Christianity in the twenty-first century : reflections on the challenges ahead /
Wuthnow, Robert,
Christianity in the twenty-first century : reflections on the challenges ahead / [print] Robert Wuthnow. - New York : Oxford University Press, (c)1993. - viii, 251 pages ; 24 cm.
Introduction : the future in the present -- I. Institutional challenges : community, identity, and the role of the church. Church and culture -- Can the church sustain community? -- A place for the Christian -- II. Ethical challenges : role models, stories, and learning how to care. Stories to live by -- The saints in our world -- Ethical ambivalence -- III. Doctrinal challenges : pluralism, polarity, and the character of belief. Religious orientations -- The future of fundamentalism -- Fundamentalism and its discontents -- IV. Political challenges : Christianity and conflict in the public realm. Faith and public affairs -- The future of the religious right -- Religion and symbolic politics -- V. Cultural challenges : the possibilities of faith for constructing personal lives. The quest for identity -- Maladies of the middle class -- Living the question.
In the year 2000 - and beyond - what will the church be like? What challenges will it face? Will the church be able to provide a strong sense of community? Will it be an ethical force in the lives of Americans? And what role will religion play in politics and in the marketplace? In Christianity in the 21st Century Robert Wuthnow reflects on these provocative questions as he seeks to identify changes that are taking place now in American society that churches must address. if they are to remain vital in the future. He foresees five critical areas - institutional, ethical, doctrinal, political, and cultural - in which major challenges will arise, then meets the thorny issues head-on. How will churches' resource bases, their very identity, and their capacity to carry on their spiritual traditions be altered? Will they continue to function as sources of caring in a needy world? What impact will the resurgence of fundamentalism have, and how. will moderate and liberal congregations react? How will the political activities of churches influence their capacity to be heard in the public arena, and what will the impact be of pluralism and the prevailing materialism of our society? Drawing on a wide range of first-hand observations and research, Wuthnow demonstrates that in each of these five areas people of faith have strong reasons to enter the next century with confidence in their religious institutions. But he. also highlights worrisome signs, and points to specific areas that need to be addressed to ensure the continuing vitality of Christianity in America - not least among these are the rampant individualism that erodes spiritual communities and the religious infighting that diminishes the Christian sense of unity. The onset of a new millennium affords a historic opportunity to take stock of the present situation and to plan for the future - in the years ahead, much. reflection is likely to occur about all our major institutions. Christianity in the 21st Century aims to contribute to those reflections by offering a sobering, realistic, and ultimately hopeful assessment of where the church is now, and where the church is headed.
9780195079579
92028689
GB93-43272
Christianity--United States.
Twenty-first century--Forecasts.
Christianity United States
BR526 BR526.W973.C475 1993
Christianity in the twenty-first century : reflections on the challenges ahead / [print] Robert Wuthnow. - New York : Oxford University Press, (c)1993. - viii, 251 pages ; 24 cm.
Introduction : the future in the present -- I. Institutional challenges : community, identity, and the role of the church. Church and culture -- Can the church sustain community? -- A place for the Christian -- II. Ethical challenges : role models, stories, and learning how to care. Stories to live by -- The saints in our world -- Ethical ambivalence -- III. Doctrinal challenges : pluralism, polarity, and the character of belief. Religious orientations -- The future of fundamentalism -- Fundamentalism and its discontents -- IV. Political challenges : Christianity and conflict in the public realm. Faith and public affairs -- The future of the religious right -- Religion and symbolic politics -- V. Cultural challenges : the possibilities of faith for constructing personal lives. The quest for identity -- Maladies of the middle class -- Living the question.
In the year 2000 - and beyond - what will the church be like? What challenges will it face? Will the church be able to provide a strong sense of community? Will it be an ethical force in the lives of Americans? And what role will religion play in politics and in the marketplace? In Christianity in the 21st Century Robert Wuthnow reflects on these provocative questions as he seeks to identify changes that are taking place now in American society that churches must address. if they are to remain vital in the future. He foresees five critical areas - institutional, ethical, doctrinal, political, and cultural - in which major challenges will arise, then meets the thorny issues head-on. How will churches' resource bases, their very identity, and their capacity to carry on their spiritual traditions be altered? Will they continue to function as sources of caring in a needy world? What impact will the resurgence of fundamentalism have, and how. will moderate and liberal congregations react? How will the political activities of churches influence their capacity to be heard in the public arena, and what will the impact be of pluralism and the prevailing materialism of our society? Drawing on a wide range of first-hand observations and research, Wuthnow demonstrates that in each of these five areas people of faith have strong reasons to enter the next century with confidence in their religious institutions. But he. also highlights worrisome signs, and points to specific areas that need to be addressed to ensure the continuing vitality of Christianity in America - not least among these are the rampant individualism that erodes spiritual communities and the religious infighting that diminishes the Christian sense of unity. The onset of a new millennium affords a historic opportunity to take stock of the present situation and to plan for the future - in the years ahead, much. reflection is likely to occur about all our major institutions. Christianity in the 21st Century aims to contribute to those reflections by offering a sobering, realistic, and ultimately hopeful assessment of where the church is now, and where the church is headed.
9780195079579
92028689
GB93-43272
Christianity--United States.
Twenty-first century--Forecasts.
Christianity United States
BR526 BR526.W973.C475 1993