READING REFLECTION: RELIGION IS GOING AWAY...

GOOD RIDDANCE

Cody Tyler Gillis

APOL310: Apologetics in a Secular Age (B01)

January 22, 2023

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The evidence that Keller presents in his research compels one to believe that ‘religion’ is

by no means diminishing. However, to truly understand and appreciate Keller’s work in this

area, we must first understand what he means by religion. It is clear from his writing that

Keller’s main question and focus is on whether or not biblical, conservative Christianity is, in

fact, on a downward trend. He presents convincing evidence that while authentic Christian

religious practice is alive and well, trending toward an overall increase, it is the more liberal and

spiritually compromised flavors of ‘Christianity’ which are fading.

As we live on the latter side of the Reformation, Charles Taylor’s granular concept of

secularism is invaluable in helping us understand our current modern status as it pertains to

religion. Taylor has broken down secularism into three different but related types: secular 1,

secular2, and secular3. secular1 is simply the division between the elite class of priests and clergy

against the rest of the citizenry; people who have devoted their lives to working exclusively

within the confines of Christendom may view those who lack a religious profession as secular1.

This is the least common type of secularism in our post-reformation era.

Secular2, on the other hand, pertains to the conscious segregation of religious belief from

public institutions. In America, this is most evidently seen in the so-called ‘separation of church

and state,’ whereby the government is not allowed to make any law respecting or giving

privilege to any one religion. It is also the nominal use of the term secular describing the

complete lack of religious influence found in most workplaces and public forums.

Taylor’s concept of Secular3 is the primary focus of his book A Secular Age and is used

to describe the post-modern circumstance of our time as it relates to religious belief. Secular 3

describes the complete disenchantment of our modern world and the subsequent humanistic

pursuits that follow. It is this version of Secularism that best ties into Keller’s research. Secular 3
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helps us describe what we have experienced in the preceding decades. Human society has

transitioned from a dominant religious worldview, where belief in God or gods was assumed and

taken for granted, to one in which religious belief is simply one ‘choice’ among a vast pool of

live options. Secular3 is essentially the ‘take it or leave it’ attitude of most modern people

regarding religious belief. This flippant attitude toward religion is why Keller has observed what

he has. Modern people are, by and large, not regarding their religious beliefs as central to their

identity and purpose. Their religious belief is no longer a conviction they must live by but rather

one choice among many. This phenomenon explains why the liberal forms of Christianity are

weakening and vanishing.

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Bibliography