the challenge of religion after modernity: beyond disenchantment – by raymond l. m. lee and susan...

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24 / Religious Studies Review Volume 32 Number 1 / January 2006 classification privileges those groups that are officially included in the category. The latter part of the book, titled “Wicca in everyday life,” presents insiders’ views on their lifestyle and beliefs. While some of these insiders’ views are valuable data for scholars, others do little to widen our knowledge about Wicca in Finland. The explicit aim of the book is to offer general information about Wicca and tame the wild and widespread prejudices people have towards it. After all, Finland is still quite a homogenous country where religious variety is a recent phe- nomenon. In this context, Wicca has been pub- licly associated to Satanism, sexual orgies, and other activities which are considered immoral. This becomes understandable if we consider the fact that the majority of Wiccans in Finland are young girls, whose parents are worried about their children’s behavior. All in all, this book is directed more to the general readers than to scholars of religion, although it does have some scholarly value as well. Teemu Taira University of Turku TRUTH AND TOLERANCE: CHRISTIAN BELIEF AND WORLD RELIGIONS. By Joseph Ratzinger. Translated by Henry Taylor. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius, 2004. Pp. 281. $15.95, ISBN 1-58617-035-X. A collection of essays written before he became Pope Benedict XVI, one of which dates from 1964 but most of which originally appeared in the 1990s, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the pope’s thinking about Christianity and its rela- tionship to other religions. He believes that the Enlightenment legacy of autonomous reason has obstructed the quest for truth; he argues for the truth of Christian revelation; and he then situates that truth in the wider horizon of reli- gions. He defends the 2000 Vatican document Dominus Iesus , decries (what he considers) the relativism of much of contemporary Christian theology, and understands other religions as “provisional, and, in this respect, as preparatory to Christianity.” Culture should not replace reli- gion or substitute for truth, a phenomenon he believes is happening in contemporary attempts by some religionists to accord equality to all religions or by Christian theologians who favor egocentricity. He dismisses J. Hick’s notion of religion’s move from self- centeredness to Reality-centeredness as “mean- ingless and void of content” and, similarly, characterizes P. Knitter’s attempt to fuse liber- ation theologies with pluralist theology of reli- gions as “mere praxis [that] gives no light.” Meaning must be connected with truth and truth manifests itself in Christianity. Not every- one will agree with his analysis, but anyone who takes the pope seriously should know where he stands, and this book unambiguously defines Benedict’s theology of religions. Chester Gillis Georgetown University THE FUTURE OF LIBERATION THEOL- OGY: AN ARGUMENT AND MANI- FESTO. By Ivan Petrella. Aldershot- Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2004. Pp. 177. $28.00, ISBN 0-7546-4051-5. This book is a worthwhile, interesting, and persuasive examination of liberation theology in the past, present, and future. Building on his premise that “Latin American liberation theol- ogy was born with the promise of being a the- ology that would not rest with merely talking about liberation but would actually help liberate people from material deprivation,” Petrella urges liberation theologians to aim beyond talk- ing about liberation theology from the corridors of academia. This volume benefits from several significant features: First, it makes available a balanced amalgamation of the historical changes that have occurred in liberation theol- ogy in the past twenty years and offers strate- gies for challenging democracy and capitalism in light of institutional imagination; Second, the social analysis is quite substantial, offering evidence that since the fall of communism, lib- eration theology has wrestled with establishing a centered theological and historical world- view; Third, this book is convincing, leading the readers to agree, for the most part, with Petrella’s perspectives that utilize political theology, radical orthodoxy, and Latina (M. Aquino) and African-American (D. Hopkins) theology to move beyond the older liberation motifs suggested by G. Gutiérrez, J. Sobrino, and L. Boff. This book is divided into seven reasonably sized chapters and of added benefit is a twenty-page bibliography that is a Who’s Who of Liberation Theology; a four-page appendix maps Petrella’s “manifesto” for the future of liberation theology. Finally, Petrella offers constructive criticisms and useful chal- lenges for refashioning liberation theology for the twenty-first century church, but it is the same dilemma that faced liberation theology from its biblical days—liberation of the mar- ginalized, disenfranchised, and the anawim: “For you will always have the poor with you” (Mark 14:7). Arthur D. Canales Silver Lake College of the Holy Family Methodology and Theory IN THE WORLD: READING AND WRIT- ING AS A CHRISTIAN. By John H. Timmer- man and Donald R. Hettinga. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. Pp. 448. $29.99, ISBN 0-8010-2753-5. One of the practical challenges in teaching composition courses—and one that has become increasingly difficult in recent years—is to find texts that articulate a compelling rationale for the study and practice of writing and, at the same time, to provide substantial readings that will engage students from various majors. This new edition sets out to accomplish this feat in particularly ambitious terms, providing a “Christian view of rhetoric” along with a selec- tion of essays organized around broadly Christian themes (e.g., “Living Ethically,” “Confrontation with Suffering,” “Living in the Environment”). Teachers inclined to prosely- tize for effective prose will appreciate the authors’ central assertion that “Good rhetoric is not simply an option for the Christian writer; it is a responsibility,” as well as their related claim that “no area of life is free from ethical respon- sibility.” The actual “rhetoric” is surprisingly brief (just over 50 pages) and basic, even by the standards of first-year college courses. The readings are far more substantial and include such various authors as Augustine, T. Paine, C. Darwin, F. Crick, and R. Dove, as well as a fine pair of essays on the moral and religious debates surrounding the Harry Potter books. While this book is not likely be used outside of Christian colleges, it does demonstrate one of the ways that intellectual and ethical rigor can reinvigorate the first-year writing course. Brian Conniff University of Dayton THE CHALLENGE OF RELIGION AFTER MODERNITY: BEYOND DISEN- CHANTMENT. By Raymond L. M. Lee and Susan E. Ackerman. Aldershot: Ashgate. Pp. viii + 141. $94.95, ISBN 0-7546-0725-9. Lee and Ackerman’s book is a contribution to the evergrowing literature on the “reenchant- ment” of the world. But unlike in most previous works, the secularization debate is approached from the perspective of a semiotic theory of symbols and signs, giving the book a distinc- tively “European” flavor. The argument is that enlightenment rationalism (disenchantment) is challenged by what the authors call “the imma- nence of charisma,” that is, the reenchantment of the world outside and beyond institutional structures (Weber’s “routinization” of cha- risma), or even individual actors. In the authors’ vocabulary, fundamentalism represents imma- nent charisma encoded into concrete reality through symbols such as the Qur’an, which reflects the original charisma of Muhammad. Signs, on the other hand, are self-referential. In the authors’ words: “In the case of New Age tantrism, the messages and methods of spiritual liberation have been disconnected from their traditional sources to constitute self-defining icons of religious experimentation.” This corre- sponds largely to what sociologists of religion refer to as “spirituality.” The examples of reen- chantment that the authors provide offer few new ideas in terms of content, but the book does provide an innovative framework for analyzing religion and social change. However, the enlightening examples notwithstanding, the “postmodern” language used in the book prob-

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24 / Religious Studies Review Volume 32 Number 1 / January 2006

classification privileges those groups that areofficially included in the category. The latterpart of the book, titled “Wicca in everyday life,”presents insiders’ views on their lifestyle andbeliefs. While some of these insiders’ views arevaluable data for scholars, others do little towiden our knowledge about Wicca in Finland.The explicit aim of the book is to offer generalinformation about Wicca and tame the wild andwidespread prejudices people have towards it.After all, Finland is still quite a homogenouscountry where religious variety is a recent phe-nomenon. In this context, Wicca has been pub-licly associated to Satanism, sexual orgies, andother activities which are considered immoral.This becomes understandable if we considerthe fact that the majority of Wiccans in Finlandare young girls, whose parents are worriedabout their children’s behavior. All in all, thisbook is directed more to the general readersthan to scholars of religion, although it doeshave some scholarly value as well.

Teemu TairaUniversity of Turku

TRUTH AND TOLERANCE: CHRISTIANBELIEF AND WORLD RELIGIONS.

ByJoseph Ratzinger. Translated by Henry Taylor.San Francisco, CA: Ignatius, 2004. Pp. 281.$15.95, ISBN 1-58617-035-X.

A collection of essays written before hebecame Pope Benedict XVI, one of which datesfrom 1964 but most of which originallyappeared in the 1990s, this book is essentialreading for anyone who wants to know thepope’s thinking about Christianity and its rela-tionship to other religions. He believes that theEnlightenment legacy of autonomous reasonhas obstructed the quest for truth; he argues forthe truth of Christian revelation; and he thensituates that truth in the wider horizon of reli-gions. He defends the 2000 Vatican document

Dominus Iesus

, decries (what he considers) therelativism of much of contemporary Christiantheology, and understands other religions as“provisional, and, in this respect, as preparatoryto Christianity.” Culture should not replace reli-gion or substitute for truth, a phenomenon hebelieves is happening in contemporary attemptsby some religionists to accord equality to allreligions or by Christian theologians whofavor egocentricity. He dismisses J. Hick’snotion of religion’s move from self-centeredness to Reality-centeredness as “mean-ingless and void of content” and, similarly,characterizes P. Knitter’s attempt to fuse liber-ation theologies with pluralist theology of reli-gions as “mere praxis [that] gives no light.”Meaning must be connected with truth andtruth manifests itself in Christianity. Not every-one will agree with his analysis, but anyonewho takes the pope seriously should knowwhere he stands, and this book unambiguouslydefines Benedict’s theology of religions.

Chester GillisGeorgetown University

THE FUTURE OF LIBERATION THEOL-OGY: AN ARGUMENT AND MANI-FESTO.

By Ivan Petrella. Aldershot-Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2004.Pp. 177. $28.00, ISBN 0-7546-4051-5.

This book is a worthwhile, interesting, andpersuasive examination of liberation theologyin the past, present, and future. Building on hispremise that “Latin American liberation theol-ogy was born with the promise of being a the-ology that would not rest with merely talkingabout liberation but would actually help liberatepeople from material deprivation,” Petrellaurges liberation theologians to aim beyond talk-ing about liberation theology from the corridorsof academia. This volume benefits from severalsignificant features: First, it makes available abalanced amalgamation of the historicalchanges that have occurred in liberation theol-ogy in the past twenty years and offers strate-gies for challenging democracy and capitalismin light of institutional imagination; Second,the social analysis is quite substantial, offeringevidence that since the fall of communism, lib-eration theology has wrestled with establishinga centered theological and historical world-view; Third, this book is convincing, leadingthe readers to agree, for the most part, withPetrella’s perspectives that utilize politicaltheology, radical orthodoxy, and Latina (M.Aquino) and African-American (D. Hopkins)theology to move beyond the older liberationmotifs suggested by G. Gutiérrez, J. Sobrino,and L. Boff. This book is divided into sevenreasonably sized chapters and of added benefitis a twenty-page bibliography that is a Who’sWho of Liberation Theology; a four-pageappendix maps Petrella’s “manifesto” for thefuture of liberation theology. Finally, Petrellaoffers constructive criticisms and useful chal-lenges for refashioning liberation theology forthe twenty-first century church, but it is thesame dilemma that faced liberation theologyfrom its biblical days—liberation of the mar-ginalized, disenfranchised, and the

anawim:

“For you will always have the poor with you”(Mark 14:7).

Arthur D. CanalesSilver Lake College of the Holy Family

Methodology and

Theory

IN THE WORLD: READING AND WRIT-ING AS A CHRISTIAN.

By John H. Timmer-man and Donald R. Hettinga. 2nd ed. GrandRapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. Pp. 448.$29.99, ISBN 0-8010-2753-5.

One of the practical challenges in teachingcomposition courses—and one that has becomeincreasingly difficult in recent years—is to findtexts that articulate a compelling rationale for

the study and practice of writing and, at thesame time, to provide substantial readings thatwill engage students from various majors. Thisnew edition sets out to accomplish this feat inparticularly ambitious terms, providing a“Christian view of rhetoric” along with a selec-tion of essays organized around broadlyChristian themes (e.g., “Living Ethically,”“Confrontation with Suffering,” “Living in theEnvironment”). Teachers inclined to prosely-tize for effective prose will appreciate theauthors’ central assertion that “Good rhetoric isnot simply an option for the Christian writer; itis a responsibility,” as well as their related claimthat “no area of life is free from ethical respon-sibility.” The actual “rhetoric” is surprisinglybrief (just over 50 pages) and basic, even by thestandards of first-year college courses. Thereadings are far more substantial and includesuch various authors as Augustine, T. Paine, C.Darwin, F. Crick, and R. Dove, as well as a finepair of essays on the moral and religiousdebates surrounding the Harry Potter books.While this book is not likely be used outside ofChristian colleges, it does demonstrate one ofthe ways that intellectual and ethical rigor canreinvigorate the first-year writing course.

Brian ConniffUniversity of Dayton

THE CHALLENGE OF RELIGIONAFTER MODERNITY: BEYOND DISEN-CHANTMENT.

By Raymond L. M. Lee andSusan E. Ackerman. Aldershot: Ashgate. Pp.viii

+

141. $94.95, ISBN 0-7546-0725-9.Lee and Ackerman’s book is a contribution

to the evergrowing literature on the “reenchant-ment” of the world. But unlike in most previousworks, the secularization debate is approachedfrom the perspective of a semiotic theory ofsymbols and signs, giving the book a distinc-tively “European” flavor. The argument is thatenlightenment rationalism (disenchantment) ischallenged by what the authors call “the imma-nence of charisma,” that is, the reenchantmentof the world outside and beyond institutionalstructures (Weber’s “routinization” of cha-risma), or even individual actors. In the authors’vocabulary, fundamentalism represents imma-nent charisma encoded into concrete realitythrough symbols such as the Qur’an, whichreflects the original charisma of Muhammad.Signs, on the other hand, are self-referential. Inthe authors’ words: “In the case of New Agetantrism, the messages and methods of spiritualliberation have been disconnected from theirtraditional sources to constitute self-definingicons of religious experimentation.” This corre-sponds largely to what sociologists of religionrefer to as “spirituality.” The examples of reen-chantment that the authors provide offer fewnew ideas in terms of content, but the book doesprovide an innovative framework for analyzingreligion and social change. However, theenlightening examples notwithstanding, the“postmodern” language used in the book prob-

Volume 32 Number 1 / January 2006 Religious Studies Review / 25

ably limits its readership to scholars andadvanced students.

Titus HjelmUniversity of Helsinki

RESEARCHING PAGANISMS.

Edited byJenny Blain, Douglas Ezzy, and Graham Har-vey. The Pagan Studies Series. Walnut Creek,CA: AltaMira Press, 2004. Pp. viii

+

273.Cloth, $75.00, ISBN 0-7591-0522-7; paper,$29.95, ISBN 0-7591-0523-5.

A good example of the recent “boom” in thestudy of contemporary paganisms is the launch-ing of AltaMira’s Pagan Studies series, ofwhich

Researching Paganisms

is the first title.As an opening of the series, the book is anintroduction to the study of paganisms and, assuch, a definition of the field. The book isdivided into four parts which all more or lessdiscuss the researcher’s position in ethno-graphic research. Delivered in personal narra-tive, the book is a powerful legitimation of the“insider” position in ethnography—not a verysurprising detail considering that most of thecontributors subscribe to some form of pagan-ism. At the same time, it is a powerful delegit-imation of what is expressed as “worship ofobjectivity” or the “myth of objectivity.” As anintroduction to new ways of understanding eth-nographic fieldwork, both in pagan studies andmore generally, the book is invaluable. As anintroduction to Pagan Studies it is more ques-tionable: The representation of “proper” fieldmethods is one-sided at best, and I don’t havedifficulties in imagining that the book mightdiscourage many students who are not inter-ested in embracing pagan beliefs as an insider.After all, different questions require differentapproaches and not all approaches require oneto take a stand regarding the reality of the objectof worship. It is my sincere hope that, with thisimportant opening, Pagan Studies is not shut-ting out many other important approaches to thestudy of religion.

Titus HjelmUniversity of Helsinki

THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF RELIGIONDURING THE COLD WAR: EAST ANDWEST.

Edited by Iva Dole

|

alová, Luther H.Martin, and Dalibor Papou

t

ek. Toronto Studiesin Religion 27. New York: Peter Lang, 2001.Pp. 336. $59.95, ISBN 0-8204-5151-7.

A collection of conference papers address-ing national and regional differences in thestudy of religion and ways that it is shaped byideology. It offers useful but uneven and limitedcoverage of national variation (Czech andSlovak Republics, Poland, China, the formerSoviet Union, Holland, Germany, and theUnited States). Individual contributions varywidely, with some valuable thumbnail sketchesof national trends in scholarship but with much(e.g., autobiographical narratives) of little gen-eral interest. The book makes a solid case forthe enduring value of many studies of religion

in communist block nations, despite Marxism’s“scientific atheism.” (M. Pye argues that thewestern surprise at, or continuing ignorance of,this work is itself an artifact of ideology.) Somecontributions address causal relations betweenthe ideologies and political structures of theCold War and the academic study of religion:funding and the rise of area studies (L. Martin);“the Cold War fear of reductionism” and theprivileging of Eliadean/

sui generis

approaches(W. Paden; cf. Martin, Wiebe, and Waarden-burg); Nazi and Cold War uses of religioushistory to construct ethnic/national myths(Gustavo Benavides); relations to colonial andimperial attitudes (J. Waardenburg and D. Y.Mikulskiy on Islam). D. Wiebe soberly callsattention to the lack of solid evidence for spe-cific effects on the study of religion in theUnited States. A valuable volume on the studyof religion in its modern global context: essen-tial for libraries and specialists.

Steven EnglerMount Royal College

Psychology of

Religion

TWO WORLDS ARE OURS: AN INTRO-DUCTION TO CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM.

By John Macquarrie. Minneapolis, MN: For-tress Press, 2005. Pp. viii

+

287. $20.00, ISBN0-8006-3710-0.

Yet another volume from a theologian muchappreciated by readers for his pellucid purvey-ance of theology’s profundities. In this perhapsoverly ambitious book Macquarrie traces twomillennia of Christian mystical experience,from its biblical roots to the early ChristianPlatonists, and on to the classic medieval mys-tics, the great Spanish mystics, the

devotiomoderna,

and some twentieth-century mystics

.

Macquarrie moves through a gallery of thirty-one men and four women mystics, from Mosesand Paul to Maritain and Merton. One maycavil at his selection, de Chardin but notAquinas, Woolman but not Weil or Stein. Selec-tion, however, entails exclusion. Macquarrie’schosen, which includes Protestants and Catho-lics, give evidence, he thinks, of the ten distin-guishing traits of the God-intoxicated mysticthat he lucidly maps out in his opening chapter.Moreover, and perhaps decisive for Macquar-rie’s selection, they exemplify a variety of life-styles. This is important to Macquarrie, whosees mystical experience linked to ordinaryreligious experience, which varies in intensityfrom the quotidian to full-blown mysticism, inwhich, however, visions and locutions are, ifanything, secondary phenomena to be dis-trusted, or creations of later reflection. Nor aremystics locked in themselves, cut off from theordinary world. “No person,” says MeisterEkhart, “can reach the point at which he may

be excused from outward service.” While Mac-quarrie intends to expound the teachings of hismystics “mainly in their own words,” this hedoes not and cannot do. The best this ambitiouswork can do given the space allotted is to pro-vide an informative introductory sketch of eachmystic. Thus an introduction to mysticism thatwill need supplementing by primary sources incourses on mysticism.

Stephen DuffyLoyola University, New Orleans

SILENT MUSIC: THE LIFE, WORK, ANDTHOUGHT OF ST. JOHN OF THECROSS.

By R. A. Herrera. Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdman’s Publishing 2004. Pp. 166. $16.00,ISBN 0-8028-2495-1.

This brief work attempts to introduce thelife and writing of St. John of the Cross, a tallorder for such a slim volume. The introductionoffers a bare-bones survey of Christian mysti-cism. The author wisely avoids the “mysticismas exotica” approach, understanding the histor-ical particularity of mystical experiences asrooted in canonical texts and communal prac-tices. Chapters 1 and 2 present the historicaland ecclesiastical contexts of John’s life, alongwith a brief biographical sketch. Chapters 3-7explicate John’s writings, focusing on

The Spir-itual Canticle

,

The Dark Night

, and

The LivingFlame of Love

. These chapters, while brief,offer clear and helpful summations of eachwork’s overall structure and themes. They alsocomprise the strongest section of the book.Chapters 7 and 8 attempt to bring thingstogether, reflecting on John’s relevance for thepresent. These chapters are less successful. Theauthor’s choice of themes in this section reflectsa background in philosophy, and makes littlecontribution to understanding John’s relevancefor contemporary spirituality. Finally, the help-ful appendix includes Spanish versions of

TheLiving Flame of Love

,

The Spiritual Canticle

,and

The Dark Night

along with the author’sEnglish translations. Herrera’s work will serveas an accessible introduction to those unfamil-iar with John of the Cross. However, thoseseeking a more thorough introduction or newinsights are advised to turn to other recent andmore challenging works on John of the Cross.

Timothy Hessel-RobinsonGraduate Theological Union

Sociology and Anthropology of

Religion

O DESENCANTAMENTO DO MUNDO:TODOS OS PASSOS DO CONCEITO EMMAX WEBER.

Antônio Flávio Pierucci. SãoPaulo: Editora 34, 2003. Pp. 236. N.p., ISBN885-7326-278-8.