David Mislin on Embracing Religious Pluralism

tonygill — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 09:00:22 +0000

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States experienced a tremendous amount of economic, demographic, and cultural change that became reflected in a number of new religious movements and trends. Prof. David Mislin, assistant professor in the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University, discusses how this era gave rise to new conceptualizations of religious pluralism on the part of mainline Protestants and how this, in turn, shaped the way we think about religious diversity in our contemporary era. All of this is based upon his new book Saving Faith: Making Religious Pluralism an American Value at the Dawn of the Secular Age.

We begin with a little ex post facto revelation on the part of Prof. Mislin. When asked about how he came to study American religious history, he recounts his childhood years growing up as the son of a Congregationalist preacher, his mom. While avoiding the typical life of a preacher’s kid (being dragged to every Sunday School event), he nonetheless developed a deep interest in how people of different faiths interacted with one another, a tendency that was augmented during his high school days. He realized after he had published his book how much of an impact that his youth had on his thinking.

We then move back in time to talk about the religious changes that were occurring at the “dawn of the secular age” (circa 1875-1925). Rev. Lyman Abbott of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn is highlighted as a leading figure in embracing religious pluralism. Our discussion here covers the scientific, economic, demographic, and cultural changes that were taking place during the late 19th century and why David sees this era as a “gilded age crisis of faith.” He then lays out three distinct responses that many mainline clergy had to this changing landscape, including the New Theology movement, promotion of the Social Gospel, and a new conceptualization of religious pluralism. It is the latter that we then turn our focus to. Along the way, we also discuss some of the other religious dynamics occurring at the time, including the rise of Christian fundamentalism and how this might be related to changes within mainline Protestantism.

Prof. Mislin explains what this new embrace of religious pluralism was all about. Based upon a growing Christian skepticism of the time, he notes how ministers began arguing that all faiths are good, but that this did not necessarily mean all faiths were equal — an interesting intellectual tension. Our conversation covers the theological trend to see revelation as a progressive movement throughout history, with each new generation being able to discover new tendencies in God’s plan. The reduction of transportation costs and the missionary experiences of many clergy in places such as the Middle East, India, and East Asia also furthered an interest in non-Christian faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. David reviews some of the colorful characters of the time who became strong advocates for reaching out to other faiths. We also talk about how this ecumenical outreach manifested itself in the creation of comparative religion programs at American universities, the Goodwill Movement reaching out to Jews, and an attempt to (re-)unify Protestants and Catholics in one church. The latter was almost exclusively a Protestant effort that fell flat, but was nonetheless indicative of the thinking of the day.

Our podcast concludes with Prof. Mislin’s reflections on how the ideas advance between 1875 and 1925 impacted religious trends during the remainder of that 20th century, and how — thinking about a Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure — Lyman Abbot would view today’s religious and cultural landscape. Recorded: November 11, 2015.

Tony Carnes on A Journey through NYC Religions

tonygill — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:00:29 +0000

Religion in New York City? Say it ain’t so! Well, we talk with journalist Tony Carnes, who over the past three years has been working on a project to document every nook and cranny of The Big Apple in a search for that city’s spiritual lifeblood. His multi-media endeavor, known as A Journey through New York City Religions, has uncovered a remarkably vibrant spiritual lanscape that is constantly changing as the city finds itself in the throes of constant immigration and emigration. We start our interview with a look at (East Coast) Tony’s life, discussing his upbringing in small town Texas as well as his first visit to NYC wherein he was pleased to find out he could order a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at The Four Seasons restaurant. He then explains his own personal religious development from a kid more interested in hot rods than in the Bible and how this changed while he was at the University of Texas. His journey then takes us around the globe, including a pit stop to study under Frances Schaeffer at L’Abri in Switzerland, until he finally lands a job as a journalist, contributing to such notable publications as Christianity Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Newsday. Our discussion probes a theme that has arisen several times before on this podcast series, namely why the mass media tends to overlook the nation’s religious life or portrays it in ways that are incongruent with people’s daily experience. Mr. Carnes then gets into the details of how he set up A Journey through NYC Religions based upon the changes he saw taking place in internet media and how that could be harnessed to explore stories that were largely being ignored. Our conversation then moves to a discussion of New York City itself and how it has changed over time, from what was once considered “Sodom and Gomorrah on the Hudson” in the late 19th century to its “burned out days” in the 1960s and ’70s, to what it has become today. He provides some interesting data on how religion, which appeared to be on the decline in the ’50s and ’60s, makes a remarkable turnaround in NYC starting in 1978, particularly with the growth of evangelical churches being founded in the city. We then discuss how Tony goes about this project including his initial plan for covering the 6,400 miles of roads in the city and what questions he asks of his religious subjects that he encounters. He also reveals the journalistic philosophy that undergirds his reporting, something known as “sympathetic objectivity,” and how this differs from “accountability journalism” that most other news outlets practice. (If you listen carefully at this point in the interview you can hear RoR’s very own canine mascot, Rocky Barkington, weigh in with his opinion.) We finish our interview with a few stories of Tony’s adventures, including trodding through one of New York’s biggest snowstorms to find a pastor’s house, his discovery of a Mayan evangelical church, and Tony’s reflections on what he has learned over the years of doing this project. Contrary to secularization theorists, or those folks who think secular culture is trumping religion, Mr. Carnes sees an awakening of spiritual fervor facilitated by the mixing of new people always feeding into this great metropolis. Starving to hear more specific stories of religion in New York, (West Coast) Tony invites (East Coast) Tony back on the show, to which Mr. Carnes gracefully agrees. Stay tuned. Recorded: April 19, 2013.

Research On Religion » skepticism

David Mislin on Embracing Religious Pluralism

Tony Carnes on A Journey through NYC Religions