Synodalist politics distancing people from Jesus

Has the Church forgotten its message?

Jesus could no longer do much with today's Christians and they could no longer do anything with Jesus. That says the American theologian Miroslav Volf. The church only has a future if it reflects on the core of its message.

DOMRADIO.DE: The influence of the Christian religion on western societies is constantly declining. Not only in Europe, but also in America, where society is even more religious than here. Why is that? Why is interest in religion declining?

Prof. Miroslav Volf (Professor of Systematic Theology, Director of the "Center for Faith and Culture" at Yale University in the USA): That's not an easy question to answer. That's pretty complex. In a sense we are witnessing an inner self-secularization of the churches right now and have been for some time. This applies not only to the progressive currents of Christianity in America, but also to conservatives.

The substance of faith as such is lost. People don't find anything in churches these days that they can't find anywhere else. As a result, the churches try to imitate or pick up on social developments and trends. I sometimes wonder if people don't think: why should we pick up the second-hand version of a social trend and not the original, without the religious underpinnings? This disconnection from religion has reached a significant level.

But I find it just as important that the churches are becoming more and more connected to politics and that politics is having more and more influence on the church. We noticed that during the Bush presidency, especially with Trump. This has become a problematic approach to politics. As a result, the churches have definitely lost their reputation and social capital.

DOMRADIO.DE: So there is an interest in the church as a community, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is also an interest in religion?

Volf: I have indeed found that. There is not necessarily an interest in the history of Jesus Christ, which shocks me as a theologian at first. It was clear to me that Jesus as a figure moves people. However, if the interest depends more on the institution, this can become problematic for various reasons. This has become very clear in America in the last ten years. While the popularity of the church is declining, when a church gains traction it has more to do with its offerings and political positioning than with Jesus.

Churches are involved politically and socially, whether it's on the conservative or progressive side. People can identify with it and find a community. You can do something good for the common good. But when it comes to the gospel and the life of Christ, there is often a strangeness to this character.

Professor Miroslav Volf

"Most of the things that were important to Jesus no longer matter to the ordinary churchgoer."

I like to sum it up like this: most of the things that were important to Jesus are no longer important to the normal churchgoer today. And most of the things that move ordinary people on the street would not have interested Jesus at all. Example: We have no idea what Jesus looked like. Appearance and aesthetic aspects seem to have played no role at all for Jesus and the evangelists. While today we like to spend hours in front of the mirror to perfect the picture we give. Haven't even started on social media yet.

This is just one example of many that raises an important and also worrying question for me: Does the distance to Jesus also lead to a turning away from the core idea of church and faith?

DOMRADIO.DE: Then why are people still interested in a church if it is no longer about the core message? Is it only about community and political goals? For identification? You could also join a party or an association.

Volf: That's exactly what's happening, especially with the younger generation. We can also see that in the numbers. Fewer and fewer young people identify with a faith community. This is partly due to indolence, but perhaps also because there are other forms of spirituality that attract people today. I think, on the whole, religiosity as a concept is not in crisis. There are only other forms, activism for example, which can then develop a new, religious dimension. Some find it in the church, others elsewhere, but many are looking for some vague idea of transcendence to play a role.

Professor Miroslav Volf

"Many are looking for a vague idea of transcendence"

What worries me, and this is not a new phenomenon, is that the moral underpinnings of religious communities from within are increasingly disappearing into thin air. An example of this are the communities in America that preach material wealth as God's grace, the so-called "Prosperity Gospel". This is a moral undermining of the message and in a sense also an instrumentalization. This is brought in from outside, it no longer has much to do with Jesus' message.

DOMRADIO.DE: Is there a difference between the left-wing and right-wing churches and religious communities?

Volf: I see this instrumentalization of faith on both sides. The religious right places more focus on religiosity in public. For progressive movements, it matters less that they define themselves as religious communities. I'm not exactly sure what's causing this.

Cathcon: the public square is being yielded to dark societal forces, hence the insistence of the public aspect of Faith.  Mission is impossible if you are excluded. 

Professor Miroslav Volf

"It must not only be about dogmatics and morals, but about a compass for real life."

Cathcon: Sed contra, faith and morals are the compass.

DOMRADIO.DE: What do you think, where will it all lead? Does the concept of organized religion collapse if the Gospel no longer plays a role as the center for the churches?

Volf: I'm not sure about that. I think it would collapse if there was a viable and attractive alternative to communities of faith. I don't see that at the moment. I don't see non-religious people leading more fulfilling lives. Carrying and enduring the weight of your life entirely on your own doesn't necessarily make life any easier. I see a new hunger for some form of religiosity. There is a great opportunity for the churches, but they must seize it.

They can only do this if they live authentically out of the message of Christ - or their corresponding other conviction. It must not only be about dogmatics and morals, but about a compass for real life. That's always been attractive in history, look at the saints' stories. Centuries later, these people still inspire with their life stories. I hope that we will rediscover this for the future, then the churches will also have a chance for the future.

Source

Cathcon: The Professor has overdosed on Marx and Luther over the years but this remains a good analysis.