1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910812471903321

Autore

Wuthnow Robert

Titolo

Christianity in the twenty-first century : reflections on the challenges ahead / / Robert Wuthnow

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Oxford University Press, 1993

ISBN

0-19-802564-5

1-280-76071-0

9786610760718

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (260 p.)

Disciplina

277.3/08

Soggetti

Christianity - United States

Twenty-first century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-243) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Introduction: The Future in the Present; I: Institutional Challenges: Community, Identity, and the Role of the Church; 1. Church and Culture; Congregations and Culture; The Challenge of Diversity; The future of the Church; 2. Can the Church Sustain Community?; The Varieties of Community; The Church and Individualism; The New Voluntarism; What of the Future?; 3. A Place for the Christian; The Church as Community of Memory; The Church as Denomination; The Church as Support Group; II: Ethical Challenges: Role Models, Stories, and Learning How to Care; 4. Stories to Live By

The Ethical ChallengeStories of Love; Beyond Our Parents; From Stories to Action; The Role of Christianity; 5. The Saints in Our World; Who Embodies Compassion?; The Symbolic Value of Contemporary Saints; Exemplars of Our Individualism; 6. Ethical Ambivalence; Uncomfortable in the Presence of God; Learning to Interpret Stones; Looking for Principles; The Worth of the Individual; Community (Again); Small Lessons; Ill: Doctrinal Challenges: Pluralism, Polarity, and the Character of Belief; 7. Religious Orientations; Transcendent Meaning; Varieties of Belief; Consequences of Religious Outlooks

The Public DimensionInfluences on Religious Belief; Aspects of Religious Pluralism; 8. The Future of Fundamentalism; The Environment of Christian Fundamentalism; The Dynamics of Christian



Fundamentalism; The Culture of Christian Fundamentalism; Coda; 9. Fundamentalism and Its Discontents; How Liberals Let Fundamentalists Set the Agenda; Fundamentalism and the Future; Can Liberals Seize the Initiative?; IV: Political Challenges: Christianity and Conflict in the Public Realm; 10. Faith and Public Affairs; The Polarization of Liberals and Conservatives; The Character of Public Religion

What of the Future?11. The Future of the Religious Right; Predisposing Circumstances; Organizational Factors; Sources of Societal Strain; Resources That Can Be Mobilized; Factors That Dampen Movements; A Cautious Forecast; 12. Religion and Symbolic Politics; Politics and the Public Sphere; Reinforcing a Public Agenda; Insiders and Outsiders; The Politics of Morality; The Power of the Holy; V: Cultural Challenges: The Possibilities of Faith for Constructing Personal Lives; 13. The Quest for Identity; A Story; The Character of Identity; Religion and the Pursuit of Identity

A Link to the Wider Society14. Maladies of the Middle Class; The Challenge of Materialism; Diversions from Our Discontent; Ministries to and of the Middle Class; 15. Living the Question; Beware the Christian; Tour of the Underground; Faith and Critical Thought; Living the Question; Epilogue; Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y

Sommario/riassunto

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