tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post3690926863185999116..comments2024-03-15T17:06:31.642-05:00Comments on The Piety That Lies Between: A Progressive Christian Perspective: Secular vs. Religious Values: Reflecting on the Meaning of the ElectionEric Reitanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06135739290199272992noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-916398270176317192012-11-26T12:39:54.958-06:002012-11-26T12:39:54.958-06:00I'm actually not familiar with these books. Th...I'm actually not familiar with these books. Thanks for the heads-up. I will keep an eye out for them.Eric Reitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135739290199272992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-51704864672517105492012-11-13T08:31:30.770-06:002012-11-13T08:31:30.770-06:00JP--I think this is largely on track, with one cav...JP--I think this is largely on track, with one caveat: Religious beliefs might serve as the basis for a distinctive theory of values (a theory of what values are and whether value statements have truth-makers and if so what those truth-makers are), and one's theory of values might have implications for the content of one's value system. But, of course, different theories of value can generate substantial overlap in the content of values...and some theories of value (e.g., subjectivism) have no specific implications for the content of one's values. Eric Reitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135739290199272992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-59928871846278933552012-11-13T08:17:12.151-06:002012-11-13T08:17:12.151-06:00Hi, Eric,
This is a bit off the topic, but I'...Hi, Eric, <br />This is a bit off the topic, but I'm currently reading two books by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland on Christian Universalism (If Grace is True and If God is Love). Philip Gully is a progressive Universalist Quaker and he has also written a couple of books on progressive Christianity (If the Church were Christian and The Evolution of Faith). Are you familiar with these, and if so, what are your thoughts? Øystein Evensennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-36523606346417952212012-11-11T08:12:53.448-06:002012-11-11T08:12:53.448-06:00Hi Eric,
Is there really a hard distinction betwe...Hi Eric,<br /><br />Is there really a hard distinction between religious and secular values? To be sure, I suppose one can identify some values that only make sense in one context or the other (“obedience to God”) but, it seems to me, these would be the exception rather than the rule.<br /><br />There are religious <i>beliefs</i>, of course, and these really characterize the difference between the religious and the secular. But I would think that, by and large, the dimensions of beliefs and values are orthogonal to each other.<br /><br />This is not to say that some values are not more prevalent in some religions than others. Religions certainly are efficient at transmitting or reinforcing values but these values can be anything from the most progressive to the most retrograde.<br />JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12609837930361362269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-32295921219552156242012-11-10T12:38:09.244-06:002012-11-10T12:38:09.244-06:00As long as fundamentalists are allowed to define w...As long as fundamentalists are allowed to define what Christianity is and is not, I think we progressives will continue to lose the debate. Even I, upon hearing the word "Christian", picture Jerry Falwell or some well-groomed bible thumper before I picture Martin Luther King or William Sloan Coffin.Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078974949122708808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-2635473754359264492012-11-09T18:38:04.610-06:002012-11-09T18:38:04.610-06:00These results don't surprise me. One of the is...These results don't surprise me. One of the issues I'm trying to raise here, however, is how we define "religiosity"--and whether part of the problem we face in this country is that we are too often defining religion in a way that favors the polarizing narrative.Eric Reitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135739290199272992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215077578479252542.post-68752303953813815662012-11-09T18:09:45.631-06:002012-11-09T18:09:45.631-06:00Eric, I realize that there are many different narr...Eric, I realize that there are many different narratives and goals under the rubric of religion. But you may be interested in <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/How-the-Faithful-Voted-2012-Preliminary-Exit-Poll-Analysis.aspx" rel="nofollow">some poll numbers</a> that indicate that, in broad strokes, religiosity in America was more or less precisely inversely related with progressive voting and values (i.e voting for Obama in this data, especially in the vote by religious attendence table).<br />Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11158223475895530397noreply@blogger.com