Introduction
The book “The Future of Faith,” authored by Harvey Cox, presents an interesting insight into the historical changes taking place in religion, specifically spirituality. The reader can make a quick observation that the entire essence of the book is to distinguish between faith and belief, especially when Cox (2009) states that “It is true that for many people “faith” and “belief” are just two words for the same thing” (p. 5). The author has depicted faith as praxis-oriented and open to the future, while belief is usually focused on dogma and often characterized by literalism and narrowness. Most importantly, faith and belief present two periods in the history of religion that have passed and are replaced by spirituality. In other words, modern Christianity goes beyond the church hierarchy and institutional religion. The purpose of this essay is to examine Cox’s argument and to present a critique of the book. The main argument is that Cox has succinctly summarized the critical shifts in religion that society has experienced.
New Age of Spirituality
The new age of spirituality is gradually materializing, which can be perceived as an evolution from previous periods. According to Cox (2009, p. 8), Christianity has shifted from the age of faith to the age of belief and then to the age of spirituality. The age of faith is associated with the first three centuries of the church, which ended in 325 BC when Constantine, a Roman emperor, gathered 318 bishops of the Catholic Church at the Nicene Council to settle the Arian controversy. The end of this era saw the dawn of the age of belief, which is characterized by hierarchies formed alongside the development of the church. Cox states that the official version of Christianity froze into a system comprising mandatory precepts codified into creeds and strictly enforced imperial decrees and a powerful hierarchy. The age of spirituality emerged as a result of people who described themselves as religious did not want to be associated with the doctrinal or hierarchical demarcations of the conventional religion. In other terms, these people describe themselves as “spiritual” (Cox, 2009, p. 10). These changes can be observed in modern trends in Christianity.
The arguments of the author are compelling since they make the same observations as many scholars of theology. Additionally, the changes often take place across all religions, which means that people should expect that the future of faith will be different from what it is now. The argument by Cox (2009, p. 10) can be summarized by quoting an article by Paul-Choudhury (2019, para 3), which appeared on BBC Future. The statement is that “We take it for granted that religions are born, grow, and die – but we are also oddly blind to that reality” (Paul-Choudhury, 2019, para. 3). In simpler terms, even the dominant religions of today have continually evolved throughout history. New religions often begin as cults, faith associated with them is recognized, and the teaching and traditions are perceived as timeless. Similarly, dead religions are treated as myths and the claims to sacred truth expire. This is a perfect summary of what Cox (2009) is trying to explain in his book. Early Christianity may have taught people faith and hope, but modern practices are more oriented towards spirituality.
To understand Cox’s argument, it is important to explore the illustrations and explanations that show the shift from doctrine and hierarchy towards a more generalized spirituality. First, it is important to acknowledge that Cox (2009, p. 8) did not create the term “age of spirituality” since he attributes it to a 13th-century Calabrian monk and mystic, Joachim Fiore. This monk taught the doctrine of the Trinity, which comprised the Father, the Son, and was about to enter the age of the spirit. The ages of the father and son are associated with the Old Testament and the church respectively, both of which represented formal hierarchies to be observed in Christianity. However, Joachim believed that people lived in direct contact with God, which eliminates the need for these religious hierarchies. Therefore, Cox’s first evidence and illustration of the age of spirit comes from the teaching of an ancient monk, who could be considered among the first prominent religious figures to observe the dying roles of hierarchies.
Another illustration used in the book is the Christian movement dubbed ‘the way,’ which began with Jesus and his disciples. Cox (2019) argues that Jesus was perceived s the one who preached the “way of God in truth” (p. 77). Therefore, the early Christians had an affirmation that Jesus was is Lord as opposed to a set of beliefs. As this movement grew, Christians were bound together by their common participation and sharing in bread, wine, and prayer. There were no dogmas to follow, which means that a wide variety of theological views emerged and thrived. In this case, the movement prioritized the ties that the individuals felt with Jesus and God and not the rules that were taught in the church and their leaders. In other words, this movement serves as another illustration of how believers sought direct links to God and not religious institutions.
A key idea expressed above is the rise of many theological views of Christianity, which resulted in the freedom perceived after the shift from dogmas, doctrines, and hierarchies. The emergence of many theological views implies that there would come an era of heterogeneity in the Christian teachings, which would be followed by religious practices and beliefs. Cox (2019, p. 85) illustrates this shift towards spirituality in Chapter 6 using the 1991 assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, Australia. There were over four thousand delegates in the meeting, who were all shocked when a Korean female theologian came accompanied by nineteen dancers bearing bells, gongs, and clapsticks. In addition, this band was led by two Aboriginal dancers covered with body paint and wearing loincloths. At this moment, Cox states that all delegates came to learn that the future of Christianity would also be racially and culturally heterogeneous. Today, Christians across the world display an outstanding level of diversity racially, ethnically, and culturally. Additionally, it is possible to find communities that have mixed Christianity with their traditions. This observation is one of the key indicators of the age of spirituality.
Chapter 15 of the book offers some of the most compelling arguments regarding the dying of dogma and the rise of generalized spirituality. Cox (2019, p. 215) argues that new dimensions of communal, spiritual, and justice-seeking dimension have effectively replaced doctrines. Most interestingly, Cox (2019, p. 214) finds the same trends to be taking place across other religions. This observation summarizes the earlier arguments by Paul-Choudhury (2019, para. 3) regarding the emergence and death of religion as a common lifecycle experienced in all religions. Cox (2009, p. 214) mentions Buddhism and Islam as good examples of this evolution. Islam is the second-largest religion with more than a billion followers across the planet. In the past century, Islam has undergone a renaissance that has been facilitated by growing levels of education, employment opportunities, and the failures of such market structures as capitalism and socialism. Regardless of the cause of the change, the main idea is that the rapid changes in modern life create an identity crisis where traditional religions no longer address all problems faced by modern societies.
The illustrations and evidence used by Cox are all convincing, especially since they are observable by any individuals keen enough to examine the current state of Christianity and other religions in comparison to earlier periods. In this case, many people debate and disagree with the idea of following the laws of the Old Testament. Mildred (2018, para. 6) uses a CBS sitcom called “Living Biblically” to show that there are no Christians in the whole world who believe in the need to observe every command in the Bible. It can be argued that the main difference between the Old and New Testaments is the emphasis on law, which simply illustrates the idea of Cox (2009, p. 8) regarding dogmas, institutions, and hierarchies. The New Testament focuses majorly on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ, which coincides with what Cox (2009, p. 19) terms as a new Christian movement called “the way.” The fact that the media is full of news and other posts indicating defiance or opposition to the traditional Christian teaching of the Old Testament means that Cox has convincingly summarized observable shifts in religion.
Critique
In as much as Cox convincingly presents his arguments and illustrations, there are certain areas I believe could be critiqued and others that need to be explored beyond the book. First, the idea of heterogeneity has only been hinted at without adequate emphasis on how it influences evolution and the ultimate entry into the new age of spirituality. The Canberra assembly should be the first hint that theologists of the modern era have to deal with communities that do not want to fully dismiss their traditions, which have to be embedded in Christianity. The spread of Christianity across the world has had to encounter with other religions and communities who still practiced their traditions. For some, ditching their traditions for the new religion was possible in its entirety, while the opposite has also been true. Most interestingly, there is also a category of people who prefer to practice both religions and try to integrate them. Therefore, the question that Cox does not address is how this will affect spirituality.
Heterogeneity can play a critical role in shaping spirituality or even deterring its progress. Since Cox mentions Australian aboriginals, this community can be used as an example of the essence of heterogeneity. According to Korff (2020, para. 6), many Aboriginal people mix Christian concepts and beliefs with some traditions and try to reconcile two different viewpoints. To some religious leaders in the community, Christianity is seen as an adaptation or innovation into the Aboriginal traditional society. It can be expected that the evolution of religion is caused by changes in society and its practices. It is about a society that has historically practiced religion and lived in its faith. An interesting question is how does this evolution take place for a society to whom the religion is new? Do such people subscribe to the traditional beliefs and align themselves with the practices of the secular society with their defiance to the rules, dogmas, and institutions? Additionally, it would be prudent to explore the place of these traditions and norms of these newcomers to modern Christianity and the age of spirituality.
An area that can be considered underdeveloped is how hope changes with the evolution of religion from faith to belief to spirituality. From a theological perspective, hope comprises a confident expectation grounded on the promises of God. Hope is central to salvation as expressed by Apostle Paul in the New Testament (Newheiser, 2019, p. 7). In this case, Christians believe in an invisible God with whom they relate and expect to save. The question that Cox (2009, p. 42) fails to address is what the age of spirituality means for Christian hope. Cox (2009, p. 125) hints at modern unbelief associated with secularization. The age of belief is the second period in evolution, which modern society is still living in as they transit into the age of spirituality. It can be argued that believing in something may create hope for it. in this case, people who believe in salvation hope that they will be saved as they enter heaven. If the secular Christians are no longer believers, does this mean that their hope has died?
The ideas of the age of spirituality have rhymed with most of the changes that can be observed in modern society. Most importantly, secularization can be seen as an even sharper shift from doctrines, something that Cox (2009, p. 125) also notices. A main point of critique would be the idea that spirituality and the secular can be more permeable. The criticism comes from the observation made earlier that the secular society is associated with unbelief. If these opinions are to be held as valid, it can be argued that the secular society is increasingly moving away from religion. The future of faith and the age of spirituality can only materialize if the core principles of religion are upheld. Even without the belief, it can be argued that hope will remain a necessity since spirituality might not mean much hope is lost. This is at least the case for Christians whose entire religion is built on the foundations of hope.
Conclusion
Cox has successfully and convincingly illustrated his arguments on the emergence of the age of spirituality. The primary focus has been on the gradual shift from doctrines and institutions, a movement observed since the teachings of Jesus. The age of spirituality has also been observed by multiple religious figures, including a 13th-century monk who stated that the direct link between believers and God eliminates the need for the church and the doctrines and hierarchies associated with it. However, some areas have remained underdeveloped, some of which are at the ore of religion. Examples include the heterogeneity of the modern Christian and the concept of hope. There is a question of where new Christians fit within the whole evolution process and how spirituality relates with or affects hope. Overall, the ideas are all validated by the fact that the change is visible to everyone.
References
Cox, H. (2009). The future of faith. HarperOne.
Korff, J. (2020). Aboriginal Christians & Christianity. Creative Spirit. Web.
Mildred, J. (2018). This is why Christians don’t obey all of the Bible’s commands. Premier Christianity. Web.
Newheiser, D. (2019). Hope in a secular age: Deconstruction, negative theology and the future of faith. Cambridge University Press.
Paul-Choudhury, S. (2019). Tomorrow’s Gods: What is the future of religion? BBC Future. Web.