. It includes the separation of church and state. It also means the existence and acceptance of a plurality of opinions (including religious opinions). Seen in this way, the secular order is an open-ended, polymorphic, polyvocal order of diverse sorts of people saying all sorts of things. And, ideally, anyone in the secular society has the right to ask any question (from philosopher John Caputo’s helpful description. See bibliographical link at the end).

     When we say though that the West is largely “secularized,” we mean that it (that is, a great number of people living in it) is largely focused on this world, this life and how humans and their habitat could exist and flourish in the here and now. The flip side of this secularization is that, in general, western society pays little or less and less attention nowadays to God, religion, the supernatural or the next life (particularly, heaven or hell). What is more, even many self-professed religious believers in western[ized] societies, although nominally “religious,” live their daily lives by and large without really being much aware of God and the supernatural realm.

     Meanwhile, some others (especially, more “seriously” religious people) bemoan this secularized western world and see it as the source of godlessness, immorality and of the many present-day evils that beset us. It is thought that this secularized world spawns a godless and hedonistic milieu as well as a loss of traditional “godly” values. It is common to encounter voices saying that the West is lost in a crisis of meaning because of the loss of the authority of religion (read “Christianity”) which supposedly held everything together once upon a time (cf. e.g. Carroll 2004, p.1).

     For a very long time, I (especially my younger, more conservative self) also thought of the secularization of the West in those above-mentioned negative ways. That drastically changed when I encountered and studied more deeply the philosopher of religion and radical philosopher-theologian Don Cupitt. Cupitt, I think, is one of the most creative and insightful philosophical-theological minds today and he deserves to be read and studied more widely. He has a startlingly different take on this phenomenon of secularization. Cupitt has argued in many of his writings (in particular, in The Meaning of the West [MW]) that this so-called secularized West is actually something like the logical and evolved form or grown-up, more mature version of Christianity! In fact, I think it is fair to say that he suggests that the postmodern, humanistic West (which many Christians consider as the evil antithesis of Christianity) should actually be considered <Christianity as it was meant to be>! In short, it is the realized (and important to add) “yet very flawed” “Kingdom of God.” How about that for a change?

     I think I have some say in this because I am an immigrant here in the West who came originally from a staunchly Catholic-Christian developing country (the Philippines, which happens to be westernized in many ways) and who also lived for a long time in a non-western country (Japan). Moreover, I did graduate studies in Western Europe, the heart of “the West” for six years. I freely chose to leave my homelands to resettle and live in the West (now in Ontario, Canada). In the course of my life, I have seen the differences between the West and some non-western countries.

     Based on personal experience and study, let me begin by saying that there are so many genuinely good things in western societies. This is why so many of us have decided to uproot ourselves, migrate, and settle here. In a blog post in Australia’s Sea of Faith website, Greg Spearritt said,

There are plenty from elsewhere … who desperately want to live in the West. And for good reason. They may not be perfect, but Western societies look after their own like no-one else does, including their weaker members and even those who dissent from prevailing political or social views. (Would you rather be gay in Abuja, Riyadh, Beijing or Sydney?) Western technology is the envy of the rest of the world, even of people like Osama bin Laden who use it to attack the West. Western medicine gives us an ever-longer, healthier lifespan. Western governments actively seek the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of their people and contribute to the well-being of the world’s poorest through (relatively) string-free aid budgets. (That’s not to mention the work of Western NGOs such as Oxfam, Red Cross, Amnesty International and Médecins sans Frontieres) The West is innovative, constantly on the move, and – most important of all – it loves life wholeheartedly (Spearritt, 2008).

     Before anything else, I would like to say unambiguously at the outset that it is definitely not my intention here to unilaterally and uncritically glorify the West. There are many negative, even downright evil things to be found in the West today. To name a few: unbridled capitalism, the staggering gap between rich and poor, a superiority complex (white privilege in most cases), racism, and so forth. I happen to be completing this essay in the wake of the death of George Floyd, Jr., at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis (June 2020). This event has led to widescale demonstrations and public unrest in the US and other places around the world in order to highlight the evil of racial discrimination against black people. It is heartbreaking to see such a damning instance of social dysfunction in 2020 in the West! This is to say: Yes, I am well aware of the many dysfunctions of western societies. Despite that and in the face of all that, I still think that it is important not to forget that so many good and wholesome things in life that we do widely enjoy here in the West can only be dreamed of by many people in many non-western countries. Let me reiterate: take that from someone who has left his original countries, decided to live here in the West and is very happy to have done so. That’s my personal context.

     In this essay, I would like to ask and explore the question: Is the secularized West really all that evil as conservative religious believers think it to be? Let me get a little ahead of myself and answer with (a cautious and qualified) “No”. A more careful examination of the matter with some guidance from philosopher-theologian Don Cupitt will surprisingly show that the secularized West actually shares as it were the very DNA of Christianity in striking ways and we have to say that, indeed, that much maligned secularized, irreverent, and irreligious West is actually Christianity’s child … but all grown-up now!