Australia has been going through a great deal of political turmoil lately ... or should I say that the Liberal Party of Australia, currently the political party of government, has been going through a great deal of turmoil lately.
There is a new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison commonly referred to as ScoMo. Sco-Mo is a Pentecostal Christian - which is a bit of a shock for most Australians - and he wears his religion on his sleeve. For most of Australia's political history, the Prime Ministers from the Liberal Party would usually be Anglican, Presbyterian or Methodist. Malcolm Turnbull, who ScoMo recently ousted, is a Catholic convert ... although his wife, Lucy, is from a Catholic blue-blood family.
So there is an interesting article in the Fairfax papers today giving rise to the question - Religion or Culture. The write of the article says there is a difference. In addition to the points made, Australians have always considered themselves a secular nation without national adherence to one particular religion. However, the reality was that most Australians, if pressed, would nominate a religion even if they never darkened the door of a church or were "Easter and Christmas" Christians.
Editor's Note: When I was growing up in 1950s Australia, there was no such concept as "interfaith" - and there was not the dispersion of faiths that there is to-day. Even Christians found it difficult to collaborate with one another.
Believing Women for a Culture of Peace provides a social space for women of diverse faiths and cultures to create positive relationships and to develop a collective presence and voice in the wider community
Believing Women members and friends, Harmony Day 2009
Believing Women’s activities reflect the diverse interests of our members. These include:
information and discussion sessions focusing on a particular faith or spiritual tradition
dialogue sessions on themes or topics of interest across faiths and spiritual traditions
an annual retreat to provide the opportunity for in-depth sharing and relationship building
workshops to address the challenges of conflict resolution and peace-building
celebrations to mark key annual commemorations of particular faith communities
interfaith activities related to public events and commemorations such as International Women’s Day and Harmony Day
informal social gatherings, including hospitality to a wider circle of women
participating in the events of other groups with whom we share a common interest
collaborating with such groups to organise joint activities
We welcome new members and anyone interested in receiving information about our activities.
In August of 2011, more than 30,000 people cheered wildly as the then U.S. presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry – now secretary of energy in the Trump administration – came to the center stage at “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis” at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry quoted from the Bible and preached about the need for salvation that comes from Jesus. He concluded with a prayer for a country he believed to be overwhelmed by problems:
“We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government.”
He then proceeded to ask God for forgiveness for forgetting “who made us, who protects us, and who blesses us.” In response, the crowd exploded into cheers and praise to God.
Worshippers pray with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, seen at center and on screen, at The Response, a daylong prayer and fast rally, Aug. 6, 2011, at Reliant Stadium in Houston.AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
Five years later, on April 9, 2016, and 1,500 miles away at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, tens of thousands of people gathered to pray for the supernatural transformation of America. The event consisted of more than 16 hours of healing sessions, worship music and prophecy from some of the most popular Charismatic Christian leaders in the world.
While not directly affiliated, these two events and the leaders who organized them are central players in a movement that we call “Independent Network Charismatic,” or INC, Christianity in our recently released book, “The Rise of Network Christianity.”
Based on our research, we believe that INC Christianity is significantly changing the religious landscape in America – and its politics.
Here is what we found about INC
INC Christianity is led by a network of popular independent religious entrepreneurs, often referred to as “apostles.” They have close ties, we found, to conservative U.S. politicians, including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and more recently President Donald Trump.
Charismatic Christians emphasize supernatural miracles and divine interventions, but INC Christianity is different from other charismatics – and other Christian denominations in general – in the following ways:
It is not focused primarily on building congregations but rather on spreading beliefs and practices through media, conferences and ministry schools.
It is not so much about proselytizing to unbelievers as it is about transforming society through placing Christian believers in powerful positions in all sectors of society.
It is organized as a network of independent leaders rather than as formally organized denominations.
INC Christianity is the fastest-growing Christian group in America and possibly around the world. Over the 40 years from 1970 to 2010, the number of regular attenders of Protestant churches as a whole shrunk by an average of .05 percent per year, while independent neo-charismatic congregations (a category in which INC groups reside) grew by an average of 3.24 percent per year.
Its impact, however, is much greater than can be measured in church attendance. This is because INC Christianity is not centrally concerned with building congregations, but spreading beliefs and practices.
Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California.Kevin Shorter, CC BY
The influence of INC Christianity can be seen in the millions of hits on manyof theirweb-basedmediasites, large turnouts at stadium rallies and conferences, and millions of dollars in media sales. In our interviews with leaders, we found that Bethel, an INC ministry based in Redding, California, for example, in 2013 had an income of US$8.4 million in media sales (music, books, DVDs, web-based content) and $7 million in tuition to their Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.
According to the director of media services at the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer (IHOP), their website receives over 25 million hits every year from all over the world and is one of the top 50 websites in the world in terms of viewed video content (a million hours of watched video content per month).
Appeal of INC
As part of our research we conducted in-depth interviews with senior leaders, staff and current and former participants in INC Christian ministries. We also conducted supplementary interviews with Christian leaders and scholars with knowledge of the changing religious landscape and attended conferences, numerous church services, ministry school sessions, healing sessions and exorcisms. In all, we conducted 41 in-depth interviews.
Our primary conclusion is that the growth of these groups is largely the result of their network governance structure. When compared to the oversight and accountability of formal congregations and denominations, these structures allow for more experimentation. This includes “extreme” experiences of the supernatural, unorthodox beliefs and practices, and financing as well as marketing techniques that leverage the power of the internet.
In our research, we witnessed the appeal of INC Christianity, particularly among young people. We saw the thrill of holding impromptu supernatural healing sessions in the emergency room of a large public hospital, the intrigue of ministry school class sessions devoted to the techniques of casting out demonic spirits and the adventure of teams of young people going out into public places, seeking direct guidance from God as to whom to heal or to relay specific divine messages.
‘Seven mountains of culture’
In addition to the growth numbers, the importance of INC Christianity lies in the fact that its proponents have a fundamentally different view of the relationship between the Christian faith and society than most Christian groups throughout American history.
Most Christian groups in America have seen the role of the church as connecting individuals to God through the saving grace of Jesus and building congregations that provide communities of meaning and belonging through worship services. They also believe in serving and providing for the needs their local communities. Such traditional Christian groups believe that although the world can be improved, it will not be restored to God’s original plan (until Jesus comes back again to rule the Earth).
INC beliefs, however, are different – their leaders are not content simply to connect individuals to God and grow congregations. Most INC Christian groups we studied seek to bring heaven or God’s intended perfect society to Earth by placing “kingdom-minded people” in powerful positions at the top of all sectors of society.
INC leaders have labeled them the “seven mountains of culture.” These include business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family and religion. In this form of “trickle-down Christianity,” they believe if Christians rise to the top of all seven “mountains,” society will be completely transformed.
One INC leader we interviewed summed it up this way:
“The goal of this new movement is transforming social units like cities, ethnic groups, nations rather than individuals…if Christians permeate each mountain and rise to the top of all seven mountains…society would have biblical morality, people would live in harmony, there would be peace and not war, there would be no poverty.”
We heard these ideas repeatedly in most of our interviews, at events we attended and in INC media materials.
Most significantly, since the 2016 presidential election, some INC leaders have released public statements claiming that the Trump presidency is part of fulfilling God’s plan to “bring heaven to Earth” by placing believers in top posts, including Rick Perry, who is currently heading the Energy Department; Betsy DeVos directing the Department of Education; and Ben Carson leading the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Changing the landscape
INC Christianity is a movement to watch because we think it will continue to draw adherents in large numbers in the future. It will produce a growing number of Christians who see their goal not just as saving souls but as transforming society by taking control over its institutions.
We see the likelihood of INC Christians taking over the “seven mountains of culture” as slim. However, we also believe that this movement is sure to shake up the religious and political landscape for generations to come.
Location: Cultural Infusion Centre, Collingwood College Theatre (entrance from Campbell street), 49 Vere St. Collingwood, VIC 3066 AU
Cultural Infusion’s Culture Talks are free events that present great speakers and new ideas on the broad topic of Australia’s cultural life. Each Culture Talk features prominent speakers discussing their field of expertise, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Sometimes funny, sometimes controversial, and always thought-provoking, the Culture Talk series aims to explore the importance of culture and its effect on the world.
Guest Speakers:
Rev. Victor Kazanjian (Global Director United Religions Initiative): Rev. Victor H. Kazanijian, Jr. is the Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative (URI). His work at Wellesley College in the United States is widely recognised as the catalyst in the movement to include religion and spirituality as core issues in higher education. With decades of experience in community organising around the world, Victor specialises in interfaith dialogue, conflict transformation and peace building, and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is a graduate of Harvard University.
Prof. Gary Bouma (UNESCO): Professor Bouma holds the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural and Inter-religious Relations – Asia Pacific, and is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Monash University. He works to promote communication and respect between religious communities. His research in the sociology of religion examines religious diversity in multicultural societies as a content for religion and public policy.
Refreshments provided.
Cultural Infusion is a social enterprise that works with schools, youth, and the arts to promote cultural harmony for a more cohesive and richer society. Cultural Infusion believes that culture is an enabler and driver of sustainability and quality education, an eradicator of poverty and a key to social cohesion and inclusion.
Cultural Infusion achieves its goals through the delivery of a range of sustainable arts and engagement programs including a range of innovative digital interactive media targeted to schools, youth and communities. Cultural Infusion has delivered a range of creative services, products and ongoing programs to Azerbaijan, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, India, US, South Africa, China, Pakistan, the UK, the Philippines, Portugal and throughout Australia. Cultural Infusion has been a winner of more than 15 international awards including the United Nations Alliance of Civilization Intercultural Innovation Award (UNAoC) and developed the winning slogan “Diversified We Grow” for the UNAoC “Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusiveness” campaign. Cultural Infusion has produced intercultural experiences at major events for organisations such as the United Nations, Commonwealth Games and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Headquartered in San Francisco, the United Religions Initiative (URI) is the world’s largest grassroots interfaith peacebuilding network comprised of over 700 member organisations operating in 92 countries. URI brings people of different faiths and cultures together to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing. URI members work to transcend religious and cultural differences to create inclusive, on the ground solutions to critical issues facing their communities and in Australia work to foster cross-cultural understanding through the arts, education, and interfaith dialogue.
The title of this post expresses how I felt when I saw this information. For those readers of Beside The Creek who are not familiar with Terry Eagleton, this post serves to provide a starting point for your introduction to him and his work.
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Dawkins, Hitchens and the New Atheism
Eagleton has become a vocal critic of what has been called the New Atheism. In October 2006, he published a review of Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion in the London Review of Books. Eagleton begins by questioning Dawkins's methodology and understanding: "Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology". Eagleton further writes, "Nor does [Dawkins] understand that because God is transcendent of us (which is another way of saying that he did not have to bring us about), he is free of any neurotic need for us and wants simply to be allowed to love us."[14] He concludes by suggesting Dawkins has not been attacking organised faith so much as a sort of rhetorical straw man: "Apart from the occasional perfunctory gesture to ‘sophisticated’ religious believers, Dawkins tends to see religion and fundamentalist religion as one and the same. This is not only grotesquely false; it is also a device to outflank any more reflective kind of faith by implying that it belongs to the coterie and not to the mass. The huge numbers of believers who hold something like the theology I outlined above can thus be conveniently lumped with rednecks who murder abortionists and malign homosexuals."[15]
Terry and Gifford Lectures
In April 2008 Eagleton delivered Yale University's Terry Lectures with the title of his subject being, Faith and Fundamentalism: Is belief in Richard Dawkins necessary for salvation? constituting a continuation of the critique he had begun in The London Review of Books. Introducing his first lecture with an admission of ignorance of both theology and science Eagleton goes on to affirm, "All I can claim in this respect, alas, is that I think I may know just about enough theology to be able to spot when someone like Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens—a couplet I shall henceforth reduce for convenience to the solitary signifier Ditchkins—is talking out of the back of his neck."[16][17] His "Terry Lectures" were published in 2009, in Reason, Faith, and Revolution.
Now if that is insufficient to whet your appetite, please pop over to the Wikipedia entry from which the above paragraphs have come. If you scroll to the bottom, you will find the Eagleton book list. For some other Eagleton information, please go this site.
