From State Church to Pluralism: A Protestant Interpretation of Religion in American History

4/5 ( ratings)

From State Church to Pluralism has been widely reviewed and discussed; and the major thesis has gained support rather than met effective rebuttal. As an interpretation of the role of religion in American life, the book is frankly Protestant. Implicit are the "Rules for Dialogue" so winsomely set forth by Robert McAfee Brown and the late Gustave Weigel, S.J.--especially the rule that the interfaith encounter is not served by denying one's own perspective or glossing over the inevitability of bias. The problem of bias in religious dialogue is not resolved by ardent pursuit of universal propositions...but by rigorous self-examination and self-criticism. As the original proprietors of "Christian America," we Protestants have a special obligation to our Catholic and Jewish and Orthodox neighbors in this regard. Since the first edition appeared there have been important developments...and an additional chapter has been added to bring the story up to date. Catholic-Protestant dialogue has moved forward, largely as a result of the Ecumenical Council: Vatican II. The prospect for Christian-Jewish dialogue, which has suffered setbacks since the "Six Day War," also deserves attention. The attack of the Radical Right upon the churches, and especially upon the ecumenical movement, has grown markedly in strength....Special attention is given to this phenomenon. By contrast, a number of significant books and articles have appeared in discussion of the secular, secularity, secularization. Emphasis upon the dignity and integrity of the created order is...a legitimate fruit of renewal movements...a clear alternative to the reactionary attempt to resacralize, to remythologize "Christian America." Finally, a remarkable new phenomenon has appeared in higher education...: the return of religion as an intellectual discipline, frequently including courses in Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, to the leading state university campuses.