Seeing Faith Through a Social-Science Lens |
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I have a hazy memory—it must date back more than two decades—of watching an episode of Bill Maher’s old late-night talk show, Politically Incorrect. (This was before the peak of his scoffing-atheist phase, but his low regard for Christianity wasn’t much of a secret.) As I recall, four guests were on hand to represent their different religious traditions and discuss the place of faith in the contemporary world. |
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Maher would usually deliver some closing remarks at the end of each broadcast. On this occasion, he essentially dismissed religious affiliation as an accident of birth rather than a sincere effort to apprehend the truth of the cosmos. Which struck me as terribly condescending toward his guests, who surely would protest the notion of having arrived at their beliefs by mindlessly inheriting family traditions or following the cultural herd. |
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Taken to an extreme, this really is a simplistic way to understand religion. Yet social and cultural factors clearly shape the environment in which faith commitments are forged, even if they don’t dictate those commitments mechanistically. In Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion, Samuel Perry, a leading sociologist of religion, defends the value of his discipline while faulting fellow social scientists for giving it insufficient attention. |
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Arthur E. Farnsley II, a religious studies professor at Indiana University Indianapolis, reviewed the book for CT. |
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"In the end," he concludes, "I believe Perry has done a great service by arguing persuasively for a social-scientific perspective to adjust and correct understandings of religion that focus too much on belief and doctrine. It is very important to see the social, material, and demographic factors that drive religious change. Seeing these factors will not convince a single reader of this review to regard ideas and beliefs as irrelevant to religion—and it shouldn’t. Western religion is about ideas and beliefs, but it is never only or even primarily about that. |
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"To understand the world around us, we must see ideas and the social forces in constant, interlocking motion. And we must understand that the most effective change agents use ideas and social forces, sometimes consciously and intentionally, to nudge society in their preferred direction." |
Reading Scripture with Jordan Peterson |
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The boring formalities of Jordan Peterson’s job description—emeritus professor, clinical psychologist—barely hint at the reasons for his staggering fame and notoriety across the globe. Understanding his various and overlapping fandoms requires considering his public persona as a scourge of identity politics and a sympathetic mentor for drifting young men. |
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On the strength of a formidable podcast and YouTube presence, that unofficial portfolio now includes popular Bible commentary. Peterson’s most recent book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, aims at a fresh understanding of familiar Old Testament stories, which he regards as symbolic wellsprings and moral pillars of Western civilization. |
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In a wide-ranging review, theologian (and regular CT contributor) Brad East comprehends the appeal of Peterson’s method of engaging Scripture. Yet he also shows how it falls short of a genuinely Christian approach to God’s Word. There’s a lot to unpack in East’s argument, and I won’t attempt to summarize it. But I will quote from an intriguing closing observation, which locates Peterson in a theological tradition somewhat out of step with his image as a right-wing gadfly. |
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As East writes, "a specter haunts this book: the specter of Protestant liberalism. Prominent in the West over the last two centuries, this movement has also read the Bible through a human-focused lens. It has shucked the shell of myth and miracle, seeking the moral kernel within. |
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"That kernel was the brotherhood of man, a this-worldly message of social uplift and political progress. It turns out, though, that when the church is reduced to a vaguely spiritual charity or activism club, it loses its reason for being. A godless gospel is scarcely worth living for, much less dying for. An unrisen Christ is no Christ at all. |
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"I should add that the best of the Protestant liberals were brilliant scholars, devoted students of Scripture, and pious lovers of Jesus. In his own way, Peterson is one of them. Yet it is difficult to tell whether that is where he wants to be. |
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"And curiously, whereas Protestant liberalism stood at the church’s doors ushering believers out, Peterson stands in the same threshold, ushering unbelievers in (and sometimes shooing drifting believers back in!). For this reason he may well be counted among the new ‘digital lectors’ schooling the curious and the uncatechized in this rising generation that lives and learns online. His influence on my friend is shared by thousands of others, and for that we Christians should be grateful. |
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"But we should insist it’s not enough. The man stands at the threshold. A voice within beckons. It says, ‘Take and read; take and read!’ It says, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’(Prov. 9:10). It says, ‘I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!’ (Rev. 1:17–18). It says, ‘What is that to you? You must follow me’ (John 21:22). |
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"Peterson is lingering just outside the church, theologically lukewarm, secure in his insecurity, a friend to seekers but not to the friend of sinners. Our prayer should be that Christ would draw him to step inside. Physician, heal thyself! Let the one who helps others be helped. Let the man cross the threshold through the venture of faith and see what he discovers within." |
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You should read Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion. The author, sociologist Samuel Perry, will help you understand how social scientists think about religion.…
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About a decade ago, a friend of mine mentioned a series of videos about the Bible he’d discovered online. It was by an obscure Canadian academic whom neither of us knew. My…
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As this issue hits your mailboxes after the US election and as you prepare for the holidays, it can be easy to feel lost in darkness. In this issue, you’ll read of the piercing light of Christ that illuminates the darkness of drug addiction at home and abroad, as Angela Fulton in Vietnam and Maria Baer in Portland report about Christian rehab centers. Also, Carrie McKean explores the complicated path of estrangement and Brad East explains the doctrine of providence. Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt shows us how art surprises, delights, and retools our imagination for the Incarnation, while Jeremy Treat reminds us of an ancient African bishop's teachings about Immanuel. Finally, may you be surprised by the nearness of the "Winter Child," whom poet Malcolm Guite guides us enticingly toward. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas. |
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