Believing without belonging? Cultural change seen in theological context

Abstract

Sociologist of religion Grace Davie has drawn attention to contemporary religious “believing without belonging” and, more recently, to the shift in religion from “an ethic of obligation” toward “an ethic of consumption”. What is the relevance of these sociological realities for the task of mission in Western culture? Grace Davie writes that a firm grasp of sociological realities is the starting point for Christian ministry, but that it is only the starting point. The gospel however, challenges this: rather, the mysterion of Christ is the radical starting point of mission, in whose light are decerned and appraised the sociological realities relevant to mission in the first place. While on the one hand, the church is certainly no rock standing above the turbulence of human society, on the other hand sociological realities do not form a rock-like mould within which the church must flow. Accordingly the contemporary sociological realities of “religion” and of religious “believing”, “belonging”, “obligation” and “choice” must be appraised by reference to the meaning endowed upon these terms by the mysterion of Christ in relation to our encounter with God. In this way sociological realities may serve as a provisional starting point for understanding the task of mission. Standing in ambiguous relation to their theological meaning, they provide no imperatives directly for the task. On the other hand, importantly, attention to them may lead the church beyond past culture-bound embodiments of these theological realities. In this article, the theological meaning of believing and belonging are recalled, and their inseparability; similarly obligation and choice, and their inseparability. In this light, contemporary religious forms of believing, belonging, obligation and choice are appraised. The social context of mission is now itself located, historically andnormatively, in the context of the gospel In conclusion, issues are identified for further reflection and action.