This article by Lisa Miller of MSNBC-Newsweek deals with the religious ignorance of Americans as viewed and experienced during the tenure of Boston University Professor Steve Prothro. He laments this educational vacuum and encourages students to change this sad state of affairs. His reason for promoting religious literacy may surprise you.
"His motivation is more than pedagogical. In a world where nearly every political conflict has a religious underpinning, Prothero writes that Americans are selling themselves short by remaining ignorant about basic religious history and texts, by not knowing the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite or the name of Mormonism's holy book. "Given a political environment where religion is increasingly important, it's increasingly important to know something about religion," he says. "The payoff is a more involved [political] conversation.""
A novel idea, indeed! Most people would not connect a proper understanding of and involvement in Secular politics with Religion.
Does this mean that the religion referred to is, by nature, Secular?
If so, is this Secular Religion the same as Civil Religion?
If so, how might this Secular, Civil Religion differ with a redemptive relationship of faith in Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible?
No comments:
Post a Comment